Mr Hudson commented:

“I am very honoured to be selected by the RFU, the invitation was out of the blue and a pleasant surprise.  As a top international competition for schools, the quality of rugby will be high and the matches intense.  It is my first chance to referee at international level and in addition to this it will be a fantastic cultural experience staying in ‘a village’ with teams and officials from around the world.”

The competition will take place from 26 April to 6 May. This prestigious competition is held in Fukuoka prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, and includes sides from South Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, France, England, Russia, Korea, and Japan. Participation for schools is invitation only - usually the champion school from each country, effectively a 'World Cup' for schools U18s and is hosted by the Japanese Rugby Union.

2017 Tournament Includes:

• New Zealand Schools champions - Mount Albert Grammar School,

• Auckland

• Fiji Schools champions - Queen Victoria School

• Russian schools champions - Enisei-STM

• French schools champions - Borde Basse (Castres Academy)

• English Academies runners up - Henley College  (Wasps Academy)

• Framesby High School of South Africa

• and 8 Japanese schools

Overseas referees are invited by the Japanese Rugby Union and the RFU sends one English referee per year. You can follow Mr Hudson on twitter or on his blog.