Junior rugby players do battle in Taupō for 2022 Global Games

Teams gather ahead of the opening of the Global Games Junior Rugby Festival in Taupō in 2019. Photo / Supplied

Taupō is brimming with oval-ball excitement this week as thousands of junior rugby players, spread over 107 teams, arrive for the New Zealand Junior Rugby Festival.

It is the largest junior rugby tournament in the world this year with about 2000 players competing.

First held in 2010, the festival has been a much-anticipated annual highlight of the Taupō events calendar.

The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 tournaments.

Tyrone Campbell, director of Auckland-based sporting events company and festival organiser Global Games, says the three-year wait has done little to deter interest in the event.

Most teams who entered in 2019 returned this year, along with several newcomers.

"The impact of Covid has had a terminal effect on many outstanding events both here in Aotearoa and abroad, so we're both very grateful and hugely excited to be able to resume the festival this year.

"It is an opportunity for teams and their supporters to reconnect and rekindle friendships forged at previous tournaments, and meet new members of our whānau who will be attending for the first time."

Campbell said in keeping with the Global Games ethos, the focus of the festival was less about competition and more about enjoyment, sportsmanship and the opportunity to participate in a major sports tournament.

For many it would be the biggest stage they have played on.

"Regardless of whether players are playing in their very first season of rugby, or are destined for the All Blacks, our mission at Global Games is the same: to provide every player with a positive world-class experience that will last them a lifetime.

"The chance to go on tour with their teammates will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some of these kids, as touring is usually reserved for elite players selected for representative duties.

"For many, just having the experience of being on a bona-fide rugby tour will be something they remember forever."

The New Zealand Junior Rugby Festival was being held at Owen Delaney Park, with the opening ceremony at 4.30pm on Thursday, September 15.

Games kick off at 9am on Friday and run until 2.30pm on Sunday.