Today marks the anniversary of two significant milestones that have undoubtedly shaped Rugby Union in the Capital for the better since their respective implementations 20 and 50 years ago.
On the 1st of November 1974, ACTRU was granted separate state status becoming a full member of the Australian Rugby Football Union ARFU or Rugby Australia as it is known today.
Coincidentally, 20 years ago was also the time when the ACTRU led further constitutional reform through expanding the Union to accept affiliation with the Far South Coast and Southern Inland Regions to form ACT & SNSWRU, in what has proven to be a hugely successful amalgamation.
The 1974 separation was a giant step forward for ACT Rugby and reflected the rapid advancements the sport had made in the region since its establishment in 1937. Over the years, ACT Rugby progressively battled its way to gain respect within the NSW Country zone and by 1970 it was the dominant team in the Country Week competition.
Following this ascendency, it became clear that to continue moving forward ACT’s representative side would need to compete in Australian Rugby competitions as a state of its own, rather than as an extension of NSW. The Union was confident that the game in Canberra would benefit immensely from this move and further enhance its contribution to Australian Rugby. This change meant that in 1974 ACT Rugby was given equal footing with NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
1975 became the first season that the ACTRU was a member state of the Australian Rugby Football Union.
Majorly, the ACT’s aspiring representative players were provided with a better Wallaby selection pathway due to the change. Prior to 1975 the ACT players were required to go through 5 individual tiers in some cases, to be selected for the green and gold. Suddenly because of statehood, the pathway to national selection was only a single tier. This was almost immediately vindicated when Stuart Macdougall became the first ACT Rugby player to be selected as vice-captain of the Wallabies that year.
When reflecting on the territories defining rugby expansion over the years, The Safeguard Global ACT Brumbies Chief Executive Phil Thomson discussed both the impactful decisions that celebrate anniversaries this year.
"It really was a significant turning point in our history, 50 years ago in 1974, when the ACTRU Leadership decided to dissolve its affiliation with the NSW Country Rugby Union and go it alone, combined with the successful expansion into southern NSW in 1994,” said Thomson when reminiscing on the defining milestones."
“These were two key decisions made by our Union 20 and 50 years ago which have been hugely beneficial and instrumental in the development and success of rugby in our region.”
