| List of rugby union clubs in Australia | |
|---|---|
| Governing body | Rugby Australia |
| First played | 25 July 1839, [1] Sydney, New South Wales |
| Registered players | 82,818 (total) 38,010 (adult) [2] |
| Clubs | 848 |
Club competitions | |
Audience records | |
| Single match | 109,874 Australia v New Zealand, (Telstra Stadium) 15 July 2000 |
The highest level of provincial rugby union in Australia is Super Rugby. There are five Australian teams in this competition, which also features teams from New Zealand and Fiji.
Australia currently has no national club competition. The first attempt at such a competition, the Australian Rugby Championship, was launched in 2007 with eight teams, but lasted only one season before the nation's governing body, the Australian Rugby Union (now Rugby Australia), decided to discontinue the competition due to financial losses. The second and most recent attempt at forming a national domestic league, the National Rugby Championship, was launched in 2014 with nine teams and lasted six years until it was disbanded in 2020. The current top level competitions in Australia are the Shute Shield in Sydney and the Queensland Premier League in Brisbane. Numerous club and representative competitions serve the rugby playing community below these two competitions.
Former:
The National Rugby Championship (2014−2020) was a former annual competition held between professional teams from each state.
The Australian Rugby Shield (2000-2008) and NRC Division 2 (2018-2020) were former annual competitions held between amateur representative teams from each state.
Former:
Former:
Former:
Northern Division:
Southern Division:
Former:
Former:
City-United Historical note: During the 1994 pre-season, it became clear that neither United nor Armidale City would have enough players to field four grades or be competitive. Given that quite a few of City's squad were former United players, NERU Secretary and former United President Dick Croft encouraged the two clubs to join forces, and City United was born. The new club competed strongly for the next eight years before merging with Armidale Old Boys for the 2002 season. This resulted in the new Armidale Blues Rugby Club, which combines the history and tradition of City, the professionalism and competitiveness of Old Boys, and the spirit and student depth of United.
This union is also affiliated with the ACT union instead of a NSW body.
First Division [3]
Second Division [4]
Third Division [5]
Fourth Division [6]
Fifth Division [7]
Clubs not currently competing
The following teams compete in first and second division competitions
'A' & 'B' grade competition:
East Arnhem Rugby runs a junior rugby competition between April and August. While not part of a regular competition, East Arnhem Rugby provides competition for Senior Players by entering in 7's Tournaments. [8]
List does not include Queensland Premier Rugby clubs that also field teams in the Suburban competitions.
Berrick Steven Barnes is a former Australian professional rugby union footballer. His usual position is fly-half or inside centre. He is previously played with Japanese Top League clubs Panasonic Wild Knights and the Ricoh Black Rams, as well as in the Super Rugby competition with the NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds. He also played for the Wallabies in international matches.
Rugby union in Australia has a history of organised competition dating back to the late 1860s. Although traditionally most popular in Australia's rugby football strongholds of New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT, it is played throughout the nation.
The New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union, or NSWSRU, is affiliated to the New South Wales Rugby Union and runs the competition affectionately known as "Subbies" rugby. There are around 7,500 players and 55 clubs competing across 6 divisions, making "Subbies" the largest centrally administered rugby competition in the world. NSWSRU is truly the grassroots of rugby in Sydney.
Randwick District Rugby Union Football Club, also known as the Galloping Greens, is an Australian rugby union club in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney which competes in the Sydney premier grade rugby union competition. The club was formed in 1882 and since then has won 32 first grade premierships and six Australian club championships. It is one of the traditional powerhouses of the Shute Shield competition, winning 14 titles from 1978 to 1996. Randwick's colours are myrtle green and the club's home ground is Coogee Oval. In the 1980s the club produced many Wallabies, including the Ella brothers. Its history has seen many of Australia's best players represent the club, including the likes of George Gregan, Rocky Elsom and David Campese. In all, 93 Randwick players have pulled on a Wallaby jersey, and nine have had the honour of captaining their country.
In New South Wales, Australian rules football dates back to the 1860s colonial era, with organised competitions being continuous since the 1880s. It is traditionally popular in the outback areas of the state near the Victorian and South Australian borders— in the Murray Region, in the Riverina and in Broken Hill. These areas form part of an Australian cultural divide described as the Barassi Line. To the west of the line it is commonly known as "football" or "Australian Football" and to east of the line, it is promoted under the acronym "AFL" by the main development body AFL NSW/ACT. There are more than 15 regional leagues though some are run from other states, the highest profile are AFL Sydney and the Riverina Football Netball League. With 80,572 registered players, it has the third most of any jurisdiction.
Rugby Union South Australia (RUSA) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the state of South Australia. It is a member of Rugby Australia and runs an amateur club competition in Adelaide consisting of men's teams in Premier grade, Premier reserves, Division 2 and Division 2 reserves; and junior teams grouped by age from under 7 to under 18. As of 2013, a women's competition has been included. The RUSA also selects representative teams each year to compete against other Australian states and territories.
The Tasmanian Rugby Union, or TRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within the state of Tasmania in Australia. The TRU was established in 1933. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia.
Tom Lawton Snr was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative five-eighth who made 44 appearances for the Wallabies, played in 14 Test matches and captained the national side on ten occasions.
The Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union is one of Australia's oldest rugby union organisations, with a history dating back to the mid 19th century. The union is based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Salesi Ma'afu, is an Australian professional rugby union footballer.
The Gold Coast and District Rugby Union, or GCDRU, is the local governing body for the sport of rugby union on Australia's Gold Coast. The GCRU runs a club rugby competition for men's teams with three senior grades, as well as a junior club competition that caters for teams grouped by age from under 6 to under 18 and Girls/Women's 7's on a Friday night.
The Queensland Suburban Rugby Union, or QSRU, is affiliated to the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) and runs the rugby competition colloquially known as "Subbies" in Brisbane and South East Queensland.
Rugby union in New South Wales has been played since the 1860s when it was established in the schools of the capital Sydney. Sydney University is considered "the birthplace" of rugby in Australia, having founded a club in 1865. Sydney hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final. In recent decades, Rugby union has struggled to shake its reputation of being a private school game and suffers from the immense popularity of the rival code of Rugby league there.
The New South Wales Country Rugby Union, or NSWCRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within most of New South Wales in Australia.
The Queensland Country Rugby Union, or QCRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within most of the state of Queensland in Australia. It is affiliated with the Queensland Rugby Union.
Ed Craig is a teacher at SHORE school in North Sydney where he teaches PDHPE and Christian studies. Previously, Craig was a PDHPE teacher at Barker College in Sydney. He has played rugby union for the NSW Waratahs the Melbourne Rebels and the Queensland Reds. He played for Australian Schoolboys and Australian Under 20s and for Sydney in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). Craig is currently playing in the Sydney Shute Shield competition for his home club Eastwood. His position is hooker.
The New England Rugby Union, or NERU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within the District of New England in Australia. It is a member of the New South Wales Country Rugby Union.
