The Uni-Norths Owls 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 it ...

club located on the campus of the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

(ANU) 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 ...

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 township#Aust ...

. The club was a result of the merger of ANU and

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

rugby clubs in 1998, with Northern Suburbs joining in 2001. The club's colours are navy, gold and green. The Uni-Norths home playing fields and clubhouse, known as ‘The Barn’, are located on the grounds of the Australian National University and are within a few minutes walk of the Canberra CBD. The clubhouse has a second-floor balcony which overlooks the Rugby and Cricket No. 1 Oval, with a licensed bar facility and a large catered function centre.

History

The rugby clubs of Northern Suburbs and Canberra University College (CUC, which later integrated with the ANU) were foundation members of the Federal Capital Territory Rugby Union (FCTRU). The FCTRU, which later became the ACTRU and eventually 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 ...

, was formed in 1937. The Canberra grade competition began in 1938. The Northern Suburbs club played in a myrtle green jersey and was known as the Galloping Greens. Norths won the John I Dent Cup for the premiership seven times between 1940 and 1972. Notable players for Norths include Owen Butler, who was selected for the Wallabies in 1969. The ANU club wore a jersey with blue and white hoops, and started playing in the first grade competition in 1960 after an amalgamation of existing ACTRU grade clubs from

Canberra University College Canberra University College was a tertiary education institution established in Canberra by the Australian government and the University of Melbourne in 1930. At first it operated in the Telopea Park School premises after hours. Most of the initi ...

(entered first grade in 1938) and

Australian Forestry School The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

(entered first grade in 1949). Notable ANU players include Laurie Fisher who captained the first grade team to win the John I Dent Cup in 1992 and later became the coach of 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 ...

. In 1998 the ANU Rugby Club was amalgamated with the University of Canberra Rugby Club (UC Killer Bees). The UC club had fielded teams in the Monaro Division competition and was founded in 1971 at the Canberra College of Advanced Education (CCAE), which became the University of Canberra in 1990. Norths ceded from the ACTRU Premier competition in 2001 and formed a coalition with the new University club. Although not a legal merger, the coalition proved successful, with the Norths Junior Owls receiving additional coaching and administrative resources and junior players progressing through to the senior club.

Recent events

The club won the

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

Rugby Sevens Tournament in both the men's and women's competitions in 2009. The Owls won the Laffan Cup, awarded to the winning team of the Australian Universities Rugby Championship in 2011. The Owls women's side won the ACT premiership and minor premiership double in 2014. The Owls women's sevens team also won the Bowl in the Bowral 7's competition in 2014. The Owls Women's premier division side (XV's) won the 2019 Grand Final defeating Royals 40-19.

Honours

John I Dent Cup

:''Australian National University (1959–98)'' ::Premierships (1): 1992. :''Northern Suburbs (1938–2000)'' ::Premierships (7): 1972, 1971, 1967, 1963, 1956, 1948, 1940. Notes Women's Premier - Premierships (4): 2006, 2010, 2015, 2019.

Coaches

The Owls' current coaches are: * ''1sts Coach:'' ''Russell Ingram, Assistant: Sam Rolfe, Manager: Deon Norval *Women: Greg Ritchie, * 2nds Coach: Wayne Giddings * Colts Coaches: Charlie Fairfield-Smith * 3rds & 4ths Coach: Dave Oliver

Notable members

Players who have gone on to gain international or provincial caps: * Owen Butler (Norths) –

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

1969–71. * Laurie Fisher (ANU) – ACT representative team 1985–92,

coach 2005–08, 2014. * Ben Alexander (Uni-North Owls) –

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 som ...

David Pocock David Willmer Pocock (born 23 April 1988) is an Australian politician and former professional rugby union player. Raised in Gweru, Zimbabwe, Pocock moved to Australia as a teenager and played for the Australia national rugby team. He played p ...

(Uni-North Owls) -

(list may be incomplete)

References

External links

Official website

Uni-Norths Owls Junior Rugby Union Club
{{Australian_National University Rugby union teams in the Australian Capital Territory University and college rugby union clubs in Australia Rugby clubs established in 1937 1937 establishments in Australia Australian National University