The NRL Under-20s (known commercially as the Holden Cup due to sponsorship from

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thr ...

) was the top league of professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for players aged 20 years or younger in

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologic ...

. Contested by sixteen teams, the Under-20s competition commenced in 2008 and was originally known as the Toyota Cup. The competition runs parallel to Australasia's professional competition, the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

, with NYC matches played immediately prior to the NRL games. Similar to the NRL, the NYC enforces a salary cap and puts a heavy focus on life outside football for the players. The

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

were the most successful club in the competition's short history, with three premierships from four Grand Final appearances; in 2010, 2011 and 2014. In 2018, the NRL Under-20s was replaced by state-based under-20s competitions in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

History

The NRL Under-20s succeeded the

Jersey Flegg Cup The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named for Ea ...

in 2008, which existed from 1961 to 2007. The competition was administered by the New South Wales Rugby League as an under-19s competition, until it was changed to an under-20s competition in 1998. On October 28, 2016 it was announced that the 2017 season will be the last for the NRL Under-20s. It was to be replaced by stronger State-based competitions in NSW and QLD, these being the reformed

in NSW and the new

Hastings Deering Colts The Hastings Deering Colts is a junior rugby league competition based in Queensland, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL), and is contested by fourteen te ...

in Queensland.

Teams

Premiership winners

Team Performance

Awards

Player of the Year

The National Youth Competition Player of the Year award is the premier individual award in the National Youth Competition. The voting for the award is similar to the Dally M Medal voting, where after each National Youth Competition game 3 points are awarded to the best player on ground, 2 points to the second and 1 point to the third. As of 2017, every winner of the award has gone on to play first grade in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. The inaugural winner was Ben Hunt from the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

in 2008. Hunt is also the youngest player to win the award, at age 18 years, 5 months and 13 days.

Jack Gibson Medal

The Jack Gibson Medal is awarded to the man of the match of the Toyota Cup grand final. The award is named after legendary

coach,

Jack Gibson Jack Gibson may refer to: * Jack Gibson (rugby league) (1929–2008), Australian player and coach * Jack Stanley Gibson (1909–2005), Irish physician * Jack Gibson (ice hockey, born 1880) (1880–1955), ice hockey player and executive * Jack Gibs ...

. Gibson, who guided Eastern Suburbs to premierships in 1974 and 1975, the Parramatta Eels to three successive premierships from 1981 to 1983 and was named coach of the Team of the Century, died in 2008.

Television coverage

Australia

* Free to air: Channel 9 showed the Grand Final as part of the Grand Final Coverage.2007 Big League Annual (page 11) * Subscription television: FOX Sports show 2 games live every weekend, live coverage of the Toyota Cup precede Fox Sports' Super Saturday and Sunday live NRL coverage.

New Zealand

* All New Zealand Warriors home games in the U20's competition are shown live by Sky NZ. Māori Television also broadcasts ''Ngāti NRL'', a series that focuses on young Māori and Pacific Islanders who travel to Australia and play in the Toyota Cup.NGATI NRL RETURNS TO MAORI TELEVISION
at ''media.maoritelevision.com''

References

External links

* {{Rugby League in Australia links Rugby league competitions in Australia Rugby league competitions in New Zealand 2008 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 2008 Youth sport in Australia