Sanix Tournament

The Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament is a prestigious international rugby union tournament for 15-a-side youth teams which is held every year during the Golden Week holidays (April 29 – May 5th/6th) 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. 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.

2012 Sanix World Youth Invitational Tournament Schedule (pdf)