At its very simplest, Rugby Union is played by two teams, each consisting of 15 players and seven reserves. All players strive to place the ball over the tryline in order to score points for their team. The team with the most points at the end of two equal halves of play wins the match.
However Rugby is much more than that. It’s about camaraderie, about working together to achieve a goal. It’s also about pride, in yourself, in your team mates, in the jersey on your back. Results are important, but not as important as giving your all for the good of your team.
Pride is a common theme at NSWRU and the HSBC Waratahs. Every time one of our players runs out onto the field of play they’re playing for something bigger than them, that is the pride of the sky blue jersey. As the oldest Union in the Southern Hemisphere and the seventh largest in the world, the Waratahs have a significant legacy to protect and this they do each and every time they run onto the field.
NSW Rugby is concerned with more than just the professional arm of its operations. With 60% of Australia’s professional players hailing from NSW, it’s imperative that tomorrow is looked after as well, if not better than today. As such, the NSW Waratah Academy through its various levels of operation has over fifty players on its books, preparing them for life as professional Rugby players. While it’s acknowledged that many of those players who pass through the Academy system will end up playing for other professional outfits in Australia and overseas, it’s important that this process continues, in order to ensure the cream of the crop remain in NSW.
Away from Super 14, NSW Rugby’s offices at Moore Park house a number of operations, all of who have the sole purpose of furthering the sport’s cause in NSW. From the Community Rugby department, under which Coaching, NSW Country, NSW Juniors, Referees and Suburban Rugby all sit; to Commercial, Premiership, and Media, NSW Rugby is looking after all aspects of Rugby’s present and future.