June 20 start for schools

THE Otago Premier Schools competition is set to start on June 20 but there should be less travel for most school players.

The premier competition will start two weeks before premier club rugby begins in Dunedin.

There is no longer a top, middle and bottom four after two roundrobins.

The 12 teams will be split into a top six and bottom six at the start of the season based on last year’s results. At the end of the first roundrobin, the bottom two teams in the top section. the premiership, will swap places with the top two teams in the championship.

Points will reset to zero for the second roundrobin.

After the second round robin, semifinals will be played on September 5 with the final on September 12.

The council hopes the final of the top section, the Otago Daily

Cup, will be played at Forsyth Barr Stadium on September 12. There is no national top four or national schools team this year.

Other school grades may start on June 27 depending on demand and the makeup of the regionwide under18 grade is still being worked through.

In the other grades, the focus will be on playing locally as much as possible, to reduce travel and cost.

There will hopefully be a country hub and a hub with teams from Dunedin and Oamaru. The bulk of matches will be played within the hub, with a bit of crossover play.

Schoolgirl rugby will continue on Wednesday afternoons at Logan Park with sevens set to kick off the season on June 24.

The interschool between Otago Boys’ High School and King’s High School is expected to go ahead on a date yet to be confirmed.