In Australia, what is considered the third tier of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

is often referred to as club rugby, grade rugby or premier rugby. Club Rugby often focuses on the major metropolitan areas of the respective unions, with teams representing various districts and suburbs. The teams represented in the first grade can and have changed over time, and are open to change at the discretion of the governing body.

Sydney Premiership

The Shute Shield is a rugby union competition in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, New South Wales. It is the premier grade rugby trophy in Sydney rugby. The shield is contested by 11 Sydney Rugby Union clubs and one from

Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union 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. History The earliest report of a footbal ...

. The first Sydney club competition was held in 1874, contested by Balmain,

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and

The King's School, Parramatta The King's School is an Education in Australia#Non-government schools, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Pre-school education, early learning, primary school, primary and secondary school, secondary day and boarding school, boardi ...

. The Shute Shield is seen as the traditional successor to this competition. The shield was donated to the

New South Wales Rugby Union The New South Wales Rugby Union, or NSWRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within most of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. Within Australia it is considered t ...

in 1923 by

Sydney University Football Club The Sydney University Football Club, founded in 1863, is the oldest club now playing rugby union in Australia, although this date is disputed by historian Tom Hickie who argues that it was 1865. Sydney Uni was a member of the inaugural Sydne ...

, and was named in honour of Robert Elliott Stewart Shute who died while playing for The Rest v NSW XV on 5 June 1922. ;Current clubs

Queensland Premier Rugby

Queensland Premier Rugby is the top club competition in Queensland. Nine clubs take part: eight from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and a club each from the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. The first club rugby competition in Queensland was the Hospital Football Challenge, which began in 1899. It was an annual fund-raising venture for the Brisbane Hospital, but the game fell away during and after WWI, and rugby union was abandoned in Queensland after 1919. The competition was restored in 1929 and the original trophy, the magnificent ''Hospital Cup'' became the premiership trophy again. It is now awarded to the winner of the Premier Rugby grand final.

ACTRU Premier Division

The ACTRU Premier Division is the top rugby club competition in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. It is conducted by the region's governing body, the

ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union The ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Australian Capital Territory and southern regions of New South Wales. The union is represented by one team in the Super Rugby competition, the Brumbies. The ACT i ...

. The competition was first held in 1938. There are currently, six ACT clubs that compete in the top division. The trophy awarded to the winner of the grand final is the ''John I Dent Cup'', named after the benefactor who donated it to the union. All of the finals are played at

Viking Park Viking Park is an 7,000 capacity (1,000 seated) multi-sport stadium located in the Tuggeranong Valley suburb Wanniassa, Canberra, Australia. It has a rectangular playing surface which is used primarily to host rugby union matches but additiona ...

RugbyWA Premier Grade

The RugbyWA Premier Grade is contested by 14 teams from the Greater Perth Area. The teams currently in the RugbyWA Premier Grade are:

Victorian Premier Division

The Dewar Shield is contested by 8 teams from the Greater Melbourne Area.

South Australian Premier Grade

The Cooper Premier Grade is contested by 9 teams. As of 2018, there are fourteen clubs which make up RUSA, eleven of these clubs field senior men's sides, eight field senior women's sides and 11 field junior sides. There is also a golden oldies club for players 35+, and a rugby sevens club for women and girls (12+).

Tasmanian Division One

As at the end of 2019, there are 13 clubs which make up the TRU. Teams currently in the Tasmanian Division One are: Ten of these clubs field senior men's sides, eight field senior women's sides, and five field junior sides. There is also a "golden oldies" club for players aged 35+.

Darwin First Grade

The First Grade competition is contested by 5 teams from the Darwin area. * Casuarina Cougars *

Darwin Dragons Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

Palmerstown Crocs Palmerstown (; officially Palmerston, see spelling) is a civil parish and suburb in western Dublin on the banks of the River Liffey. It forms part of the South Dublin local authority and the Dublin Mid-West parliamentary constituency. The are ...

South Darwin Rabbitohs The South Darwin Rabbitohs are a semi-professional Rugby league club based in Marrara, Northern Territory. They play home games at TIO Stadium. They won one premiership in 2003 by beating the Darwin Brothers 51–50. See also *List of rugby l ...

* University Pirates

Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union Premiership

The Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union is based around the NSW city of Newcastle, located ~160 km north of Sydney. The earliest report of a football match in Newcastle was in 1860, when '''a lover of the old English games has offered one of Mrs. O’Hagan’s most fashionable bonnets as a prize to the fortunate party who shall give the winning (final) kick in a game of foot-ball, to be played on the new cricket ground, near St. John's Church. A precursor to the formation of a local union, the Raysmith Challenge Cup was commenced in 1887 and was contested by Newcastle, Waratah, Advance, Orientals, Union, Ferndale, West Maitland, Raymond Terrace, East Maitland Imperial, Singleton and East Maitland clubs. In 1888 the Northern Branch of the NSW Rugby Football Union was established, later renamed the Newcastle Rugby Union. The competition was suspended during World War 1, reforming in 1925. The 1925 competition comprised Cook's Hill Old Boys, Newcastle High School Old Boys, Great Public Schools' Old Boys (later Wanderers), Lysaght's Limited, Northern Suburbs and Mayfield. The NHRU currently sponsors Premier Rugby, Divisional Men’s, Social Men’s, Women’s, Juniors and Schools competitions. The 2019 Premier Rugby competition was contested by nine clubs across 3 men’s grades. Premier Rugby Clubs in the NHRU (2019)

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Union In Australia

Competitions Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

Lists of sports events in Australia