This Sunday Sydney University will clash with the University of Queensland for the honour of being crowned Australian Club Champions.
The game will take place at Ballymore in Brisbane on at 2pm this Sunday, with a very large crowd expected to watch two of the giants of Australian Club Rugby battle it out.
Both sides are expected to be powerful, despite a number of players having representative duties.
The Australian Club Championship is an annual challenge match between the Brisbane and Sydney rugby club champions , and was first contested in 1974.
The regular scheduling was abandoned in 1993 when the New South Wales Rugby Union insisted on playing each match in Sydney, at Concord Oval, rather than on a rotating basis.
In 2006, the match was revived and is now played in Brisbane and Sydney in alternate years.
Multiple winners of the title are Randwick (7 wins); Brothers (4 wins) and Sydney University (2 wins).
David Mortimer AO, President of the Sydney University Football Club commented, “We have been fortunate to contest each of the Australian Club Championships in recent years and, to us, it is a very important fixture on the Club Rugby calendar.
Our great sport continues to face many challenges but we still believe that elite club competitions are critical to the future of the game in Australia.
“We have for some years believed that a National Club Competition would add considerable value to Australia’s Rugby calendar but, with such busy International and Super 15 seasons, this now looks unlikely.
“We will continue to explore possibilities. We also feel strongly about the importance of University Rugby in Australia which has a long and proud tradition.
“We see this as an essential component in the Australian domestic rugby program.
“We are looking to develop an inter-varsity competition which, if successful, could include international sides,”
“SUFC believes strongly in both the aspirational and participative aspects of our game and we endeavour to provide opportunities for as many young men and women as possible to play the game, by being a pathway to representative rugby and also by fielding four grade and three colts sides at Sydney University as well as a women’s side and a healthy and growing junior program.
“Our Club, our players and our sponsors and supporters have been looking forward to this match with much enthusiasm. I’m sure that the match will be hard fought but played in the spirit of rugby and its best traditions.
“May the best team win.”
