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Queensland Reds

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Queensland Reds
File:QueenslandRedsLogo.jpg
Founded1882 (first QLD match)
1996 (Super 12 begins)
LocationBrisbane, Australia
RegionQueensland
Ground(s)Suncorp Stadium (Capacity: 52,500)
Coach(es)Ewan McKenzie
Captain(s)James Horwill
200913th
1st kit
2nd kit

The Queensland Reds (also known as the QR Queensland Reds for sponsorship reasons) 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 model where players are contracted to the Reds through the Queensland Rugby Union rather than selected on the basis of club form.

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. Queensland finished as minor premiers in 1996 and 1999, but they have never reached the Super 12 final. Since 2006 they have competed in the expanded Super 14 competition as one of four Australian sides.

History

Early Queensland years

Prior to Super rugby competition, Queensland 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 15 August, 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.

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 was 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 Normanby 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 6 July 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.

Early Super Rugby

The first Super 10 was held in 1993. QLD were grouped in Pool A alongside Auckland, Natal, Western Samoa and Otago. Queensland 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 Queensland 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.

Super 12

With rugby union going professional, there was a reworking of competitions. 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. In the 1996 season Queensland finished at the top of the table.

Queensland hosted their Super 12 semi-final on 18 May 1996. The game was played at Queensland's home of rugby union, Ballymore, and was played against the Natal Sharks. The Sharks defeated Queensland 43 points to 25. The 1997 season saw the Reds finish in ninth place. In 1998 the Reds had a much better season, finishing in fifth position at the end of the season.

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. Canterbury won 22 to 28. In 2000 the Reds finished in seventh place on the ladder. In 2001 the Reds finished in fourth place on the ladder and played in the semis. They played fellow Australian team, the Brumbies in Canberra, and the Brumbies won 30 points to six. The following season, 2002, the Reds finished in fifth place. For the 2003 season, Queensland finished in eighth place. QLD finished tenth in the 2004 and 2005 Super 12 seasons.

Super 14

In 2006, the Super 12 became the Super 14 with the addition of the Western Force(AUS) and the Central Cheetahs(RSA). Queensland played the Waratahs in the opening game of the season, which was a close loss. The Reds also played new team the Western Force, which QLD won. Queensland finished 12th on the ladder. Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones took over from Jeff Miller as coach for the 2007 season.

New coach Eddie Jones got off to a winning start at Queensland Rugby, with a Queensland XV, 63-22 victory over the NEC club. 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, Queensland lost 42-17. Later in the year Queensland beat the The Cherry Blossoms 29-22 in Japan.

The 2007 Super 14 season saw the Queensland Reds finishing a poor season by winning the wooden spoon, they couldn't have started the competition any better when they beat 2006 Grand Finalists the Wellington Hurricanes in Round 1, after that win they would not taste victory again until Round 12. The season was summed up in the final round of the regular season where Queensland were defeated 92-3 by the Bulls. This defeat was by the largest margin in Super Rugby history, although the NSW Waratahs had 96 points scored against them in their loss to the Crusaders in 2002.

The 2008 Super 14 season witnessed a mini-resurgence of the QLD Reds, with the youthful side playing exciting and enterprising rugby under new coach Phil Mooney, they gained revenge against the Bulls after the 2007 thrashing by beating them 40 - 8, in what was the highlight of the season for the Reds. The Reds continued to play exciting rugby for the rest of the season but lost close matches against the Crusaders, Blues, Chiefs and Waratahs, whilst the side finished 12th they showed plenty of promise and regained some respect.

Colours and logos

2007 commemorative logo.

The teams' home strip is a red jumper with a white collar, navy 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 commemorative shield is being worn instead, which incorporates the QRU's four logos over the past 100 years. The Super 14 logo and sponsors 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 underneath it.

Prior to 1895 the Queensland team wore a variety of jerseys until the red/maroon colour became the Queensland jersey.[2] In 2007, the Reds used a commemorative jersey in celebration of 125 years of Queensland rugby. This will be accompanied by a new logo featuring four Queensland crests from the past.[3] The 125-year crest featured four sectors; the Northern Rugby Union logo from 1882 (top left), the emblem from 1910 (top right), the 1935 logo (bottom left) and the current koala logo (bottom right).

Awards

Pilecki Medal Awarded to the best Reds player at the end of each season

Stadium

Suncorp Stadium.

The traditional home of Queensland Rugby is Ballymore, which was built in the late 1960s in Brisbane. Throughout the Super 12, the Reds played their home matches at the stadium. 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.[4]

With the expansion of Super 12 to 14 for the 2006 season, the Reds made the move to the 52,500 seater Suncorp Stadium, the stadium has been described as an investment in the future of the QLD Rugby with easier access and world class facilities.

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. In addition the Reds have played pre-season matches on the Gold Coast at Carrara Stadium.

Sponsorship

In 2005 it was announced long term sponsor of the Reds, the Bank of Queensland was not going to continue their support, many supporters of the code were worried that the Reds would not be able to find a sponsor to equal the previous BOQ support. Just before the 2006 season, Queensland Rail announced it signed with the Reds for the highest ever principal naming rights sponsor for the team, ending speculation the Reds financial situation was heading into dire straits.

After the first game of the 2007 season it was announced that Virgin Blue would also become a major sponsor of the Reds in one of the biggest on record as well. This completes a trifecta of Queensland's biggest companies who have all been major sponsors of the Reds. Suncorp is the financial organisation to represent the Reds, Tooheys New is the beer of choice and the Reds also joined ISC as their preferred uniform supplier.

Anthem/fans

In January 2007 the QLD Reds released a Team Anthem to be sung by the crowd during the match and after wins as well. The song was sung in the Queen Street Mall by members of the team including John Roe, Ben Tune, Peter Hynes and Berrick Barnes [citation needed]. The lyrics can be found on the Queensland Reds official website. The Reds also launched new marketing campaigns for 2007 (eg. "Join the Revolution"/"The Red Army Needs You"); and the fans have since been referred to as "The Red Army". Rugby legend Conor O'Donovan is a diehard Reds fan, he recently travelled as far as Galway, Ireland to watch the Reds play Connaught in a pre-season friendly.

Rivalries

Queenslands 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."[5] 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.[5] In just Super 12/14 matches, 11 have been played, Queensland winning 8, New South Wales 2 and one being drawn.[6]

Season records

Super 12

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

Super 14

Season Ladder Pos'n Pld W D L F A +/- BP Pts Notes
2006 12th 13 4 0 9 240 320 -80 6 22
2007 14th 13 2 0 11 201 438 -237 3 11
2008 12th 13 3 1 9 258 323 -65 4 18
2009 13th 13 3 0 10 258 380 -122 4 19

Current squad

The squad for the 2009 season:[7][8]

Props

Hookers

Locks

 

Loose forwards

Half Backs

Fly Halfs

 

Centres

Wings

Full Backs

Current International Players

2009 Signings

Notable players

Players with 100 or more caps.

Coaches

Captains

  • Tim Horan (1996 - 1997)
  • David Wilson (1998- 1999)
  • John Eales (2000 - 2001)
  • Daniel Herbert (2002 - 2003)
  • Toutai Kefu (2003)
  • Elton Flatley (2004 - 2005)
  • John Roe (2006 - 2008)
  • Sam Cordingley (2008)
  • James Horwill (2008- Present)

Honours

Records and statistics

  • Highest point scorer in a career - Elton Flatley (629 points, 1996-2006)
  • Highest point scorer in a season - John Eales (155 points, 1996)
  • Highest try scorer in a career - Chris Latham (38 tries, 1998 to 2008)
  • Highest try scorer in a season - Chris Latham (10 tries, 2002)

See also

References

  1. ^ "History of Queensland Rugby". Queensland Rugby Union. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
  2. ^ "NSW and Queensland Jersey Colours". Queensland Rugby Union. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
  3. ^ "Reds unveil commemorative badge". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
  4. ^ "Brisbane WC games moved". www.colonialRugby.com.au. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
  5. ^ a b "Waratahs v Reds preview". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
  6. ^ "Queensland Reds". www.itsrugby.com. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
  7. ^ "Reds Player Profiles". rugby.com.au. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  8. ^ "Sky Sports". www.skysports.com. Retrieved 2009-04-12. {{cite web}}: Text "Queensland Reds" ignored (help); Text "Rugby Union" ignored (help); Text "Super 14" ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Another Bronco follows the Barnes route". RugbyHeaven. 2008-07-02.


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