Queensland Premier Rugby

Infobox sports league
logo=QLD Premier Rugby.jpg
caption=Competition logo
sport=Rugby union
founded=1975
teams=10
country=AUS
champion= Easts Tigers

Queensland Premier Rugby is a club rugby union competition in Queensland, Australia. Ten clubs compete in the competition, eight of which are from Brisbane, with a club each from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast also competing. The competition has been contested in its present form since 1929 [ [http://www.qru.com.au/qru/qru.rugby/page/62691 Queensland qru | Hospital Cup Winners ] ] . Previous to 1920 the Hospital Football Challenge was established as a fund-raising exercise for the Brisbane hospitals. After the devastation of World War I the competition was suspended until the Hospitals Cup was established. The current champions are Easts Tigers, who defeated Brothers Old Boys in the 2008 final.

History

Queensland Premier Rugby (QPR) evolved out of the Brisbane club competition that had been running since the beginning of the 1900's. It was created by players, administrators, referees and coaches to expand and improve the top level of Queensland non-professional rugby. QPR provides Queensland rugby players a stepping stone for selection into the Queensland Reds and other teams in the Super 14 or other professional rugby competitions.

The first official Queensland Premier Rugby season kicked off in 1975. The first championship final was played between the Brothers club and GPS. Brothers won the match, and became the first ever champions of the competition. Teachers-Norths, Wests and again Brothers won the next seasons. In 1979, the first ever draw in a final occurred with a 24-all draw between rivals University and Brothers, a reply of the final was held, which saw University defeat Brothers by a mere 3 points. Brothers dominated the next few seasons, winning the 1980 to 1984 premierships. Souths won their first title in 1986, and University won a number of titles at the end of the decade.

Souths came to major prominence during the 1990s, winning the competition five times in a row from 1991 through to 1995, and then again in 1998 and 2000. They also featured in the 1996 season final which GPS won, and the 1997 final which Easts won. Canberra also competed in the competition, and found major success, winning three titles in a row from 2001 to 2003. The Gold Coast Breakers also began to become a force in the competition, featuring in five finals from 2001 to 2007, although they were on the receiving end of the competitions largest ever grand final score being thrashed 85-19 by the Sunnybank Dragons in the 2007 Grand Final.

In future, teams from other Rugby regions in Queensland may also join the competition, thus encouraging the pursuit of Rugby excellence across the state, not just confining it to one small corner around Brisbane.

Teams

*Brothers
*Easts Tigers
*Gold Coast Breakers
*GPS Rugby "Jeeps"
*Norths/QUT "Eagles"
*Souths Magpies
*Sunnybank Dragons
*Sunshine Coast Stingrays
*University of QLD "The Red Heavies"
*Wests Bulldogs

Grand Final Results, Hospital Cup Winners

Total Premierships (since 1975)

Former teams

* Canberra Vikings
* Redcliffe
* Teachers-Norths (Teachers ceased as a club but Norths continued and later merged into the current Norths/QUT)

See also

* Brisbane Club Rugby
* Queensland Reds
* Queensland Rugby Union
* National Rugby Competition
* Doughty Shield

References

External links

* [http://www.qru.com.au/qld/ Official website of the Queensland Rugby Union]
* [http://www.qru.com.au/qru/qru.rugby/page/62400 Queensland Premier Rugby]