Nelson Bay Junior Rugby Union

25/10/2026

Our Under 18s are in the final stages of preparing for their Community Tour to Vanuatu in December.

This long standing U18s tradition was resurrected in 2025 after a 6-year hiatus. If last year's trip is anything to go by, the young men are in for a treat! A once-in-a-lifetime experience (well, twice for those 5 returning this year, one year older & one year wiser!), for some of the lads their first time travelling overseas.

The team is delighted to announce that Atlantic Pipelines & Civil Pty Ltd has been on board as a Major Sponsor since the very start of the 2026 season. We are immensely grateful to them for their amazing generosity, which has enabled the Tour to go ahead.
PS: don’t forget the car wash next Saturday

23/10/2026

The Nelson Bay Rugby Union Junior’s are delighted to announce as a Major Sponsor for their Under 18s Vanuatu Tour in December.

In 2025 their generosity also helped to fund the Tour for last year's Under 18s, where they visited the local schools & orphanage, played touch with the kids, and enjoyed some of Vanuatu's finest activities such as the Blue Lagoon, Eden on the River, paintball and quad bikes. The lads crossed the crystal blue water from Port Vila to Ifira island, for a very memorable rugby festival against the Irifa Blackbirds U20s and U18s. The Ifira locals including the Chief Teriki Paunimanu Mantoi Kalsakau III welcomed them with flower garlands, and the whole community came to enjoy the rugby. The day turned out to be an amazing bonding experience with the Ifira players, and the lads left after exchanging shirts & a promise to return in 2026.

26 Degrees has long supported rugby, in particular the 7s format, and NBJRU are extremely grateful for their support of junior rugby at a time when it is most needed.

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18/10/2026

It’s that time of year again! 💙🤍🖤

Our 2026 season has been a fantastic one, and now it’s time to look ahead to 2027 with our AGM!

📅 Sunday 1st November
⏰ 3:30pm
📍 Bill Strong Oval Clubhouse

All positions on the committee are open for election, and we encourage anyone interested in getting involved and helping shape the future of our club to put their hand up and attend this meeting.

Whether you’re a parent, player or a proud member of the Gropers family, your support and involvement help keep our club strong.

📩 To submit your application, please contact Club Secretary Matt Findlay at [email protected]

Let’s keep building on a great 2026 season and make 2027 even bigger! 🐟🔵⚪️⚫️

02/10/2026

Congratulations to two talent Gropers that will star today in the U16s Green and Gold. Zoe Smith and Isabella Gamgee.
Details below, tune in

Nearly 100 players set to take part across the two fixtures, with the inaugural program focused on helping foster the next generation of Wallaroos and sevens players.

Catch the NextGen XV games LIVE on Rugby.com.au

Knox 1 Oval at Knox Grammar School will be the setting for the fixtures, with the U19s Green and Gold teams having already played a first round of action on September 12 at Forshaw Rugby Park, the U19 Greens winning that clash 41-12.

The U16 program, meanwhile, has been participating in a holistic development camp, with tomorrow’s clash marking the culmination of their initial camp.

The program serves as a vital development ground, with RA working alongside member unions and Super Rugby clubs to grow female participation, alongside identifying the nation’s best young talent through existing representative pathways.

02/10/2026

Congratulations to two amazing young talented Gropers Zoe Smith and Isabella Gamgee playing today in the U16s Green and Gold. Tune and and watch. All details below.🖤💙🤍

Nearly 100 players set to take part across the two fixtures, with the inaugural program focused on helping foster the next generation of Wallaroos and sevens players.

Catch the NextGen XV games LIVE on Rugby.com.au

Knox 1 Oval at Knox Grammar School will be the setting for the fixtures, with the U19s Green and Gold teams having already played a first round of action on September 12 at Forshaw Rugby Park, the U19 Greens winning that clash 41-12.

The U16 program, meanwhile, has been participating in a holistic development camp, with tomorrow’s clash marking the culmination of their initial camp.

The program serves as a vital development ground, with RA working alongside member unions and Super Rugby clubs to grow female participation, alongside identifying the nation’s best young talent through existing representative pathways.

Rugby.com.au is the home of Australian Rugby. Discover the latest team news, fixtures and results. Plus catch new videos, pictures and documentaries.

02/10/2026

Good luck to former Nelson Bay Junior Groper - Cody Hopwood who will play in his first NRL grand final for the Newcastle Knights against the Sydney Roosters this Sunday. It was only five years ago Cody played in our U15s gropers side.
Good luck Cody, the gropers are behind you.
“Once a Groper, always a Groper”

29/09/2026

With another great season coming to an end, and a fantastic Grand Final performance from our U16s team — not quite the ending we all had hoped for — we came together to celebrate at Presentation Day. 🏉💙
Congratulations to all of our award recipients, and to every player who took the field and gave their all throughout the season. You should all be incredibly proud of your efforts!

A huge thank you to all our parents and carers for supporting our young people and enabling them to play. We also truly appreciate everyone who helped throughout the season with the canteen, field set-up and pack-up, and all the many jobs that happen behind the scenes.

To all our amazing coaches and managers, your time, passion,dedication and care of our players is greatly appreciated. We thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills to guide and develop all our young people.

To our fabulous committee — thank you for the countless hours, dedication and hard work you put into supporting our club. So much happens behind the scenes, and it simply wouldn’t be possible without you.

And finally, a massive thank you to all of our amazing sponsors. Your support of our club and our players throughout the season is genuinely appreciated. 💙

Thank you to everyone who made this season such a memorable one.

We’ll see you all for Rugby in Paradise 2027! 🌴🏉☀️🤍💙🖤

29/09/2026

Congratulations to Liam. Such a fabulous achievement as a Senior.

24/09/2026

Today NBJRU hosted it’s annual William Gunther Shield U12 Rugby School Tournament at Tomaree No.1 Matchfield (John Nell Field) home of the junior rugby.

This tournament is closed to Port Stephens schools only and we welcome any other schools that wish to participate in 2027.

Thanks to NBRU Seniors Club for donating the prize money. Their generosity supports local kids playing local Rugby.

Thank you to the volunteers that helped out in the canteen (Alison, Jon, Angus, Jane).

Thanks to Darcy and Will for refereeing a number of the games.

Thanks to Gruff and Harry from NSWRU for their support and refereeing.



Awards for best player from each school awarded to Layla, Cowen, Ryder, Isaac, Eden and Knox.



Presentations to the winning schools from Port Stephens Deputy Mayor Nathan Errington

First place – Anna Bay PS

Second place – Wirreanda PS

Participation award – Tomaree PS



We thank the parents and players for a great day of support and competitive rugby.



See you in last week of Term 3, 2027 for another cracker day of ‘rugby in paradise’