The Australian Rugby Union is looking to inspire the next generation of rugby players and fans through National Rugby Week. The initiative will involve more than 200,000 kids from over 800 schools around Australia, with an added focus in 2016 on reaching children in non-traditional rugby areas. “National Rugby Week is about initiating the conversation with schools that we’ve never spoken to before,” ARU Head of Participation Cameron Tradell told Rugby News. “We are trying to broaden our footprint and reach other schools and make them aware of rugby and some of the exciting things that are happening.” This year, National Rugby Week has an Olympic theme with all participating schools in the running to receive a visit from an Olympic Sevens player after the event. “We are asking the kids to send a heroes message to our rugby players heading to Rio, plus we’ve got some classroom sessions targeting inclusion and the Olympics as well as some on-field sessions,” Tradell s