Melbourne University Rugby Football Club (MURFC), the oldest rugby club in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, is a Foundation Club of the

Victorian Rugby Union Rugby Victoria, formerly the Victorian Rugby Union, is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. Within the state of Victoria, it is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. Rugby Victoria manages competitions for males and femal ...

, participating in the top-tier Victorian Premier Division since 1909. MURFC is the only Foundation Club to remain continuously in the Victorian Premier Division since its inception.

Teams and players

MURFC fields men's and women's teams in the Senior Divisions across First, Second and Third Grades, in addition to a Colts (U20) team and an over 35’s “Gents” team. Several recent MURFC players have been recruited into professional teams, notably including current Melbourne Rebels and Wallabies hooker Jordan Uelese. Playing membership is not restricted to

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

students.

Senior Men's

Men's Premier Division teams: *Premier 1 *Premier 2 *Premier 3 These teams compete for the

Dewar Shield The Dewar Shield is a rugby union competition in Melbourne. It is the professional and semi-professional premier grade for rugby in Victoria. A total of nine teams from the Victorian Rugby Union compete for the trophy. Local TV Channel 31 bro ...

in Victoria's top-tier men's grade competition.

Senior Women's

Women's Premier Division teams: *Premier 1 These teams compete for the Lindroth Cup in Victoria's top-tier women's grade competition.

Colts (U20)

Men's age-restricted Colts (U20) Division teams: *Colts 1 *Colts 2

Youth Girls

Women's age-restricted competition teams: *Premier 1

Masters

Men's social competition teams: *Gents 1 Teams in this grade compete for pride.

Identity

Nicknamed ''Uni'' or ''The Students'', the club plays at HG Smith Oval (and surrounding fields) in Parkville. MURFC typically fields a strong contingent of local and international players, with Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, France, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands strongly represented. The club's colours are black, blue and white with a strip featuring prominent blue/white hoops with black trim.

Club song

After a winning performance, MURFC men's teams typically perform the celebratory club song.

Association with University of Melbourne

The club maintains close ties with the university. Particularly during the off/pre-season, and for various strength & conditioning activities throughout the year, training sessions are often carried out on campus, making use of the University of Melbourne's extensive sporting facilities. Students of the university that play with MURFC are eligible to compete at the annual

Australian University Games The UniSport Nationals is a multi-sport event held annually between the 43 Australian universities and tertiary institutions. Overseen by UniSport, the peak governing body of university sport in Australia, the nationals is the flagship event on ...

; the club serves as a major conduit for student athletes wishing to participate in the Games, and is typically responsible for the training and organisation of the rugby team(s) sent to represent the University of Melbourne.

Sponsorship

Buildcorp became Principal Sponsor of MURFC in 2017 season, with a prominent logo featured on the chest of senior grade jerseys.

Notable players

* Edward "Weary" Dunlop (Wallabies) * Matt Cockbain (Wallabies, Reds) * Geoff Vaughan (Wallabies) *

Fereti Sa'aga Fereti Sa'aga (born 26 February 1995) is a former Australian professional rugby union player who played for the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby and Melbourne Rising in the National Rugby Championship. His position was prop. Career He made his ...

(Melbourne Rebels) * Rob Leota (Melbourne Rebels) * Jordan Uelese (Wallabies, Melbourne Rebels) *

Sam Jeffries Sam Jeffries (born 20 May 1992) is an Australian rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for thNEC Green Rocketsin thJapan Top Leagueand previously played as a lock for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super Rugby competition since 2014. ...

(Melbourne Rebels) * Jonah Placid (Melbourne Rebels) *

Dom Shipperley Dominic Shipperley (born 4 January 1991) is a retired professional rugby union footballer who played for the Australian national team in both test rugby and rugby sevens. In Super Rugby, he played four seasons with the Queensland Reds from 201 ...

(Melbourne Rebels)

History

Origins

In 1908, the University of Sydney challenged the students of the University of Melbourne to play a game of rugby football. A core group of players with a motivation to compete more regularly lead to the formation of the Club in the following year; officially founded in 1909, the Melbourne University Rugby Football Club (MURFC) was the oldest of five Foundation Clubs to establish the Victorian Rugby Union. This first intervarsity game and the subsequent founding of MURFC was commemorated in 2009 with an exhibition match between the Melbourne and Sydney university sides, each wearing heritage jerseys in a nod to their shared history. MURFC won its first Premiership in 1910, and is unique in having fielded a team in the top-tier of Victorian club rugby in every season since its foundation.

References

{{University of Melbourne Rugby union teams in Victoria (state) Rugby clubs established in 1909 Sports clubs and teams in Melbourne 1909 establishments in Australia Sport at the University of Melbourne University and college rugby union clubs in Australia Sport in the City of Melbourne (LGA)