Introduced three years ago, the Cup competition for under 15s and under 17s players replaced the National Under 16s Championships.

At the same time a national under 20s championships was implemented, which this year evolved into the Super 20s competition.

The ARU says, despite the absence of the Gold program for 2016-17, there are many opportunities for young players to play representative rugby as well as being involved in other school and junior sports.

“We’ve made a decision for 2017 to move as many of our representative programs to a small window in September-October to limit the demands on players but also to provide a clear pathway for those wishing to pursue opportunities as potentially elite rugby players,” ARU national performance programs manager Adrian Thompson said in a statement. 

“The changes will no doubt bring about consultation within each state and key stakeholders about the best internal structures.”

The changes to the national program include no under 17s Junior Gold Cup, while the under 15s Cup will be a 10-team competition held over five weeks. 

Western has previously had Junior Gold sides in both the under 15s and under 17s competitions.