Gold Blooded Tour has again woven a golden thread through the Australian grassroots rugby union community from March to June.
Spanning approximately 30 rural and regional community visits across six states and territories, the tour brought Classic Wallabies and Wallaroos alongside Rugby Australia & state union development staff to deliver school clinics, player sessions, and coach and referee development across the country.
The tour opened in New South Wales in mid-March with David Lyons, Phil Kearns, and Charlotte Caslick stopping in Molong and before the tour moved to Cowra, where Classics trained with the club's junior players at The Nest.
In South Australia, Nick Frisby and Shirley Russell visited Elizabeth Bay Rugby Club — with Shirley's work with the club's re-emerging women's team receiving particular praise — before also visiting Portside Christian College and Trinity College in the Barossa Valley.
Out west, the tour visited Esperance in Western Australia over the Easter long weekend before heading into outback Queensland, where Radike Samo and co delivered clinics and met fans in Mount Isa, Cloncurry and Longreach. Other Queensland stops included Roma, St George, Dalby, and Warwick.
Further NSW visits took in Inverell, Glen Innes, Bourke, and the mid-north coast, with a highlight being the 21st TAS Rugby Carnival in Armidale with former Wallabies James Holbeck and Sam Norton-Knight on hand to meet players and help with presentions. The tour concluded in Tasmania with school visits in Devonport and Wynyard and a Come and Try session in Burnie.
This tour is only possible with the planning and support from Rugby Australia and the Australian Rugby Foundation, and the support of Classic Wallabies partners including The Rugby Club Foundation and Inferno Sports.
