Brumbies

Early years of rugby in ACT

Rugby union football has a long history in the region around what is now Canberra. The British Isles opened their 1899 tour of Australia with a match in Goulburn. However, it was not until 1937 that the ACT Rugby Union (ACTRU) was finally established. Lieutenant-Colonel H. C. H. Robertson was the first President of the ACTRU.

The First Grade competition was started on 30 April 1938. Four clubs playing in the inaugural season: University, Easts, the Royal Military College (RMC), and Norths. There were strict eligibility rules for each of the four teams:

• University players were required to be graduates or undergraduates at a university (at the time, Canberra University College, operated by the University of Melbourne, was the only university in Canberra);
• Only service personnel, not members of RMC staff, were entitled join RMC; and,
• Easts and Norths players had to be residentially qualified for two months.

Also in 1938, a representative ACT side faced off against the All Blacks, with Frank Hassett scoring the ACT's only try in a 5–56 loss.

Five ACT players were chosen for New South Wales Country in their 1966 match against the British & Irish Lions at Manuka Oval:

• Barry Sibley (Canberra Royals);
• David Grimmond (Queanbeyan Whites);
• Mel Dunn (Ainslie Rugby Football Club);
• Peter Ryan (Queanbeyan Whites); and,
• Bruce Bailey (Goulburn Dirty Reds).

The first international victory for the ACT was in 1973, when they defeated Tonga 17-6 after trailing 0–3 at half time. The ACT team were praised for their hard work, stamina, and willingness to take shots at goal when they were on offer. In 1978, the ACT defeated Wales, who were Five Nations champions at the time, with a late penalty goal to win 21-20 after trailing 6–16 at half time. Head coach Colin Maxwell explained that his team beat the best team in the world by being "the first team in Australia to take them on up the guts", with the ACT forwards starving the Welsh of possession and the team ensuring territorial advantage through pressure on the Welsh kickers. Tactical kicking, ball retention, and pressuring opponents in their own half are still considered to be "The Brumbies' ... traditional strength[s]".

The ACT adopted the name 'Kookaburras' in 1989. The Kookaburras defeated the Waratahs 44–28 at Sydney's Concord Oval in 1994. The Waratahs team was filled with international representatives, which made the Kookaburras win all the more impressive, and led the way for the ACT becoming a professional franchise. Concerns over player depth in the ACT were assuaged when the ACT reserve team beat the New South Wales reserve team.

The ACT Brumbies was formally established on 9 December 1995 in Jindabyne, Southern New South Wales and became Australia's third provincial team with the start of Super Rugby.

Super 12 era: 1996–2005

In the inaugural Super 12 season, under coach Rod Macqueen, the Brumbies 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, losing 19 to 20.^[]

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 on 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 one new team from South Africa.^[]

Super 14 era: 2006–2010

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 side failed to make the playoffs at all during Super 14, though they never finished lower than ninth.

Super Rugby era: 2011–present

After a succession of coaches over the same period, including Laurie Fisher, Andy Friend and Tony Rea, former South Africa coach Jake White took over as coach of the side in April 2011, signing a four-year deal with the club. However, he was granted a release from his contract in September 2013, with two years left on his four-year contract.

In 2012, the Brumbies became the first Australian Super Rugby team to host an international fixture against a touring side. On 12 June, the Brumbies played Wales at Canberra Stadium while Wales was on their 2012 Summer tour. Wales won 25–15.

The Brumbies returned to form in the 2012, finishing second in the Australian conference, and seventh in the overall standings, narrowly missing the final-six and a place in the quarter finals.

In 2013, the Brumbies and the other Australian super rugby teams played the British & Irish Lions as part of the Lions' 2013 tour to Australia. The Brumbies earned a hard-fought 14–12 victory, the first defeat of the Lions on their tour.

The Brumbies continued their strong performances in 2013 by finishing first in the Australian conference and 3rd on the ladder to make their first finals appearance since they won the Super title in 2004. After defeating the Cheetahs in a close home final 15 – 13, the Brumbies travelled to Pretoria to face the Bulls and again achieved victory, 23–26. The team had to travel from South Africa to New Zealand to meet the Waikato Chiefs for the championship final the following week, and the Chiefs proved to be too strong, winning the final 27–22.

Following the end of the Super Rugby season the Brumbies sent a squad captained by Robbie Coleman to the invitational World Club 7s in England. The Brumbies won the series, defeating the Auckland Blues 17–14 in the final. Henry Speight was named the player of the tournament.

During the 2017 Super Rugby season, the Brumbies were one of three Australian franchises threatened with contraction when the Australian Rugby Union prevailed upon competition organiser SANZAAR to reduce the number of Australian sides in the competition from five to four after that season. The ARU later announced that the Brumbies would remain in the competition.