The ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union is the governing body for

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 ...

in the

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. I ...

and southern regions of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. The union is represented by one team in the Super Rugby competition, the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses whi ...

. The ACT is also home to the

Canberra Vikings The Canberra Vikings, formerly the Canberra Kookaburras, is an Australian rugby union football team that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). The team is based at Viking Park in Wanniassa, and is backed by the Tuggeranong Vikin ...

in the

National Rugby Championship The National Rugby Championship, known as NRC, was an Australian rugby union competition. It was contested by eight teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji. The tournament ran from 2014 until 2019 before being disbanded in 2020 following t ...

History

The union was founded in 1937 as the Federal Capital Territory Rugby Union (FCTRU). It became the Australian Capital Territory Rugby Union (ACTRU) in 1939, and eventually the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union. It received its current name prior to the

2005 Super 12 season The 2005 Super 12 season was the tenth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2005, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, ...

, when the Far South Coast and Southern Inland unions of New South Wales joined the ACT and Monaro Rugby Unions. This change also led to the former ACT Brumbies being renamed Brumbies Rugby.

Jurisdiction

The ACT and Southern New South Wales Union has jurisdiction over the southern-most bordering towns of New South Wales from the eastern coast over to Albury-Wodonga and

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...

. It also includes

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, Yass,

Taralga Taralga is the traditional land of the Gundungurra people. Today it is a small village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Lachlan Shire. It is located at the intersection of the Goulburn-Oberon Road and the Lagga ...

, as well as

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

Batemans Bay Batemans Bay is a town on the South Coast region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Batemans Bay is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire council. The town is situated on the shores of an estuary formed where the Clyde River meets th ...

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

and Canberra.

Competitions

The ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union administers three senior competitions: * ACT Rugby Union * Far South Coast Rugby Union * Southern Inland Rugby Union

ACTRU Premier Division (John I Dent Cup)

Far South Coast Rugby Union (Incorporated into ACTRU Lower Grades)

This union is officially affiliated with the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union instead of the NSW union.

Junior Teams

* Bermagui * FSC Falcons ( Tathra)

Southern Inland Rugby Union

This union is officially affiliated with the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union instead of the NSW union.

Clubs

Junior Clubs

Cootamundra Tri-Colours (Seniors play in

Central West Rugby Union The Central West District Rugby Union, or CWRU, is the Sports governing body, governing body for the sport of rugby union within the Central West (New South Wales), Central West district of New South Wales in Australia. It is a member of the Ne ...

) *

Drovers (No seniors) * Canberra_1999

Temora Tuskers (Seniors play in

) *

West Wyalong West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney and above sea level, it is situated on the crossroads of the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, and th ...

Weevils (Seniors play in

) *

Young Yabbies (Seniors play in

)

Affiliated Clubs

Hillston Hillston is a township in western New South Wales, Australia, in Carrathool Shire, on the banks of the Lachlan River. It was founded in 1863 and at the had a population of 1,465. History John Oxley and his exploration party were the first Eu ...

Hogs (invitational team)

Former Clubs

Junee Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

Rams

ACT representative teams

Coached by Frank O'Rourke, the home team had played its inaugural match only three months earlier. The team's original strip featured an all gold jersey with two green bands. They defeated the Hawkesbury College at the Country Carnival earlier in 1938, and later that season won against the Bathurst side. Three players from the Territory team were selected for NSW Combined Country to play Sydney that year. Rugby in Canberra came of age in the 1970s. ACT scored a 17–11 away win over

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

in 1972, The name "Canberra Kookaburras" was used for the ACT representative team from 1989, Alt URL
but it was to be a further five years before the Canberra Kookaburra club was officially founded.

Australian Rugby Shield

The Vikings entered the Australian Rugby Shield in 2006, playing as the "ACT & Southern NSW Vikings" following the renaming of the ACT Rugby Union after its expansion into Southern New South Wales the previous season. The team had two close matches against NSW Country and Perth Gold during the season, but managed to progress undefeated through the three pool games, semi-final and final to win the competition and take the shield. The Vikings played the Melbourne Axemen in the grand final at Viking Park and never looked back after the third minute when inside centre Josh Staniforth scored the first of the side's five tries for the match in a 36–10 win. In 2022, with the Revival of Australian Rugby Shield ACT and Southern New South Wales Griffins were crowned champions defeating NSW Country 34-31 in the Grand Final at Brighton Oval, Adelaide.https://xplorer.rugby/ars/fixtures-results?comp=All&team=All&tab=Results

Honours

*Australian Rugby Shield Winners (2006, 2022)

References

External links

Brumbies Rugby
- official site of ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union
Australian Capital Territory Rugby Union
- unofficial fan site Australian rugby union governing bodies Rugby union in the Australian Capital Territory Rugby union governing bodies in New South Wales Ru Sports organizations established in 1937 1937 establishments in Australia {{Canberra-stub