In Australia, what is considered the third tier of Rugby is often referred to as club rugby, grade rugby or premier rugby. Club Rugby often focuses on the major metropolitan areas of the respective unions, with teams representing various districts and suburbs. The teams represented in the first grade can and have changed over time, and are open to change at the discretion of the governing body.
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The Shute Shield is a rugby union competition in Sydney, New South Wales. It is the premier grade rugby trophy in NSW rugby. The Shute Shield is awarded in the first half of the Sydney club season. The Shield is contested by the twelve NSWRU clubs.
The first Sydney club competition was in 1874, competed by Balmain, Newington College, Uni and The King's School. The Shute Shield is seen as the traditional successor.
The trophy was donated to the New South Wales Rugby Union in 1923 by Sydney University Football Club, and was named in honour of Robert Elliott Stewart Shute who died while playing for The Rest v NSW XV on 5 June 1922.[1]
The teams currently in the Shute Shield are:
| Jersey | Club | Location | Home Ground | Nickname | First season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Suburbs | Upper Eastern Suburbs, (Rose Bay) | Woolahra Oval | The Beasties | 1900 | |
| Eastwood | Northern Suburbs, (Eastwood) | T G Millner Field | The Woodies | 1927 (1947 first division admittance) | |
| Gordon | Upper North Shore, (Chatswood) | Chatswood Oval | Highlanders | 1936 | |
| Manly | Lower Northern Beaches, (Manly) | Manly Oval | The Marlins | 1906 | |
| Northern Suburbs | Lower North Shore, (North Sydney) | North Sydney Oval | The Shoremen, Norths, The Red and Blacks | 1900 | |
| Parramatta | Parramatta | Granville Park | Two Blues | 1879 (as Cumberland, 1900 name change) | |
| Penrith | Penrith | Nepean Rugby Park | Emus | 1965 (Shute Shield admittance 1995) | |
| Randwick | Lower Eastern Suburbs, (Randwick/Coogee) | Coogee Oval | Galloping Greens, The wicks | 1882 | |
| Southern Districts | St George and The Shire | Forshaw Park | The Rebels | 1989, (St George DRC – 1906, Port Hacking RC – 1957) | |
| Sydney University | Sydney University, (Inner West, CBD Boundarys, Sydney University) | University Oval No.1 | The Students | 1863 | |
| Warringah | Upper Northern Beaches, (Narabeen) | Pittwater Park | The Rats, Ratties | 1963 | |
| West Harbour | Inner West,(Concord) | Concord Oval | Pirates | 1900 (as Western Suburbs DRFC) |
Queensland Premier Rugby is a club rugby union competition in Queensland, Australia. Ten clubs compete in the competition, eight of which are from Brisbane, with a club each from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast also competing. The competition has been contested in its present form since 1929.[2]
Previous to 1920 the Hospital Football Challenge was established as a fund-raising exercise for the Brisbane hospitals. After the devastation of World War I the competition was suspended until the Hospitals Cup was established. The current champions are Brothers who defeated Souths in the 2009 grand final.
The teams currently in Queensland Premier Rugby are:
| Club | Location | Home Ground | Nickname | First season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brothers | Marist Old Boys | Crosby Park | The Filth | 1905 |
| Easts | East Brisbane | Bottomly Park | The Tigers | 1947 |
| Gold Coast | Gold Coast | Albert Park | The Breakers | 1996 |
| GPS Rugby | Past Grammar, Running Rugby | Ashgrove Sports Ground | Jeeps | 1887 |
| Norths/QUT | Northern Brisbane, Queensland University of Technology | Shaw Sportz | The Eagles | 1974 |
| Souths | Southern Brisbane | Chipsy Wood Oval | Magpies | 1948 |
| Sunnybank | Sunnybank | Biggs Field | Dragons | 1969 |
| Sunshine Coast | Sunshine Coast | Stockland Park | Stingrays, Rays | 2005 |
| University of QLD | University of QLD | University of Queensland, St Lucia | The Red Heavies, The Students | 1911 |
| Wests | West Brisbane, Toowong | Toowong Memorial Park, which is referred to as "Sylvan Road". | The Bulldogs | 1951 |
The KWIK WA Premier Grade is competed by 10 teams from the Greater Perth Area.
The teams currently in the RugbyWA KWIK Premier are:
The ACTRU Premier Division is a rugby union club competition based in Canberra, Australia, and conducted by the region's governing body, the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union. It contains four Senior Grades of competition plus Colts, and is competed by the seven ACT Premier Division clubs, plus ADFA, which fields teams in Colts and 3rd Grade only.
First Grade teams compete for the John I Dent Cup. The Cup, which was first played for in 1938, was a gift to the Union by John I Dent. All of the finals are played at Viking Park.
The teams Currently competing in the John I Dent Cup are:
After celebrating its Centenary in 2009 the VRU is now keen to set the scene with an exciting and competitive season leading to the debut of the new Melbourne Rebels franchise into the Super Competition in 2011.
The teams currently in the Dewar Shield are:
The teams currently in the Tasmanian Division One are:
The Darwin Rugby Union competition is the oldest and longest running in the Northern Territory. There are five clubs based in the metropolitan area that have senior A and B grades. In addition to the five metropolitan clubs there is the Litchfield Swampdogs in the Darwin rural area and Jabiru Bushratz which is a one team club competing in the Darwin B grade competition.
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