Brumbies (rugby)

Brumbies

Founded	1996
Union	Australian Rugby Union
Location	Canberra, Australia
Region	Australian Capital Territory and southern New South Wales
Ground(s)	Canberra Stadium
Capacity	24,647
Coach	Andy Friend
Captain	Stirling Mortlock
League	Super 14
2008	9th
1st kit 2nd kit

The Brumbies (formerly known as the ACT Brumbies, for sponsorship reasons referred to as CA Brumbies) are a Super 14 rugby union team based in Canberra, Australia and named for the wild horses which inhabit Canberra's hinterland. The team represents the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and southern New South Wales (NSW) regions.

The Brumbies were formed in 1996 to provide a third Australian franchise for the newly-formed Super 12 (now Super 14) competition. It was predicted that the Brumbies, made up of so called 'rejects' — players not wanted by the other two teams — would perform poorly. Since then, they have enjoyed more success than the other two (the New South Wales Waratahs and the Queensland Reds), reaching five finals and winning two, being the only Australian team to have done so.

The Brumbies play in navy blue, white and gold kits. The team plays at Canberra Stadium (formerly known as Bruce Stadium) in Canberra and is currently coached by Laurie Fisher who is stepping down at the conclusion of the 2008 season and will be replaced by Andy Friend for the 2009 season onwards. The Brumbies are captained by Stirling Mortlock with George Smith serving as interim captain for the first half of the 2008 season while Mortlock recovered from off-season shoulder surgery.^[1]

History

Rugby union football has a long history in the ACT. The British Isles opened their 1899 tour of Australia with a match in Goulburn. However, it was not until 1938 that the ACT Rugby Union was finally established. Four clubs made up the first local competition; University, Easts, RMC and Norths. Also that year, a representative ACT side faced off against the All Blacks, losing 5 to 56.

The first international victory for an ACT representative side was in 1973, when they defeated Tonga 17 points to six. In 1978 an ACT side defeated Wales, who were Five Nations champions at the time. ACT had trailed at half time, 6 to 16, but came back and won with a penalty kick in the final moments of the match.

ACT defeated NSW 44 to 28 at Sydney's Concord Oval in 1994, which led the way for the ACT to become a franchise, and be included in the new professional international Super 12 competition, alongside the Reds and Waratahs. ACT became Australia's third provincial team in the new competition, known officially as the ACT Brumbies.

In the inaugural Super 12 season, under coach Rod Macqueen, the Brumbies actually finished fifth on the table after the regular season, narrowly missing out on a finals position. The following season was even more successful as the Brumbies entered the 1997 Super 12 Final, but lost to the Auckland Blues.

Eddie Jones took over as head coach in 1998, but the Brumbies fell to tenth place on the 1998 season ladder. However, the following season saw a big improvement, as they finished fifth for the second time in their Super rugby history, just missing out on the finals. In 2000, the Brumbies made it to the 2000 Super 12 Final for the second time, and were actually hosting it as well. They were however beaten by the Crusaders, by just the one point, losing 19 to 20.

Brumbies vs Waratahs, April 2006

In 2001 they backed up their good performance in 2000 to again enter the final, this time against the Sharks from Durban. The Brumbies won the match, and in doing so, became the first team outside of New Zealand to be crowned Super 12 champions (and the only such team in the Super 12 era; the Bulls of South Africa won the 2007 Super 14). That year the British Lions also came to Australia, and played a match against the Brumbies. The combined strength of four nations was pitted against the Brumbies Second XV with the tourists winning by just two points, 30 to 28.

David Nucifora took over as head coach at the Brumbies for the 2002 season. Under Nucifora the Brumbies entered their third Super 12 final in a row, again against the Crusaders who had defeated them in the 2000 final. The Crusaders won the match, 31 to 13. The following season, going for four straight final appearances, the Brumbies fell just short, being knocked out in the semi-finals by the Blues. They did however go onto to beat Fiji and Tonga later that year.

In 2004 the Brumbies finished at the top of the Super 12 table, six points clear of the next best team. The Brumbies hosted the 2004 Super 12 Final as well, and were to face the Crusaders once again. Though this time, the Brumbies won, 47 to 38 in front of a record crowd at Canberra Stadium. During the off-season the ACT Rugby Union was renamed the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union, and the name of the team was changed to Brumbies Rugby.

Laurie Fisher took over as coach for the 2005 season. After an undefeated run in the early stages of the season, injuries began to mount up and the Brumbies eventually finished fifth, missing out on the finals. The following year the competition was expanded to the Super 14, introducing one new team from Australia and South Africa.

In 2006 the Brumbies finished sixth, missing out on the finals by 1 point, having never dropped out of the top four all season prior to the last round. Later that year the Brumbies played in the inaugural Australian Provincial Championship (APC). In their opening game they defeated the NSW Waratahs 14-13 at Viking Park. This win snapped a 3 game losing streak against their traditional rivals. They then went on to defeat the Western Force 25-10, again at Viking Park. Despite narrowly losing, 20-19, to the Queensland Reds on the road in Brisbane, the Brumbies won the right to face the Reds in the final back in Viking Park. They won this more comfortably, 42-17, securing the inaugural APC.

The Brumbies have announced that Andy Friend will succeed incumbent coach Laurie Fisher at the conclusion of the 2008 Super 14 season.^[2]

Colours and name

The Brumbies traditional colours are navy blue, white and gold. Their primary jersey is navy with gold trim, with navy shorts and socks. The alternate jersey is primarily white with navy sides and gold trim, generally worn for away matches. The Brumbies also have a traditional jersey which is used for games against fellow Australian Super 12 foundation teams NSW and Queensland, which reflects the original home jersey worn between 1996 and 2005. This features a navy 'saddle' across the shoulders and white below chest level, with gold trim. The primary jersey sposor is software company CA with DHL the sleeve sponsor and clothing sponsorship by ISC.

The team is named after the wild horses which inhabit Canberra's hinterland. The Brumbies mascot is Brumby Jack. The Brumbies were originally known as the ACT Brumbies when they were accepted into the Super 12 for its inaugural season in 1996. Shortly after the 2004 season, two regional governing bodies in New South Wales - Far South Coast Rugby Union and Southern Inland Rugby Union, joined the ACT Rugby Union, which then renamed itself the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union.^[3] The team adopted a new name and logo for the 2005 season, dropping the "ACT" to become known simply as "The Brumbies". The name change identified that the team represented an area much larger than the Australian Capital Territory - with "Brumbies Territory" incorporating a number of regions through southern New South Wales including the Riverina, Shoalhaven, and Southern Highlands as well as the Sunraysia region incorporating parts of Victoria.^[4]

Stadium

The Brumbies play all their home fixtures at Canberra Stadium, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. They share the ground with the Canberra Raiders rugby league team. Also, the Canberra Vikings, the Brumbies' affiliate in the short-lived Australian Rugby Championship, played one of their four regular-season home matches there. In 2003 matches from the 2003 Rugby World Cup were played at the stadium. Capacity is a nominal all-seated 24,647, however the largest crowd is actually 28,753, which was for the 2004 Super 12 Final. The Brumbies team did not use Canberra Stadium for their post-season APC games, instead taking their home fixtures to Canberra's Viking Park, which has a smaller capacity.

Rivalries

The Brumbies have traditionally had a fierce rivalry with the NSW Waratahs. The original Brumbies team was formed of rejects from the Waratahs - ironically however the Brumbies have had more success over the duration of the Super 12/14. Brumbies v. Waratahs games are notoriously difficult for the away team to win - indeed the away team has only won on two occasions, including the Brumbies 51-10 humiliation of NSW in the 2002 semi finals. Brumbies/Waratahs games routinely attract sell out attendances.

Another notable rival of the Brumbies is the Crusaders. The two sides have met in three grand finals (The Brumbies winning one and the Crusaders two). In common with the Waratah rivalry the away side rarely wins in encounters between the two sides. The Brumbies are the only team to have scored 50 points against the Crusaders and have recorded the highest ever score in a grand final (48 points) against this side. The Brumbies remain one of few sides to have a competitive win/loss record against the Crusaders.

Season standings

Season	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	BP	Pts	Notes
1996	5th	11	7	0	4	306	273	+33	4	32
1997	2nd	11	8	0	3	406	291	+115	9	41	(lost final to Blues)
1998	10th	11	3	0	8	248	364	-166	6	18
1999	5th	11	5	0	6	278	195	+83	8	28
2000	2nd	11	9	0	2	393	196	+197	9	45	(lost final to Crusaders)
2001	1st	11	8	0	3	348	204	+144	8	40	(defeated Sharks in final)
2002	2nd	11	7	0	4	374	230	+144	10	38	(lost final to Crusaders)
2003	4th	11	6	0	5	358	313	+45	7	31	(lost semi-final to Blues)
2004	1st	11	8	0	3	408	269	+139	8	40	(defeated Crusaders in final)
2005	5th	11	5	1	5	260	266	-6	7	29
2006	6th	13	8	1	4	326	269	+57	4	38
2007	5th	13	9	0	4	234	173	+61	4	40
2008	9th	13	6	0	7	277	317	-40	6	30

Current squad

Player	Position	ARC	Club	Super 14 caps	Wallaby caps
Ben Alexander	Prop	Western Sydney Rams	Uni-Norths	7	1
Adam Ashley-Cooper	Utility Back	Wallabies Squad	Northern Suburbs (NSW)	28	12
Peter Betham	Fullback/Wing	N/A	Uni-Norths (ACT)	0	0
Alister Campbell	Lock	Canberra Vikings	Sydney University (NSW)	29	4
Mitchell Chapman	Lock/Back Row	N/A	The University of Queensland (QLD)	28	0
Mark Chisholm	Lock/Back Row	Wallabies Squad	Tuggeranong	57	35
Huia Edmonds	Hooker	Canberra Vikings	N/A	2	0
Anthony Faingaa	Centre	Canberra Vikings	Queanbeyan	3	0
Saia Faingaa	Hooker	Canberra Vikings	Queanbeyan	15	0
Francis Fainifo	Wing	Canberra Vikings	Tuggeranong	8	0
Gene Fairbanks	Utility Back	Canberra Vikings	Easts (QLD)	32	0
Mark Gerrard	Wing	Wallabies Squad	Warringah (NSW)	59	23
Nic Henderson	Prop	Canberra Vikings	Southern Districts (NSW)	50	3
Stephen Hoiles	Back Row	Wallabies Squad	Randwick (NSW)	43	15
Josh Holmes	Scrumhalf	Western Sydney Rams	Eastwood (NSW)	4	0
Julian Huxley	Utility Back	Wallabies Squad	Sydney University (NSW)	50	9
Peter Kimlin	Lock/Back Row	Canberra Vikings	Western Districts	0	0
Christian Lealiifano	Flyhalf	Canberra Vikings	Tuggeranong	0	0
Salesi Ma'afu	Prop	N/A	West Harbour (NSW)	10	0
Stirling Mortlock (c)	Centre	Wallabies Squad	Gordon (NSW)	99	63
Patrick Phibbs	Scrumhalf	Canberra Vikings	Randwick (NSW)	19	0
Peter Playford	Wing	Melbourne Rebels	Sydney University (NSW)	8	0
Clyde Rathbone	Wing	N/A	Canberra	45	26
Julian Salvi	Back Row	Canberra Vikings	Tuggeranong	24	0
Guy Shepherdson	Prop	Wallabies Squad	Southern Districts (NSW)	46	18
George Smith (vc)	Flanker	Wallabies Squad	Manly (NSW)	94	83
Tyrone Smith	Centre	N/A	N/A	2	0
Richard Stanford	Lock/Back Row	Melbourne Rebels	Eastern Suburbs (NSW)	6	0
Jone Tawake	Back Row	Canberra Vikings	Canberra	26	0
Afusipa Taumoepeau	Center/Wing	N/A	N/A	0	0
Matt Toomua	Flyhalf	N/A	N/A	0	0
John Ulugia	Prop	Canberra Vikings	Tuggeranong	3	0
Adam Wallace-Harrison	Lock/Back Row	Canberra Vikings	Eastern Suburbs (NSW)	31	0

Current internationals

Teams as of 2007 Super 14 season

• Adam Ashley-Cooper
• Alister Campbell
• Mark Chisholm
• Mark Gerrard
• George Gregan
• Daniel Heenan
• Nic Henderson
• Stephen Hoiles
• Julian Huxley
• Stephen Larkham
• Stirling Mortlock
• Jeremy Paul
• Clyde Rathbone
• Guy Shepardson
• George Smith

Notable players

• Stephen Larkham
• George Gregan
• George Smith
• Joe Roff
• Owen Finegan
• David Giffin

100 Club

• 136 - George Gregan
• 116 - Stephen Larkham
• 112 - Jeremy Paul
• 106 - George Smith
• 100 - Bill Young

Coaches

Since Super 12

• Rod McQueen - 1996 - 1997
• Eddie Jones - 1998 - 2001
• David Nucifora - 2002 - 2004
• Laurie Fisher - 2005 - 2008
• Andy Friend - 2009 -

Franchise records

• Highest point scorer in a career - Stirling Mortlock (825 points, 1998-present)
• Highest point scorer in a season - Stirling Mortlock (194 points, 2000)
• Highest try scorer in a career - Joe Roff (57 tries, 1996 to 2004)
• Highest try scorer in a season - Joe Roff (15 tries, 1997)

• Largest defeat - 44-10 - Waratahs (1995/1996 - Super 12)^[5]
• Largest Victory - 64-0 - Cats (2001), 79-15 - Bulls (1999)

Famous Fans

• Melissa Doyle

See also

• ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union

References

External links

• Official site