Orange rugby players will get a chance to see how the new tackle rule works first hand when one of Australia's top clubs comes to town.
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Sydney University Rugby Club will continue their partnership with Kinross Wolaroi School when they make the trip to Orange on Friday, January 12.
The perennial Shute Shield contenders have been the benchmark club rugby team since professionalism began nearly 30 years ago, continuously providing players to Super Rugby clubs and the Wallabies.
Many of the players who have gone through their system have hailed from the Central West, including Orange-born president and former Wallaby David Lyons.
It's a bond executive general manager and four-time Wallaby Nathan Charles said kept them coming back to the Colour City.
"Every year we go use their facilities and get some of the local talent to join in, we just basically get out to the Central West to try and promote rugby," he said.
"For quite a few years now we've had a partnership with Kinross, we've been coming to Orange for almost two decades
"We have a lot of country players and student athletes such as Ben McCalman who go to country schools like Kinross and then to university.
"Even our president David Lyons, he was born out at Orange. So there's quite a connection to the country, in particular the Central West."
The team will host open training sessions on Friday and Saturday with Kinross players also taking part ahead of the 2024 ISA rugby season.
Charles, who enjoyed a long career with Uni, Super Rugby teams and the Wallabies, all while fighting cystic fibrosis, said the club was keen to share knowledge and help build pathways in Orange.
"We encourage people to come down - local coaches, volunteers, mums and dads, anyone just to come down and watch," he said.
"It's very open to anyone and even if you're an aspiring coach you can come down and listen to the coaches and see how they do it.
"Be a part of it."
They will also be addressing the question on every rugby player's mind at the moment, how to adjust to the new controversial tackle rule.
"That's been a big focus for us already," he said.
"That'll be really interesting for some of the locals that want to come out and watch and see how we're adapting to those new law variations.
"We want to hit the ground running, particularly in our first four games."
Uni's rugby sessions will take place on Friday from 4pm-5:15pm and on Saturday from 10am-11.30am at the Kinross main oval. Spectators are welcome.
