Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier
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 ...
competition in Australia and teams.
[ It has its origins in 1949. It is a member of ]World Rugby
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
. Rugby Australia has eight member unions, representing each state and the Australian Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
and Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
. It also manages national representative rugby union teams, including the Wallabies
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 so ...
and the Wallaroos
The Australia women's national rugby union team, also known as the Wallaroos, has competed at all Women's Rugby World Cups since 1998, with their best result finishing in third place in 2010.
Australian women have been playing rugby since th ...
.
History
Until the end of the 1940s, the New South Wales Rugby Union, as the senior rugby organisation in Australia, was responsible for administration of a national representative rugby team, including all tours. However, the various state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
unions agreed that the future of rugby in Australia would be better served by having a national administrative body and so the Australian Rugby Football Union was formed at a conference in Sydney in 1945, acting initially in an advisory capacity only.[ Additional impetus came in 1948 when the International Rugby Football Board invited Australia specifically (rather than a New South Wales representative), to take a seat on the Board.
The constitution of the Australian Rugby Football Union was ratified on 25 November 1949 at the inaugural council meeting of eleven delegates from the state unions of New South Wales, Queensland, ]South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and 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 ...
.[ The ]ACT 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 ...
gained membership in 1972. The Northern Territory Rugby Union
The Northern Territory Rugby Union, or NTRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within the Northern Territory in Australia. It is a member of Rugby Australia.
The Northern Territory Rugby Union manages competitions in several age ...
joined in 1978, initially as an associate union before later being granted membership and voting rights.
In 1985 the Australian Rugby Football Union was incorporated as a company (ACN 002 898 544). In 1997, it was renamed Australian Rugby Union Limited, known as the ARU and again renamed, in 2017, as Rugby Australia Limited.
A founding member, the New South Wales Rugby Union, lost two affiliated regional organisations in 2004 when they affiliated to the ACT Rugby Union which became the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union.[
Rugby Australia's major sponsor, since 2004, is ]Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
. Qantas has had official naming rights for the 'Qantas Wallabies'.[
In 2017, the Australian Rugby Union was re-branded Rugby Australia,][ coinciding with relocating to their new premises in Moore Park, ]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 ...
.[
In July 2021, Rugby Australia announced plans are underway to construct an Australian Rugby Museum. It will feature items from Wallabies and Wallaroos history along with the provincial history of the sport, dating back to the late 19th century.
]
Governance
The organisation's governing structures were overhauled in December 2012, following a review authored by the former federal senator and Minister for Sport, Mark Arbib.[
]
Members
Rugby Australia's members (shareholders) include state and territory Rugby unions, together with the owners of the Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
bodies within Australia and the Rugby Union Players' Association (RUPA).[
Members exercise their voting rights at the annual general meeting. Under the new constitution adopted in 2012, the eight existing state and territory member unions, the RUPA and each Super Rugby team owner each provide a delegate who has one allocated vote. A delegate from a member union with more than 50,000 registered players in their region is granted a second vote. Only the New South Wales Rugby Union and Queensland Rugby Union exceed that mark at present, so the total number of members' votes is currently sixteen. There are also a number of affiliated groups that do not have voting rights.][
Under this revised governance system, a greater share of influence and control shifted from grass roots team and club representation through the state and territory unions to commercial team owners and the professional players association.
]Note: The Australian Society of Rugby Referees, and Australian Universities Rugby Union were also previously non-voting affiliates until 2005 and 2014, respectively.
New South Wales Country Rugby Union
The New South Wales Country Rugby Union, or NSWCRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within most of New South Wales in Australia.
The NSWCRU is affiliated with the New South Wales Rugby Union and administers game in the majori ...
and Sydney Rugby Union were also non-voting affiliates until April 2017.
[
]
Prior to 2012, the voting franchise made no allowance for Super Rugby teams or the Players' Association. There were simply fourteen votes split as follows:[
* NSW Rugby Union: 5
* Queensland Rugby Union: 3
* Other state and territory member unions: 1 each
]
Board and executive
The board must have at least six independent directors, appointed to three-year terms by a two-thirds majority vote of members, in addition to the managing director (chief executive). Up to two further directors may be appointed by ordinary resolution of the board. The board may elect one of the directors as the chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
, with the position to be formally reconsidered at least every three years. Executive officers, including the chief executive, are appointed by the board of directors.
List of chairpersons from 1996 onwards:
* Hamish McLennan (2020–present)
* Paul McLean, interim (2020)[
* Cameron Clyne (2015–2020)
* ]Michael Hawker
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
(2012–2015)
* Peter McGrath (2007–2012)
* Ron Graham (2005–2007)
* Dilip Kumar (2005)
* Bob Tuckey (2001–2005)
* David Clarke (1998–2001)
* Dick McGruther (1996–1998)
* Leo Williams (1994–1996)
List of chief executives from 1996 onwards:*
*Andy Marinos
Andy Marinos is a Zimbabwean former rugby footballer who played rugby league and rugby union professionally and represented Wales at rugby union.
Rugby league career
Marinos signed for Australian rugby league club the Sydney Bulldogs in 1996, p ...
(2021–present)
* Rob Clarke, interim (2020–2021)[
* ]Raelene Castle
Raelene Castle (born 30 September 1970) is a sports executive who has worked in Australia and New Zealand. She was chief executive officer of Rugby Australia from 2017 to 2020, before becoming chief executive officer of Sport New Zealand.
Ear ...
(2017–2020)
* Bill Pulver
William Pulver is a former Australian sporting administrator. He was the CEO of the Australian Rugby Union after succeeding John O'Neill in early 2013.
Pulver's daughter Madeleine was the victim of the Mosman bomb hoax in 2011.
Personal lif ...
(2013–2017)
* John O'Neill (2007–2013)
* Gary Flowers (2004–2007)
* Matt Carroll, interim (2003)
* John O'Neill (1995–2003)
Teams
''National teams''
*Wallabies
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 so ...
– the national rugby union team.
*Wallaroos
The Australia women's national rugby union team, also known as the Wallaroos, has competed at all Women's Rugby World Cups since 1998, with their best result finishing in third place in 2010.
Australian women have been playing rugby since th ...
– the national women's rugby union team.
''National sevens teams''
* Men's 7s – the national rugby union seven-a-side team.[
* Women's 7s - the national women's seven-a-side rugby union team.
''Other teams''
*]Junior Wallabies
The Junior Wallabies is the national under-20 team that represents Australia playing rugby union. The team has been competing at the annual World Rugby U20 Championship since it began in 2008, replacing the previously held under-19 and under-2 ...
– the under-20 age graded side that competes for the World Rugby Junior Championship.
*Australian Schoolboys
The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players ...
– a representative team of school players that has developed some of today's current Wallabies.
''Former teams''
* Australia A – the former second-level national rugby union team behind the Wallabies.
* Under 21s – a former age graded side that has developed players who went on to become Wallabies.
* Under 19s – a former age graded side that has developed players who went on to become Wallabies.
Hall of Fame
Rugby Australia promotes and selects a Hall of Fame honouring notable former players. Each year two or three of Australia's greats from all eras of the international game are selected by an eight-man committee to be inducted into the Wallaby Hall of Fame. Inductees are drawn from all Test teams starting with the first side in 1899. Consideration is given to a player's on-field career but induction is not based on statistical achievement alone.
To be eligible for inclusion in the Wallaby Hall of Fame, a player must have:
* Played at least one Test for Australia
* Been retired from Rugby for at least 10 years
* Made a major contribution to the game of Rugby
* Demonstrated outstanding ability, sportsmanship, commitment, character and personal contribution to their team and the game in their era.
Hall of Fame members:[
]
Controversies
Support for same-sex marriage
In 2017, Rugby Australia management declared itself in favour of same-sex marriage
Israel Folau saga
In 2018, Rugby Australia became involved in a controversy with player and Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
preacher
A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...
Israel Folau
Israel Folau ( to, ‘Isileli Folau; born 3 April 1989) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who plays for the Shining Arcs in the Japan Rugby League One and the Tonga national rugby union team.
He has previously played Aust ...
over his social media posts expressing his religious views seeking to save homosexuals from hell when he called on them to "repent of their sins and turn to God". On 17 May 2019, Rugby Australia terminated Folau's player contract. On 6 June 2019, Folau launched legal proceedings with the Fair Work Commission
The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Australia ...
against Rugby Australia and the Waratahs under section 772 of the Fair Work Act
The ''Fair Work Act 2009'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed by the Rudd Government to reform the industrial relations system of Australia. It replaced the Howard Government's WorkChoices legislation, it established Fai ...
, which makes it unlawful to terminate employment on the basis of religion. The Australian Christian Lobby
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is a conservative right-wing Christian Advocacy group, advocacy organisation based in Canberra. It is similar to the other international Christian lobby groups, and seeks to represent Christian citizens and v ...
(ACL) announced on 25 June 2019 that it was donating $100,000 to Folau and was setting up an donation site for his legal costs. The campaign raised over $2 million in two days before being paused by the ACL with Folau's consent. On 19 July 2019, the Fair Work Commission issued a certificate confirming all reasonable attempts to resolve the dispute between Folau and Rugby Australia had been unsuccessful. On 1 August 2019, Folau launched legal action in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia, formerly known as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Service, was an Australian court with jurisdiction over matters broadly relating to family law and child support, ad ...
, against RA and NSW Rugby for unlawful termination on the basis of religion, breach of contract and restraint of trade. Folau sought an apology, compensation, penalties and the right to play rugby union again.[}] In November 2019, Folau increased his compensation claim against Rugby Australia to $14 million, claiming that he could have been a Wallabies captain.
Folau and Rugby Australia issued a joint statement and apology on 4 December 2019 that stated no harm had been intended by either party and announced that a confidential settlement had been reached.
Financial Crisis
Rugby Australia's parlous financial position following the Folau affair became apparent upon the COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
outbreak in 2020 when it was forced to lay off three quarters of its employees and seek agreements with players to reduce payments. The CEO, Raelene Castle was replaced and calls continued for a shake-up of the board and management.
See also
* Rugby Union Players' Association
The Rugby Union Players' Association (RUPA) is the representative body for professional rugby union players in Australia. It was formed in October 1995 in response to the professionalism of rugby.
As soon as a player signs a Rugby contract in A ...
References
External links
*
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*
Archives
*
Member webpages
{{Authority control
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
1945 establishments in Australia
Sports organizations established in 1945
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...