Rugby
AAP with staff writers 5y

Rugby Australia keen to broadcast schoolboy rugby

Rugby

Rugby Australia has approached Fox Sports to talk about televising Sydney and Brisbane GPS rugby matches, it has been reported.

The issue was discussed at the Rugby Australia board meeting in Sydney on Monday as a possible way to increase the game's exposure.

Fox Sports head of television Steve Crawley told The Australian that the broadcaster's chief executive Peter Campbell is working well with Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle and there was "a lot of useful dialogue happening".

""(Super) Rugby made a really good start for us on the weekend. The Tahs recorded good numbers (for their game against the Hurricanes) so it's all positive. Still, it is a long way off," Crawley told the newspaper.

A new broadcast deal is due in 2021 and Castle said Rugby Australia is eager to look at ways to increase promotion of the code.

"Given we are in a process looking at future broadcasting arrangements, we are keen to explore any opportunities to expand the promotion of the game across all levels as well as commercial opportunities," she told The Australian.

"We know that there is a huge appetite for rugby content and we will look at any way to expand our footprint."

Schoolboy rugby hasn't been on television since the early 2000s when Kurtley Beale first began playing in St Josephs College First XV.

The ABC would air games sparingly in between it's coverage of Sydney's Shute Shield in NSW only. 

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