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University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury Rugby Club |
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| Sunday, 29 January 2012 |  |
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Club History The University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury Rugby Union Football Club was founded in 1891 as the Hawkesbury Agricultural College Rugby Club (HACRC). This was the same year that the College itself commenced operation. In that first year there was one side in the club, the 1st XV, which won three games and drew their fourth. Eight years later in 1899, the club introduced Honour Caps for the best forward and best back, a tradition which continues today. 1905 saw the HACRC 1st XV play teams from Penrith, Hawkesbury, Emu Plains, Old Boys, The Kings School, Newington, St. Josephs, Sydney University thirds, Manly Wentworths, Manly Federals, St. Leonards, Eastern Suburbs, St. Lukes, Kiora, Petersham Electorate. In 1907, the first match between the Old Boys and current students was played, another tradition which continues today, and the following year saw the college employ a professional coach for the club. At the start of 1911, HACRC joined the Sydney Suburban Competition, or the City and Suburban Competition as it was known as. 1912 saw the college grandstand built, which is rumoured to be the second oldest surviving grandstand in Australia (Only the stand on the Richmond Oval is older). The "Daily Telegraph" reported, on May 22 1915, that "HAC has sprung a bombshell on the rugby union world. Where other clubs have been wrestling to win out with 50 enlistments, the college has no fewer than 72 names for service." 1929 saw HACRC commence its long list of achievements by winning the First "Country Week" title. In 1942, the Colts team is introduced to the club. This Colts team was for younger students who played as a part of Hawkesbury, but in a separate competition. The team commenced playing against other Agricultural Colleges, and the team is still around today. Between 1950 and 1960, HACRC were frequently invited by the Australian Rugby Union, New South Wales Rugby Union and the Country Rugby Union, to play as curtain raisers to various international matches played in New South Wales. Also, in 1953, the 1st XV played 18 matches, winning 17 and losing one. 1962 saw the introduction of the Sydney second division competition. Hawkesbury were one of the founding clubs in this competition. In 1970, the college introduced the semester system. Students received a four week holiday break in mid-winter and in the middle of rugby season. Students come back from holidays to play, as forfeits by HACRC were unheard of at the time. 1989, and the University of Western Sydney took over the operations of Hawkesbury Agricultural College. Students were now able to enrol in a greater number of courses, and to reflect this change the club changed its name from HACRC to the University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury Rugby Union Club. The club still plays in the traditional "Blood and Mustard" stripes, and, whilst non students are welcome to play, the players mostly come from Residential Students of the college, who study traditional courses, such as Agriculture and Food Technology, but increasingly study newer courses, such as Tourism and Landscape Management. |
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