It’s the same program, with the same top quality coaches and the same incredible strike rate of helping over 25% of participants play at a state or national level.

But the Australian Rugby Union Academy, formerly IRAA, has a new name and moves to Sydney for its first camp in 2025, in January next year.

“Our contract with our New Zealand friends at IRRA expired in October of this year, so we decided we should set up a new brand and make sure it has a very strong Australian identity,” ARUA co-founder David Mortimer told Rugby News.

“We've got our first course under the new brand in January in the new year so we're looking forward to that being another success story.

“The last few years have been a bit of a grind with COVID interrupting us a few times, but we’ve still achieved some really good results.

“25% of our participants have gone on to play at a state or national level and we think that’s a pretty good outcome.”

Mortimer founded the International Rugby Academy of Australia with the late David Baffsky with the hope of keeping more young people playing and pursuing rugby at a high level.

“The idea was to try and fill a gap for young rugby players from 12 to 17 to stop them wandering off into alternative sports like AFL, soccer or rugby league,” Mortimer explained.

“When we started, there weren’t any other programs quite like it and we just thought we’d be doing the right thing for rugby in this country if we helped young rugby players enjoy our game and improve their skills.

“David’s grandson at the time was quite a talented young sports person and a number of sports were pursuing him. So this was our way of trying to keep him and other kids just like him in rugby.”

While most states are running strong rugby academies and development programs, Mortimer said the ARUA camps presented a further opportunity for late bloomers or players that missed selection in various programs.

“A lot of young kids get overlooked or miss out on selection in teams or programs for a variety of reasons, including at times, poor judgement or selection.

“But that’s always going to be the case and this program gives kids another opportunity to develop their game and learn from some of the best rugby coaches in the country.

“We've got a long list of quality coaches that will cover all parts of the game. There’s guys like Jim McKay and Matt Cockbain, as well as young Norths' coach Zak Beer.

“Then we’ve got specialty coaches in lots of specific skills. So we might have a coach working specifically with halfbacks as an example on small skills within that role.”

There is also an opportunity for aspiring coaches to learn off some of the best names in the game at the Sydney camp early next year.

“That part of the program is still in its infancy but we’re really excited about the progress and the potential.

"We’re also developing some online services that will give coaches at all levels from right around the country access to top quality resources that they can access in their own time without costing too much.”

Spots in the ARUA’s boys, girls and coaches programs are still available, with the camps to start in Sydney from Wednesday January 15.

Mortimer, a former president of Sydney University, said he’s also excited about the prospects of his Students in 2025, under returning coach Todd Louden.

“I think we’ll see a big improvement quite frankly. The young kids are all a year older now and there is lots of talent pushing through,” he said.

“From what I’ve heard, we’ve strengthened our forward pack and hopefully we can avoid some of the injuries we had this year and keep our best players on the park.”

Click here for more information on the ARUA.