UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB INC.

The University of Queensland Rugby Football Club, although recently incorporated, was founded in 1911. Since then the Club has seen many thousands of young men and women enjoy the game of Rugby and develop many friendships.

University is the most successful Brisbane Club having won 23 First Grade Premierships throughout its decorated past. The Club is affiliated with the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) which is one of the member unions of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU). The Rugby Club is also affiliated with the University of Queensland and has a formal relationship with local junior club, the Kenmore Bears.

The University of Queensland Rugby Club provides an environment where excellence and academic achievements are encouraged and extolled. Thoughout the years, the Club has established a proud Rugby tradition of great camaraderie, mateship and enjoyment which has signficantly contributed to its ongoing success both on and off the field.

Many of the Club's players have been rewarded with representative honours whilst others have further contributed to the game as coaches, managers or administrators. More than 210 University players have represented Queensland with 60 having been selected for Australia (8 as captain).

In terms of elite coahces, the following have represented the Club at the highest level:
- Wallaby coaches: Bob Templeton and Jake Howard
- Queensland coaches: Mark McBain and Jeff Miller
- Other Super 14 coaches: David Nucifora

Past players including Norbert Byrne, David Crombie, Dick Marks, Leo Williams, Paul McNicholl and David Usasz have also made a mark on the game with their time served on the Board of the Queensland Rugby Union.

Moving forward, University is building towards its centenary year in 2011. The Club is looking to build on its 270 registered players and 11 teams which were fielded in 2008. The emergence of talented young players is very encouraging as is evidenced by the following 2009 selections;
- Queensland Reds: James Horwill (Captain), Adam Byrnes, James Hanson, Ezra
Taylor and Laurie Weeks
- Reds Academy: Aaron Chapman, Jono Lance, Luke Morahan, Mark Swanepoel

The Rugby Club is located on the Univeristy of Queensland St Lucia campus where is has its own Clubhouse and the use of three uliminated fields. The Club is administered by a committee of honorary members who are assisted by full time staff and coaches.

THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND (UQ)

The University of Queensland was established by an Act of State Parliament on December 10, 1909 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Queensland’s separation from the colony of New South Wales. Its foundation four months later made it the first university in the State and the fifth in the nation.

In 1911, 83 students (including 23 women) attended the first classes in Government House, George Street, Brisbane. The University's move from George Street to St Lucia was accomplished between 1946 and 1972 and it now has in excess of 30,000 students enrolled.

The University of Queensland's St Lucia campus is considered by many to be Australia's most attractive. Located seven kilometres from the city's heart on a magnificent 114-hectare site in a bend of the Brisbane River, the campus has expansive landscaped grounds and many playing fields.

The University provides an opportunity for sportsmen and women to participate in a multitude of sports at various levels - College, Faculty, Club, Inter-Varsity, State and International. UQ is home to the largest multi-sport facility in Queensland and therefore provides premium facilities for its various sport clubs, including Rugby Union.

The University of Queensland Sports and Physical Recreation Association was first established in 1911. UQ Sport (as it has been known since 1995) offers in excess of 380 programs and attracts over 20,000 participants in social sport, recreation, adventure and college sport. UQ Sport has one million visits per annum through their sporting venues and has produced 55 Olympians and 100 Wallabies throughout their history. UQ Sport consistently wins an average of five Brisbane Club Premierships per annum.

UQ RUGBY ACADEMY

To further the sport of Rugby Union at the University, UQ (operating through the School of Human Movement Studies), UQ Sport and the UQ Rugby Club joined together to establish a Rugby Academy on the University of Queensland St. Lucia campus.

The Foundation perceived that there was a need both nationally and internationally for more Rugby Academies to cater for the desire of players and administrators, to lift the skill level of players and coaches and to further internationalise the sport. World class universities around the globe are seen as desirable partners in this process.

The Foundation saw Brisbane as an ideal destination and UQ, home to the largest multi-sport facility in Queensladn, as the premium location to base the Rugby Academy.