Ballina Seahorses Rugby Union Club is a
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
club based in
Ballina, New South Wales
Ballina () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire local government area. Ballina's urban population at June 2018 was 26,381. The town lies on the Richmond River and serves as a g ...
formed in late 1975, entering the local competition in 1976. They conduct teams for both junior and senior competitions, with the senior teams competing in the
Far North Coast Rugby Union. The first-grade side also plays annually against the Wollongbar club for the "Dane Cupitt Shield" — named in honour of Dane Cupitt, a player for both clubs, who died in 2002.
History
Ballina entered the FNC Reserve Grade competition in 1976, with immediate success winning the Premiership. The club fielded their inaugural first-grade side in 1977. Another Reserve grade title followed in 1978, but it would be almost another decade before the club experienced finals success.
The formation of an Under 19 team in 1987 was a particularly important moment in the club's history. The coach was
Len Diett, a former
Wallaby
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...
and teacher at
Ballina High School, and the side were undefeated in the FNC competition. Many of the same players also played in the BHS First XV, also coached by Len, reaching the quarter-finals of the
Waratah Shield
The Waratah Shield is a rugby union knock-out competition for high school teams from New South Wales, Australia. First contested in 1963, it is organised by New South Wales Rugby Union in conjunction with NSW Schools' Rugby Union and NSW Combine ...
. The success of the Under-19s (four consecutive titles) provided the club with a player base and laid the foundation for the successes of the next decade.
The original emblem of the club was a flying
Pelican, but in 1983 it was replaced by the
Sea Horse
A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or " ...
.
Premierships and Club Championships
The Seahorses have won the following premierships:
*1st Grade: 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2007
*Reserve Grade: 1976, 1978, 1995, 2007, 2008, 2009
*Third Grade: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2006, 2007
*Under 19s: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1999
The Seahorses have also won the Club Championship in: 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2007.
Notable Players and Associates
*
Declan Curran – Wallaby, 5 Tests, 1980–83 (involved in the formation of the club)
*
Len Diett – Wallaby, 2 Tests, 1959 (Coached the U/19 team in the 1980s)
[Drysdale p.132.]
Further reading
*
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://www.ballinarugby.com.au/
Ballina RU on Facebook
Rugby union teams in New South Wales
Rugby clubs established in 1976
1976 establishments in Australia
Ballina, New South Wales
Ballina Shire