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 Fukuoka Ladies Rugby Football Club who won the 2026 tournament.
The tournaments were cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An amended local version (featuring only Japanese teams) of both boys' and girls' tournaments returned for 2022. The tournaments returned to a full international format from 2023, featuring twelve teams (six local and six international schools) for the boys' tournament and eight teams (five local and three international schools) for the girls' sevens 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:
Champions Boys' competition
Year# of TeamsFinalLosing semi-finalistsWinnerScoreRunner-upThird placeFourth place 200016 The King's School28–5 Paul Roos Gymnasium Aranui High School Dollar Academy 200124 Grey College41–3 St Peter's College Higashi Fukuoka H.S. St Mary's College 200216 32–10 Sendai Ikuei Gakuen H.S. Ratu Kadavulevu School Wesley College 200316 Rotorua Boys' H.S.27–12 Tonga College St Alban's College Royal Belfast Academical 200416 Rotorua Boys' H.S.36–18 Higashi Fukuoka H.S. St. Joseph's College St Stanislaus' College 200516 Christchurch Boys' H.S.32–8 The Southport School Hoërskool Waterkloof Osaka Institute Technology 200616 Christchurch Boys' H.S.34–20 Monument High School Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S. Higashi Fukuoka H.S. 200716 Westfields Sports H.S.36–19 Higashi Fukuoka H.S. Christchurch Boys' H.S. Avele College 200816 Glenwood High School 39–0 Tarbes High School Gisborne Boys' H.S. St Edmund's College 200920 Dax Landes High School38–30 Higashi Fukuoka H.S. Glenwood High School De La Salle College 201016 Hamilton Boys' H.S.40–8 Truro College The Hills Sports H.S. Marais Viljoen High School 201116 Hamilton Boys' H.S.35–17 Ivybridge Community College Paarl Boys' High School Toin Gakuen H.S. 201216 Kelston Boys' H.S.37–24 Truro College Tonga College Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S. 201316 St Kentigern College40–8 Hartpury College St Joseph's College Daniel Pienaar Technical H.S. 201416 Hamilton Boys' H.S.15–11 Paarl Boys' High School Lycée Louis de Foix Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S. 2015 16 Paul Roos Gymnasium35–3 Brisbane Boys' College Scots College Truro College 2016 16 Glenwood High School45–6 Higashi Fukuoka H.S. Rotorua Boys' High School Truro College 2017 16 Lycée de la Borde Basse9–3 Mt Albert Grammar School Higashi Fukuoka H.S. Toin Gakuen H.S. 2018 16 Ratu Kadavulevu School35–5 Hastings Boys' H.S. St Augustine's College Osaka Toin High School 2019 16 Paul Roos Gymnasium52–5 St Peters College Toin Gakuen H.S. Waverley College 2022 12 Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S.68–21 Kyoto Seisho H.S. Iwami Chisuikan H.S. Oita Tomei High School 2023 12 Hamilton Boys' H.S.28–22 Higashi Fukuoka H.S. Napier Boys' H.S. Saga Technical H.S. 2024 16 Osaka Toin High School17–15 Toin Gakuen H.S. St Augustine's College Southland Boys' H.S. 2025 18 Osaka Toin High School20–17 Saga Technical H.S. Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S. Gose Industrial H.S. 2026 16 Rotorua Boys' H.S.46–19 Feilding High School Tokai Uni. Gyosei H.S. Tenri High School
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 14 Higashi Fukuoka High School 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 8 Saga Technical High School 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026 7 Kyoto Seisho High School 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 6 Hamilton Boys' High School 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2025 6 Osaka Toin High School 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024, 2025, 2026 6 Enisei-STM 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 6 Toin Gakuen High School 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024, 2025, 2026 5 Tokai University Gyosei High School 2017, 2018, 2022, 2025, 2026 5 Truro College 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2024 5 Iwami Chisuikan High School 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 4 Rotorua Boys' High School 2003, 2004, 2016, 2026 4 Ratu Kadavulevu School 2002, 2018, 2025, 2026 4 Tokai University Sagami High School 2017, 2018, 2024, 2025 3 Paul Roos Gymnasium 2000, 2015, 2019 3 Glenwood High School 2008, 2009, 2016 3 Oita Tomei High School 2022, 2024, 2026 2 Christchurch Boys' High School 2005, 2006 2 Onomichi High School 2015, 2018 2 Framesby High School 2017, 2018 2 Exeter College 2018, 2019
Girls' sevens competition
Year# of TeamsFinalLosing semi-finalistsWinnerScoreRunner-upThird placeFourth place 20148 Kanto Selection35–21 Sunshine Coast Stingrays Fukuoka Ladies' R.F.C. Feilding High School 20158 Hamilton Girls' H.S.31–12 Fukuoka Ladies' R.F.C. Iwami Chisuikan H.S. Hong Kong Sports School 20168 Otemon Gakuen H.S.38–5 Tochigi Strawberries Hamilton Girls' High School Fukuoka Ladies' R.F.C. 20178 St Mary's College26–22 Kokugakuen Uni. Tochigi H.S. Hartpury College Aranmore Catholic College 20188 Iwami Chisuikan H.S.17–10 Hamilton Girls' H.S. Otemon Gakuen H.S. Fukuoka Ladies R.F.C. 20198 Fukuoka Ladies R.F.C.17–10 Iwami Chisuikan H.S. Kanto Gakuin Mutsuura H.S. Howick College 20228 Otemon Gakuen H.S.29–5 Brave Louve Saga Technical High School Arukas Youth Kumagaya 20238 King's Christian College27–0 Manukura Fukuoka Ladies R.F.C. Saga Technical High School 20248 Fukuoka Ladies R.F.C.17–7 Kyoto Seisho High School Kanto Gakuin Mutsuura H.S. Manukura 20258 Kanto Gakuin Mutsuura H.S.19–5 Yokkaichi Maryknoll Gakuin H.S. Fukuoka Ladies R.F.C. Howick College 20268 Fukuoka Ladies R.F.C.14–5 Yokkaichi Maryknoll Gakuin H.S. Kanto Gakuin Mutsuura H.S. Otemon Gakuin H.S.
See also
Fukuoka Sanix Blues Rugby union in Japan National High School Rugby Tournament The National Schools 7's
References
External links Tournament Official Website (English) with downloadable pdfs of results Invitation on Australian Schools rugby website RKS (Fiji) at the 2002 tournament 2007 Sanix World Youth Tournament Website (from the JRFU, in Japanese) Sanix World Youth Tournament – Map To The Global Arena (in Japanese) Global Arena (in Japanese)