History of rugby union in Australia
The earliest known such match was played on 15 June 1858 between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School on the St Kilda foreshore.[13][14] Writing to Wills in 1871, Thompson recalled that "the Rugby, Eton, Harrow, and Winchester rules at that time (I think in 1859) came under our consideration, ... we all but unanimously agreed that regulations which suited schoolboys ... would not be patiently tolerated by grown men.[16] He wrote to his brother Horace: "Rugby was not a game for us, we wanted a winter pastime but men could be harmed if thrown on the ground so we thought differently.[21] On Saturday 23 June, 3,000 spectators watched Waratah beat Carlton at rugby at the Albert Cricket Ground in Redfern.[22] The first inter-colonial game occurred in 1882, when players from the four Queensland clubs (who played both rugby and Australian rules football) travelled to NSW.In 1892, the rugby bodies in Australia dropped Southern and Northern from their titles, adopting New South Wales and Queensland respectively.That year also saw the first British and Irish Lions tour take place, and although unsanctioned by official bodies in Europe, the 21-man squad travelled to both Australia and New Zealand.A meeting took place at Bateman's Crystal Hotel in Sydney on 8 August 1907, where a resolution was made to form the New South Wales Rugby Football League.In 1995, rugby union became openly professional in Australia following an agreement between SANZAR countries and Rupert Murdoch regarding pay television rights for the game.With rugby union becoming an openly professional sport in 1995, after more than a century of being a professed amateur code, major changes were seen in both the club and international game.In 2000 this was bettered when a crowd of 109,874 witnessed the 'Greatest ever Rugby Match' when a Jonah Lomu try sealed a 39–35 All Blacks win over the Wallabies.Prior to the tournament, three high-profile Kangaroo rugby league players switched codes; Wendell Sailor, Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri.Matches were played all across the country, in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Townsville, Gosford, Wollongong and Launceston.In 2007, the ARU launched a national competition, the Australian Rugby Championship, with eight teams—three from New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one each from the ACT, Victoria and Western Australia.[32] The first international tour took place in 1899, when the two unions of New South Wales and Queensland played a four match series against a visiting team from the British Isles.The first international tour was organised for 1908, when a squad of players travelled nine months United Kingdom, Ireland and North America.Invited to play in the rugby tournament that was a part of the 1908 London games, Australia won the gold medal, defeating the English team.Presenting their findings to the IRFB at the Paris meeting in March 1985, the approval for a joint Rugby World Cup was hard-won.With an IRFB split evenly, it took a detractor John Kendall-Carpenter to change his vote to the affirmative, to allow the World Cup to take place.
World RugbyJarijariMerbein, Victoriaindigenous Australiantraditional footballCambridge RulesColony of VictoriaHarrow footballColony of South AustraliaVan Diemen's LandEnglish public school football gamesScotch CollegeMelbourne Grammar SchoolSt Kilda foreshoreAustralian rules footballTom WillsRugby Schoolorigins of Australian rules footballGaelic footballGeoffrey BlaineyLeonie Sandercockrugby footballother games emanating from English public schoolsNewington CollegeSouthern Rugby UnionQueensland Football AssociationQueensland Rugby UnionSydney UniversitySydneyEngland RugbyTwickenham'Waratah' Rugby ClubCarlton Football ClubAlbert Cricket GroundRedferncolonialSydney Cricket GroundMelbourne RulesVictoriaBritish and Irish LionsFrank Ivoryrugby unionnational team of AustraliaNorthern Unionplay-the-ballNorthern Rugby Football UnionRugby Football UnionNew South Wales Rugby Football LeagueWallabiesAll Blacksrugby leagueBledisloe CupCharles Bathurst, 1st Viscount BledisloeEden ParkRugby AustraliaAustralian Imperial ForceNew South Wales Rugby Unionthe first ever Rugby World CupFranceSANZAR1991 Rugby World Cup1999 Rugby World CupSuper 12ACT BrumbiesQueensland RedsNew South Wales WaratahsTri Nations SeriesANZ StadiumJonah LomuKangarooWendell SailorMat RogersLote Tuqirififth Rugby World CupBrisbaneMelbourneCanberraAdelaideTownsvilleGosfordWollongongLauncestonWallaby Team of the DecadeAustralian Rugby ChampionshipNational Rugby ChampionshipFox SportsFijian Druathat country's national teamMoore ParkHistory of the Rugby World Cup1987 Rugby World CupHarold TolhurstBill McLaughlinJohn Kendall-CarpenterHistory of rugby leagueRugby league in AustraliaSuper RugbyThe AdvertiserThe Moreton Bay CourierThe CourierOvens and Murray AdvertiserWayback MachineFox Sports (Australia)The Sydney Morning HeraldRugby union in AustraliaACT and Southern NSWNew South WalesNSWSRUNSWCRUNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaTasmaniaWestern AustraliaSchoolboysWallaroosBarbariansAustralia AThe Rugby ChampionshipOceania U20 ChampionshipHoran–Little ShieldNational Rugby Sevens ChampionshipsU19s Rugby ChampionshipNational Women's ChampionshipSuper Rugby Women'sAustralian Club Championship