South Australia Rugby Union

The South Australia Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the State of South Australia, Australia. It is a member of the Australian Rugby Union.

History

The establishment of SA Rugby Union came about following a public meeting assembled in March 1932 by journalist Ian Sabey from The Advertiser. This meeting saw the arrangement of the Adelaide Rugby Club with two 7-aside teams ready to contest each other. Interest had grown and by the end of the year, the Royal Australian Navy, University and the Waratahs (an offshoot, developed from the Adelaide Rugby Club) had also been established and ready to field teams in a local, specific competition.

Adelaide rugby had quickly grown and within a year, South Australia had played its first interstate match against Victoria .

Rugby League benefitted in the 1940s, when the Port Adelaide Rugby Union team split in four, and defected to League. [http://sarl.leaguenet.com.au/]

Over the following two decades, Rugby grew across the metropolitan region and by the 1950’s, South Australia possessed a total of eight clubs.

In 1951, after finances and management of competitions grew, it was decided that it was in the Union’s best interest to become an incorporated body.

Over the following years, SA Rugby continued to grow stronger and by 1971 clubs included Army, Adelaide University, Brighton, Burnside, Elizabeth, Flinders University, North Adelaide, Old Collegians, Onkaparinga, Port Adelaide, Roseworthy College, Salisbury, Southern Suburbs, West Torrens and Woodville.

SA clubs that had come and gone include Railways, St Marks, Technical College Old Boys, Kingston, Aquinas, Navy, Waratahs and Gawler. And in 1978 Glenelg was renamed ‘Brighton’.

In 1999, SA Rugby again took on corporate change and release its Incorporated Association status and become a Company Limited by Guarantee, further underlining its commercial strength.

In 2006, SA Rugby Union Ltd combined with the SA Junior Rugby Union.

Currently there are eleven senior clubs, six of which have junior sides as well as two independent junior clubs and an Over-35’s club.