# Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament

The Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament is an international rugby union tournament for 15-a-side youth teams which is held every year during the Golden Week holidays (29 April – 5/6 May) in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. Participation is by invitation only, and the overseas schools selected by their respective unions to represent their country are generally expected to be of a high standard and among the top five in each country. The event is hosted by the Japan Rugby Football Union and supported by various local bodies including the Kyushu RFU, the Sanix Sports Foundation and Munakata City. The Global Arena in Munakata, Fukuoka on the island of Kyūshū is the venue for this tournament.

## History

In 2000 the first tournament was contested by 11 Japanese and five foreign high school teams from various countries. (The tournament expanded from 16 to 20 schools in 2009, thus increasing in both size and importance.) It is a unique competition in world rugby for high schools, and is almost a "mini World Cup". The idea was devised and initially funded by the Sanix company president Mr. Munemasa. Sanix still provides about half the substantial costs for overseas teams to participate.
Three or four of the Japanese teams are from the local area Kyūshū, where high school rugby is particularly strong. The rest are from elsewhere in Japan. A Scottish pipe band is a regular fixture, though there was no band in 2007. However Dollar Academy has participated twice as Scotland's sole representative so far in the tournament in 2000 and 2004, and George Watson's College Pipe Band, Edinburgh have played both the opening and closing ceremonies from 2008 to date. One Italian team (Istituto Casteller) took part in 2002, and Carmarthenshire College from Wales has also participated.
In 2014 the tournament debuted a girls' rugby sevens tournament to run parallel to the boys' competition. The debut girls' tournament was won by a Kanto regional selection team, and the most recent champions are St Mary's College, Wellington who won the 2017 tournament.

## Competing nations

As of 2018 a total of 20 countries have participated in at least one edition of the Sanix World Rugby Youth Tournament, with many countries being represented annually. Nations who have competed in the tournament are as follows:
* Australia
* Canada
* China
* Hong Kong
* Ireland
* Italy
* Fiji
* France
* Japan
* New Zealand
* Russia
* Samoa
* Scotland
* South Africa
* South Korea
* England
* Taiwan
* Tonga
* Uruguay
* Wales

## Champions
### Boys' competition

| Year | # of Teams | | Final | Final | Final | |
| Year | # of Teams | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place |
| 2000 | 16 | The King's School | 28–5 | Paul Roos Gymnasium | Aranui High School | Dollar Academy |
| 2001 | 24 | Grey College | - | St Peter's College | Higashi Fukuoka High School | St Mary's College |
| 2002 | 16 | Hoër Landbouskool Boland [af] | 32–10 | Sendai Ikuei Gakuen H.S. | Ratu Kadavulevu School | Wesley College |
| 2003 | 16 | Rotorua Boys' High School | - | Tonga College | St Alban's College | Royal Belfast Academical |
| 2004 | 16 | Rotorua Boys' High School | 36–18 | Higashi Fukuoka High School | Ermelo High School | St Stanislaus' College |
| 2005 | 16 | Christchurch Boys' H.S. | 32–8 | The Southport School | Hoërskool Waterkloof | Osaka Institute Technology |
| 2006 | 16 | Christchurch Boys' H.S. | 34–20 | Monument High School | Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S. | Higashi Fukuoka High School |
| 2007 | 16 | Westfields Sports H.S. | - | Higashi Fukuoka High School | Christchurch Boys' H.S. | Avele College |
| 2008 | 16 | Glenwood High School | 39–0 | Tarbes High School | Gisborne Boys' H.S. | St Edmund's College |
| 2009 | 20 | Dax Landes High School | 38–30 | Higashi Fukuoka High School | Glenwood High School | De La Salle College |
| 2010 | 16 | Hamilton Boys' H.S. | 40–8 | Truro College | The Hills Sports H.S. | Marais Viljoen High School |
| 2011 | 16 | Hamilton Boys' H.S. | 35–17 | Ivybridge Community College | Paarl Boys' High School | Toin Gakuen H.S. |
| 2012 | 16 | Kelston Boys' High School | 37–24 | Truro College | Tonga College | Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S. |
| 2013 | 16 | St Kentigern College | 40–8 | Hartpury College | St Joseph's College | Daniel Pienaar Technical H.S. |
| 2014 | 16 | Hamilton Boys' H.S. | 15–11 | Paarl Boys' High School | Lycée Louis de Foix | Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S. |
| 2015 | 16 | Paul Roos Gymnasium | 35–3 | Brisbane Boys' College | Scots College | Truro College |
| 2016 | 16 | Glenwood High School | 45–6 | Higashi Fukuoka High School | Rotorua Boys' High School | Truro College |
| 2017 | 16 | Lycée de la Borde Basse | 9–3 | Mt Albert Grammar School | Higashi Fukuoka High School | Toin Gakuen H.S. |
| 2018 | 16 | Ratu Kadavulevu School | 35–5 | Hastings Boys' H.S. | St Augustine's College | Osaka Toin High School |
| 2019 | 16 | Paul Roos Gymnasium | 52–5 | St Peters College | Toin Gakuen H.S. | Waverley College |

#### Schools with multiple appearances

In the table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Seasons" column, bold years indicate winning seasons.
| Appearances | School | Seasons |
| 8 | Higashi Fukuoka High School | 2004, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| 6 | Enisei-STM | 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| 4 | Truro College | 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 |
| 4 | Saga Industrial (Technical) High School | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
| 3 | Hamilton Boys' High School | '2009', 2010, 2011, 2014 |
| 3 | Paul Roos Gymnasium | 2000, 2015, 2019 |
| 3 | Rotorua Boys' High School | 2003, 2004, 2016 |
| 3 | Glenwood High School | 2008, 2009, 2016 |
| 3 | Osaka Toin High School | 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| 3 | Toin Gakuen High School | 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| 2 | Christchurch Boys' High School | 2005, 2006 |
| 2 | Onomichi High School | 2015, 2018 |
| 2 | Kyoto Seisho High School | 2015, 2019 |
| 2 | Iwami Chisuikan High School | 2015, 2019 |
| 2 | Tokai University Gyosei High School | 2017, 2018 |
| 2 | Tokai University Sagami High School | 2017, 2018 |
| 2 | Framesby High School | 2017, 2018 |
| 2 | Exeter College | 2018, 2019 |

### Girls' sevens competition

| Year | # of Teams | | Final | Final | Final | |
| Year | # of Teams | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place |
| 2014 | 8 | Kanto Selection | 35–21 | Sunshine Coast Stingrays | Fukuoka Ladies' R.F.C. | Feilding High School |
| 2015 | 8 | Hamilton Girls' H.S. | 31–12 | Fukuoka Ladies' R.F.C. | Iwami Chisuikan H.S. | Hong Kong Sports School |
| 2016 | 8 | Otemon Gakuen H.S. | 38–5 | Tochigi Strawberries | Hamilton Girls' High School | Fukuoka Ladies' R.F.C. |
| 2017 | 8 | St Mary's College | 26–22 | Kokugakuen Uni. Tochigi H.S. | Hartpury College | Aranmore Catholic College |
| 2018 | 8 | Iwami Chisuikan H.S. | 17–10 | Hamilton Girls' H.S. | Otemon Gakuen H.S. | Fukuoka Ladies R.F.C. |