Queensland Reds
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| Queensland Reds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1882 (first QLD match) 1996 (Super 12 begins) |
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| Location | Brisbane, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Region | Queensland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Suncorp Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 52,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Eddie Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Captain | John Roe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Super 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | 12th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Queensland Reds (for sponsorship reasons referred to as QR Queensland Reds) represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland. With the introduction of the professional Super 12 competition they moved to a franchise model where players are contracted to the Reds through the Queensland Rugby Union.
From 1996 to 2005 they were one of three Australian teams competing in the Super 12 competition, alongside the New South Wales Waratahs and the ACT Brumbies. The Reds finished as minor premiers in 1996 and 1999, but they have never reached the Super 12 final. Since 2006 they have competed in the Super 14 competition.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early Queensland years
Prior to Super rugby competition, the Queensland Reds were a representative team that was selected from the rugby union clubs within the state. Rugby in the state of Queensland has its origins as far back as 1876, which is when it is thought the earliest games were played. In 1882 the first interstate matches were played between Queensland and New South Wales, and the following year the Queensland Rugby Union was formed. That season the first interstate match in Brisbane took place, with Queensland defeating New South Wales 12 to 11 at the Eagle Farm Racecourse. In 1896 the first Queensland team departed for a tour of New Zealand. They played New Zealand in Wellington on August 15, losing 9 to nil at Athletic Park. In 1899 Queensland recorded their first win against an international team, defeating Great Britain 11 to 3 at the Exhibition Ground.
[edit] Pre-Super competitions
With the start up of rugby league as well as World War I, Queensland rugby was dormant for a number of years, and the QRU was disbanded in 1919 and would not be revived until the late 1920s. In 1928 the QRU was re-formed, and the GPS competition and major clubs soon returned.[1] The game struggled during World War II, but growth was nonetheless apparent, with the advent of the Queensland Junior Rugby Union and the Country Rugby Union. In 1950 the QRU secured the Normany Oval at nominal rent from Brisbane Grammar School, before they moved into Ballymore Stadium in 1966, which would serve as the spiritual home of Queensland. In 1980 Queensland defeated the All Blacks, which was the first win against New Zealand. The match was played at Ballymore on July 6 and Queensland won 9 to 3. Two seasons later centenary celebrations took place, with Queensland defeating New South Wales 41 to 7 in the celebratory match.
[edit] Early Super Rugby
The first Super 10 tournament of 1993 was not very successful for Queensland, who were grouped in Pool A alongside Auckland, Natal, Western Samoa and Otago. The Reds finished with five points, in fourth place. The subsequent Super 10 competition of 1994 saw Queensland finish at the top of Pool A on 13 points, edging out North Harbour on for and against differential to finish at the top. The Reds went on to play the winner of Pool B, South African side, Natal. The Reds won the final, 21 points to 10 at Kings Park Stadium in Durban. The following season was even more successful for the Reds, who were playing in Pool B for the 1995 season. They finished the season with 16 points, four points clear of second placed team in their pool, the Free State. South African team Transvaal had finished at the top of Pool A and the final was to be decided at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Queensland won the final 30 to 16, and thus became back-to-back champions.
[edit] Super 12
With rugby union officially going professional in 1995, there was a reworking of the tournament. The SANZAR partnership was formed between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and the Super 12 was born. The success that the Reds had been building in the early Super Rugby tournaments was clearly carried over into the 1996 Super 12 season, as the Reds finished at the top of the table on 41 points. The Auckland Blues had also finished on 41 points, but Queensland's superior for and against saw them finish in first place.
Queensland hosted the first ever Super 12 semi-final on May 18, 1996. The game was played at Queensland's home of rugby union, Ballymore, and was played against the Natal Sharks, who the Reds had defeated in 1994 to become Super 10 champions. However, the Sharks defeated Queensland 43 points to 25. After a strong inaugural Super 12 season, the subsequent season produced different results. The Reds only managed to win four of their 11 regular season fixtures, and finished in ninth place, well clear of finals contention. In 1997 the Reds had a much better season, finishing in fifth position at the end of the season, missing out on a semi-final position by one place.
The Reds saw similar results of that to their 1996 season for the 1999 competition. Queensland lost only three games during the regular season, and finished at the top of the ladder on 36 points (beating the Stormers to first position due to for and against points). The Reds hosted the Canterbury Crusaders at Ballymore for a semi-final. However, they lost to Canterbury by six points, the final score being 22 to 28. The Reds had fallen to seventh place by the close of the 2000 regular season, still ahead of the Waratahs, but the third Australian team, the Brumbies had finished in first place. The Reds start to the 2001 season saw them lose five of their first seven matches. However starting with the 29 to 19 win over Northern Tranvaal in round eight, the Reds stormed home undefeated until the end of the regular season. The mid season resurgence was enough to see them finish in fourth place and grab a finals position. They played fellow Australian team, the Brumbies in Canberra, and lost 30 points to six.
The Reds found similar results the following season, finishing in fifth place, one position outside a semi-final appearance. Fellow Australia teams, the Waratahs and Brumbies both made it to the semi-finals, with the Brumbies actually becoming the champions. The following season, the Reds finished in eighth place. It was the following two seasons that the Reds had slipped into tenth position come the end of the season.
[edit] Super 14
In 2006, the Super 12 became the Super 14 with the addition of the Western Force and the Central Cheetahs. The Reds made an optimistic start to the expanded competition, with a close loss to the Waratahs and a competitive match against defending champions, the Crusaders. In round three, they lost by one point to the Blues, but it was not until round five that the Reds were able to win a game - against one of the new teams, the Force. The Reds finished in 12th place, above the Force and Cats. Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones took over as coach for the 2007 season.
New coach Eddie Jones got off to a winning start at Queensland Rugby, in front of a smaller crowd at Ballymore, when he led a Queensland XV to a 63-22 victory over the NEC club and then another impressive win 29-5 on the first of September against a Fiji Development XV. The Reds took part in the one-off Australian Provincial Championship, not getting the start they wanted, losing to the Force 32-6 at home in round one but turned it around the next week beating the Waratahs 39-17 in Gosford. The following week the Reds beat the competition leaders The Brumbies 20-19 after a penalty goal by Lloyd Johansson to qualify for the final in the ACT against the same team they beat. However the Reds lost 42-17. Later in the year the Reds beat the The Cherry Blossoms 29-22 in Japan.
[edit] Colours and logos
The teams' home strip is is a red jumper with a white collar, white shorts with red socks with white hoops. The jersey is manufactured by ISC, and the primary shirt sponsor is Queensland Rail (QR). Traditionally, the Reds Super Rugby logo as well as the traditional Q logo both appear on the jersey, however for 2007 a commerative shield is being worn instead, which incorporates the QRU's four logos over the past 100 years. The Super 14 logo and sponors Tooheys New appear on the sleeves. The alternative jersey is similar, except that it is predominantly white. The Reds' logo is a Koala, a native Australian animal, with Reds written under neath it.
The 1882 team wore the red and black strip of the Brisbane F.C. for the first ever match in Sydney. Two years later Queensland played in the chocolate strip of the Wanderers Club. Another two seasons later, Queensland were actually playing in blue, the now traditional colours of rivals New South Wales. The blue jersey had an intertwined 'NU' over the chest. In 1887 they played in a white strip with red socks. Both the white and the blue strips where used over the next few years, until the red strip came about in 1895, and became the permanent strip.[2]
[edit] Stadium
The traditional home of Queensland Rugby is Ballymore, which was built in the late 1960s. Throughout the Super 12, the Reds played all their home matches at the stadium, which is located in Brisbane suburb of Herston. The stadium hosted a number of matches during the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987, including a quarter final. Ballymore was set to host games at the 2003 Rugby World Cup as well, but due to ticket demand, all games were moved to Suncorp.[3]
With the expansion of Super 12 to 14 for the 2006 season, the Reds made the move to the 52,000 seater Suncorp Stadium. At the end of the 2006 season they took their last home game to Dairy Farmers Stadium in North Queensland, home of National Rugby League team the North Queensland Cowboys. However during the off-season of the Super 14, the Reds play a number of friendlies out at Ballymore.
[edit] Rivalries
The Reds' most popular rivalries are obviously those teams in the Super 14 which are Australian (Brumbies, Force and the Waratahs). However, the most famous of these is the interstate clash between the Queensland Reds and the New South Wales Waratahs. The match between these two sides usually draws the largest crowd for the Reds when they are hosting the match, which is sometimes (such as 2006), used as the first game of the season. The matches contested during the season are also for the Bob Templeton Cup, which is a trophy awarded to the winner of the Queensland/New South Wales match.
Former Queensland captain John Eales, prior to the Queensland and New South Wales clash in 2001 quoted former Wallaby Mark Loane to sum up matches against New South Wales, "the most hard fought fights are fighting with your brother in the backyard."[4]
The 2006 clash in Brisbane was particularly notable, as former Reds' winger Wendell Sailor was making his Super Rugby debut for Waratahs in the round one game against the Reds. The Waratahs won that match, which was their first win in Brisbane since 1995. There have been over 270 matches between the two teams, with New South Wales well in the lead with over 170 wins, and Queensland over 80, with 12 drawn.[4] In just Super 12/14 matches, 11 have been played, Queensland winning 8, New South Wales 2 and one being drawn.[5]
[edit] Season standings
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Season Ladder Pos'n Pld W D L F A +/- BP Pts Notes 1996 1st 11 9 0 2 320 247 +73 5 41 (lost semi-final to Natal) 1997 10th 11 4 0 7 263 318 -55 4 20 1998 5th 11 6 1 4 273 229 +44 5 31 1999 3rd 11 8 1 2 233 170 +63 2 36 (lost semi-final to Canterbury Crusaders) 2000 7th 11 6 0 5 317 305 +12 6 30 2001 4th 11 6 0 5 300 277 +33 8 32 (lost semi-final to ACT Brumbies) 2002 5th 11 7 0 4 336 287 +49 6 34 2003 8th 11 5 0 6 281 318 -37 6 26 2004 10th 11 5 0 6 217 246 -29 5 25 2005 10th 11 3 0 8 185 282 -97 5 17 2006 12th 13 4 0 9 240 320 -80 6 22
[edit] Current squad
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Props
Hookers
Locks
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Back row
Centres
Wings
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Fullbacks Utility backs
Halfbacks Flyhalves
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[edit] Current internationals
- As of 2006. Excludes those who were not considered due to injury.
[edit] Notable players
- Players with 100 or more caps.
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[edit] Honours
- Super 10:
- Champions: 1994, 1995
- Super 12:
- Minor premiership: 1996
- Australian Provincial Championship:
- Runners-up: 2006
[edit] Upcoming fixtures
- Wednesday 17 January 2007 Blues v Reds, Eden Park, Auckland
- Saturday 20 January 2007 Reds v Samoa, Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast
- Friday 26 January 2007 Reds v Highlanders, Cararra Stadium, Gold Coast
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "History of Queensland Rugby", Queensland Rugby Union. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.
- ^ "NSW and Queensland Jersey Colours", Queensland Rugby Union. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
- ^ "Brisbane WC games moved", www.colonialRugby.com.au. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.
- ^ a b "Waratahs v Reds preview", www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.
- ^ "Queensland Reds", www.itsrugby.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.
[edit] External links
| Rugby Union in: | Australia • New Zealand • South Africa |
| Federations: | Australian Rugby Union • New Zealand Rugby Football Union • South African Rugby Union • SANZAR |
| Tri Nations teams: | Australia • New Zealand • South Africa |
| Super 14 teams | Blues • Brumbies • Bulls • Cheetahs • Chiefs • Crusaders • Force • Highlanders • Hurricanes • Lions • Reds • Sharks • Stormers • Waratahs |
| Champions: | Super 12 • Super 14 • Tri Nations |
