The Queensland Rugby Union, or QRU, is the
governing body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...
for the sport of
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 ...
within the state of
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
, established_ ...
in
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 ...
. It is a member and founding union of
Rugby Australia
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 competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...
.
The QRU was founded in
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 ...
in 1883 as the ''Northern Rugby Union'',
[ after breaking away from the ]Queensland Football Association
The Queensland Football Association (QFA) was the first governing body for football in the Colony of Queensland founded on 30 April 1880. Its role was primarily to facilitate club and representative matches primarily in Australian rules football ...
before being formally constituted in 1893 when the name was changed to the Queensland Rugby Football Union.[
The first 1883 season began with two clubs: Fireflies and Wanderers. Early intercolonials were played at ]Eagle Farm Racecourse
Eagle Farm Racecourse is a heritage-listed horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located at the northern end of Racecourse Road in the suburb of Ascot, from the Brisbane central business district.
The turf track is wid ...
.
Early member clubs
* Fireflies (1883)
* Wanderers (1883)
* Wasps (1884)
* Wallaroo (1885)
* Beenleigh (1887)
See also
*Rugby union in Queensland
Rugby union in Queensland has traditionally been one of the most popular professional and recreational team sports.
The earliest known Rugby football matches were played in Brisbane from 1876 through to 1878. Rugby struggled to gain a foothold ...
*Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competition ...
References
External links
Queensland Rugby Union
{{Authority control
1883 establishments in Australia
Sports organizations established in 1883