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Rugby union in Western Australia

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Rugby union in Western Australia
Western Force play the Brumbies at Subiaco in 2006.
Governing bodyRugbyWA
State teamWestern Force
First played1868, Perth, Western Australia
Registered players12,550[1]
Club competitions
Audience records
Single match61,241 (2019) Bledisloe Cup, Australia v New Zealand

Rugby union in Western Australia describes the sport of rugby union being played and watched in the state of Western Australia. The code was first introduced some time in 1868 and was the most popular football code until it was overtaken by Australian rules football in Western Australia in 1885. After a period of recess between 1905-1927 the code was revived and continued to grow throughout the 20th century. The governing body is the Western Australia Rugby Union (RugbyWA).

The game tends to be centred on Perth, and Fremantle. Due to the scattered nature of WA's population, it is not so common outside the metropolitan area. The isolation of WA has also made it difficult for the sport to maintain a relationship with rugby elsewhere in Australia. Despite being the second most popular code with spectators, rugby has the distinction of holding the record attendance of any football code in the state, with 61,241 attending the Bledisloe Cup at Optus Stadium in 2019.

Western Australia is the home of the Western Force, a franchise in the Super Rugby competition since 2006. Their home ground is NIB Stadium, which has a capacity of 20,500 spectators. The development team is the Perth Spirit, which has competed in the Australian Rugby Championship in 2007 and the National Rugby Championship since 2014.

History

Early history: 1860-1892

Rugby was first played in the Colony of Western Australia in the late 1860s and early 1870s.[2]

One of the earliest matches was played in 1868 in Fremantle by a team from West Yorkshire Regiment against a local sides in Perth on the grounds of the Bishop’s Collegiate School.[3]

Rugby was the leading football code in the colony up until the mid 1880s before its popularity was overtaken by Australian rules football in Western Australia.

In 1885 one of the leading rugby clubs, Fremantle, decided to change to Australian rules football. It was quickly joined by three other clubs - Template:WAFL Rov, Victorians, and a team of schoolboys from The High School. Rugby was to suffer considerably from this exodus in the latter 1880s.

Rugby Revival and Interstate matches: 1893-1905

Swan rugby football team in 1897

The 1890s however saw a revival in West Australian rugby and it continued to be played by a small number of clubs sufficient to form the Western Australian Rugby Union in 1893.[clarification needed] A 4 team competition commenced in 1895 with the I Zingari, Fremantle, Swans and Midland Junction Club's taking part. These clubs were joined by a Goldfields Association consisting of the Coolgardie Rugby Football Club and Kalgoorlie Rugby Football Club (Goldfields) (1896). Other Perth based clubs to form later included the Pirate Football Club (1898) and Metropolitan Rugby Football Club (1900).[4]

At the turn of the 20th Century, Rugby was rapidly growing in popularity, with a combined Metropolitan vs Districts matches being played[5] interstate matches including the Goldfields[6] and a schools competition begun.

From 1905, Perth, Pioneers and Swan competed for the Levinson Cup, the competition was able to gain access to play on Australian rules football grounds and crowds grew to thousands with some games rivaling the popularity of Australian rules.[7]

Hiatus: 1905-1927

The popularity of rugby quickly faded however following the success of the state team at the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival in 1908. Western Australia's rugby teams were not nearly competitive against New South Wales, however Western Australia's Australian Football team proved it could be competitive against Victoria. While the school competitions were initially thriving, the code suffered substantially with the successful introduction of Australian Football into Western Australian schools.

Modern revival: 1928-

Rugby match in Perth in 1928

Rugby had not been played in WA for 23 years however it was revived in June 1928 when two teams contested a match in Perth.[8] It was followed by a restarted school competition[9] and the formation of Perth and Fremantle clubs who played at Cottesloe.[10] They were joined by a Northern Suburbs team.

A state team was once again assembled in 1929 to compete against a visiting team from the HMAS Canberra.[11] Rugby in 1930 was once again attracting record crowds, and a 4 team competition was in full swing.[12] The competition was strong enough to field a West Australian team to compete against the touring Great Britain however they were beaten 71 to 3 in front of a crowd of 6,000.[13]

Rugby was relegated to a minor sport until it experienced a revival in the 2000s aided by international migration.

Notable players

See also

References

  1. ^ Ausplay Sports Report 2022 - Rugby Union Western Australia
  2. ^ Bloomfield 2003, p. 15.
  3. ^ Sean Fagan citing NSWRU / ARU archives and History of Hale School
  4. ^ "PIRATES FOOTBALL TEAM". Clare's Weekly. Vol. 2, no. 6. Western Australia. 17 September 1898. p. 14. Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "COMBINED METROPOLITANS (blue and white) AND COMBINED DISTRICTS (red and black) RUGBY FOOTBALL TEAMS. The Districts Team won by seven points to [?]". Western Mail. Vol. XX, no. 1, 023. Western Australia. 5 August 1905. p. 35. Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "RUGBY FOOTBALL—SYDNEY V. PERTH". Western Mail. Vol. XX, no. 1, 028. Western Australia. 9 September 1905. p. 36. Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "RUGBY FOOTBALL". Truth. No. 103. Western Australia. 8 July 1905. p. 6 (CITY EDITION). Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "RUGBY REVIVAL". Western Mail. Vol. XLIII, no. 2, 211. Western Australia. 28 June 1928. p. 6 (The Western Mail). Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "THE RUGBY CODE". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 1589. Western Australia. 8 July 1928. p. 11 (Fourth Section). Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "No title". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 1597. Western Australia. 2 September 1928. p. 1 (Second Section). Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "THE SPORTING GALLERY". Western Mail. Vol. XLIV, no. 2, 282. Western Australia. 7 November 1929. p. 7 (PICTORIAL SECTION). Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "THE FREMANTLE RUGBY CAPTAIN CONVERTING A TRY". The West Australian. Vol. XLVI, no. 8, 725. Western Australia. 10 June 1930. p. 12. Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "RUGBY". The Daily News. Vol. XLIX, no. 17, 280. Western Australia. 23 September 1930. p. 4 (HOME FINAL EDITION). Retrieved 24 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/06/09/13/28/haylett-petty-excited-for-debut
  15. ^ Western Force

Sources

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