The Ipswich Rangers, 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 its m ...

football club located in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, Queensland, Australia. The club currently competes in the top division of the Queensland Suburban competition for the Barber and Pegg Cups, and previously played in the Brisbane Premiership now known as

Queensland Premier Rugby Queensland Premier Rugby is a semi professional club rugby union competition in Queensland, Australia. Nine clubs play in the competition, eight of which are from Brisbane with one club from the Gold Coast. The premiership has been contested ...

. The Ipswich Rangers play their home matches at Woodend Park, and the team wears a green and white strip.

History

The original Ipswich Rangers Rugby Club was formed in July 1886, and played a Combined Brisbane team a month later. In 1887 the Rangers won the Hardgrave Challenge Cup for the premiership of the Colony of Queensland, defeating the Wanderers club of Brisbane in the deciding match by 5 points to 2. The Ipswich Rangers also played the first touring

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rugby team in 1888. But by 1891 the club was not able to regularly field a team and began to forfeit matches. Other rugby sides were then formed in Ipswich, including the Athenian Club, Bells Football Club, Raceview, and the City Football Club. The present Ipswich Rangers Rugby Club was formed in 1968. Ipswich won their first senior trophy in 1974, defeating Surfers Paradise by 38-4 to win the Sunday Truth Shield for the Queensland Sub-districts A-grade competition. In 1979 the club was promoted to the Brisbane Premiership and the A-grade team defeated the reigning premiers

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

by 21-19 at Woodend Park, but that was the team's only win of the season. The Ipswich first team played through the 1987 season undefeated to win the Sub-districts A-grade competition and in the following two seasons went on to claim three titles in a row. In the restyled Queensland Suburban Rugby Union competition, Ipswich Rangers won the Barber Cup in 2005, 2006 and 2010. The club won the title again in 2012, defeating Wynnum Bugs by 33-26 in the grand final at Ballymore.

International players

Former Australian international player, and ARU president, Paul McLean played for the Ipswich Rangers in the early 1970s. New Zealander Mak Fatialofa, a former

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

representative, played for Ipswich in 1987.

Honours

Queensland Premiership ( Northern Rugby Union) * Hardgrave Cup: 1887 Queensland Sub-districts Rugby Union * A-grade Premiers (Sunday Truth Shield): 1974, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992 Queensland Suburban Rugby Union - First Division * First grade Premiers (Barber Cup): 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012

References

External links

Ipswich Rangers Rugby Union Club
official website {{QSRU Rugby union teams in Queensland 1886 establishments in Australia Rugby clubs established in 1886 Sport in Ipswich, Queensland