Western Sydney Two Blues
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox rugby team
Western Sydney Two Blues Rugby, formerly Parramatta Two Blues Rugby, is a rugby union club based in Parramatta, which is commonly regarded as the second CBD of Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1879 and competes in the Shute Shield run by the New South Wales Rugby Union. One of the oldest clubs in the Sydney Premier Rugby competition the club has produced nineteen Wallabies over the years, starting with the great Bill Cerutti in 1936 through to the club's current, Tatafu Polota-Nau. To date Parramatta has played in eight First grade grand finals.
History
Western Sydney Two Blues Rugby Club has enjoyed 130 years of top-grade rugby in Sydney's premier competition and is one of only five clubs (Manly, Randwick, Parramatta, Gordon and Warringah) to have never been relegated from the Top Grade.
Founded in 1879 as Cumberland, the club played in a senior Competition with University, Wallaroos, Waratah, Redfern and Pirates until 1899 when the existing system was disbanded.
The Club changed its name to Parramatta and was admitted to the Sydney First Grade competition in 1934 contesting its first Grand Final in 1945, a 9-3 defeat to Sydney University. The 1950s and 1960s were lean years but the development of a strong junior competition assured a sharp improvement in standards.
Former Wallaby Rod Phelps took over as captain-coach in 1971 and for three years he improved Parramatta‘s standing in the rugby fraternity. Grand Final appearances in 1974 and 1975 showed that the club was well on its way to becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Finally with the influx of young players in this period Parramatta won its initial First Grade premiership in 1977, a 17–9 victory against Randwick under coach Peter Fenton. The Two Blues had waited 44 years to sample the sweet taste of victory, but the wait was worthwhile.
The Club then played in the 1979 and 1984 grand finals going down to Randwick on both occasions, but revenge would be sweet in 1985 and 1986 when the underdogs from Sydney’s west succeeded in beating the Galloping Greens to win consecutive premierships under coach Paul Dalton.
In 2018 the club identified the need to evolve and deliver greater opportunity for the game of rugby in Greater Western Sydney. The clubs' members originate from all across the West with the club making the strategic decision to re-brand from Parramatta Rugby Club to the Western Sydney Two Blues to better reflect our presence in the competition, our members and playing group and to take lead for the game of rugby in Western Sydney.[1]
Four of Parramatta’s favourite sons switched to League with success. Ken Kearney (a Wallaby in 1947 and 1948), Ray Price (a Wallaby between 1974 and 1976), Tony Melrose who played for the Wallabies in 1978 and 1979, and Andrew Leeds who played for his country between 1986 and 1988 all wore the Two Blues with pride and then switched to the Parramatta Eels. Leeds and Peter Kay, capped against England in 1988, were the club’s most recent Wallabies until Tatafu Polota-Nau played two Tests on the Wallabies 2005 Tour against England and Ireland.
Club information
- Club Name: Western Sydney Two Blues
- Nickname: Two Blues
- Founded: 1879
- Home-stadium: Merrylands RSL Club Rugby Park (Formerly Granville Park)
- Uniform colours: Navy-Blue and Sky-Blue
- Premiership Titles: 3 titles: 1977, 1985, 1986
Office holders
As of 2024:Template:Update inline
- President: Greg Cummings
- General Manager: Randy Basra
- Director of Coaching: Sailosi Tagicakibau
- Club Captain: TBA
- 1st Grade Captain: Reece Suesue
Current squad
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| 2014 Parramatta Rugby Squad - Shute Shield | |||||||||
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Props
Hookers
Locks
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Loose forwards
Halfbacks
Midfielders
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Back Three-Quarters
(c) Denotes team captain | |||||||
Records
Honours
Grand Finalists and PremiersScript error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Columns-list
Representative players
International men's teams 15-a-side players:
Template:Flagicon Australia Bob Brown Debut: 1975-05-24 vs. England in Sydney Aus / fullback / (Wallaby 575) Template:Flagicon Australia Bill Cerutti Australian Rep in 17 Tests & made famous the number 13 Jersey in the 1920s-30s. Template:Flagicon Australia Phil Clements Debut: 1982-09-11 vs. New Zealand in Auckland, NZ / Lock / (Wallaby 631) Template:Flagicon Australia Adam Coleman Debut: 2016 Template:Flagicon Australia Patrick Cooper Played for Wallabies is 1965 Template:Flagicon Australia Peter Kay Debut: 1988-06-12 vs. England in Sydney, Aus / Prop / (Wallaby 669) Template:Flagicon Australia Ken Kearney Debut: 1947-06-14 vs. New Zealand in Brisbane, Aus / Hooker / (Wallaby 346) Template:Flagicon Australia Martin Knight Debut: 1978-06-11 vs. Wales in Brisbane, NZ / centre / (Wallaby 593) Template:Flagicon Australia Andrew Leeds Debut: 1986-09-06 vs. New Zealand in Auckland, NZ / fullback / (Wallaby 658) Template:Flagicon Australia Mick Martin Debut: 1980-05-24 vs. Fiji in Suva, Fiji / wing / (Wallaby 612) Template:Flagicon Australia Adrian McDonald Played for Wallabies in 1983 Template:Flagicon Australia Tony Melrose Debut: 1978-09-09 vs. New Zealand in Auckland, NZ / Flyhalf / (Wallaby 601) Template:Flagicon Australia Taqele Naiyaravoro Debut: 2015 Template:Flagicon Australia Rod Phelps Debut: 1955-09-03 vs. New Zealand in Dunedin, NZ / fullback / (Wallaby 412) Template:Flagicon Australia Tatafu Polota-Nau Debut: 2005-11-12 vs England in Twickenham, England / Hooker / (Wallaby 806) Template:Flagicon Australia Don Price Forward Toured Fiji with the Australian Rugby Union Team in 1980 Template:Flagicon Australia Ray Price Debut: 1974-05-25 vs. New Zealand in Sydney, Aus / Flanker / (Wallaby 573) Template:Flagicon Australia Eric Tweedale Debut: 1946-09-14 vs. New Zealand in Dunedin, NZ / Prop / (Wallaby 336) Template:Flagicon Australia Malcolm van Gelder 1958 Template:Flagicon Australia Lance Walker Debut: 1982-08-28 vs. New Zealant in Wellington, NZ / Hooker / (Wallaby 629) Template:Flagicon Australia Stan Wickham Played for Wallabies in 1901 to 1906 Template:Flagicon Tonga Damien Fakafanua Centre/wing for Tonga in 2012 Pacific Nations Cup Template:Flagicon Tonga John Fonua Debut: 2002-06-15 vs. Samoa at Nuku A'lofa, Tonga / wing / (Tonga Player 472) Template:Flagicon Tonga Sitiveni Mafi Lock, Flanker for Tonga Debut in the 2010 Pacific nations Cup Template:Flagicon Tonga Sateki Tuipulotu Debut:1994-07-17 vs. Fiji at Nuku A'lofa, Tonga / fullback / (Tonga Player 368) Template:Flagicon Fiji Taniela Rawaqa Fullback/Flyhalf for Fiji. The Second Highest point scorer in Pacific Nations Cup at 103 Points Template:Flagicon Samoa Fa'avaivai Tanoa'i Debut: 1996-07-13 Vs. Tonga at Apia, Samoa / Flyhalf Template:Flagicon Samoa Lua Vailoaloa Halfback for the Manu Samoa in 2011 Pacific Nations Cup and non travelling reserve in 2011 Rugby World Cup Template:Flagicon New Zealand Sosene Anesi Debut: 2005 vs. Fiji in Albany / fullback,Wing / (All-Black 1054) Template:Flagicon Canada Evan Olmstead Debut: 2011 Canada U20 Vs. Georgia in Tbilisi, Georgia / 2nd Row/Flanker/No.8 Template:Flagicon Philippines Oliver Saunders Current Philippines Rugby player and Top point scorer (Flyhalf) Template:Flagicon Philippines Kenneth Stern Current Philippines Rugby Player (Winger)
Other players signed to professional clubs:
Template:Flagicon Australia Daniel Yakapo Rugby Viadana Template:Flagicon Italy Steven Bortolussi Petrarca Padova Rugby Template:Flagicon Samoa Iese Leota Stade Montois Template:Flagicon Samoa Chris Seuteni CA Brive Template:Flagicon Tonga Sitiveni Mafi Western Force
International women's teams players:
Template:Flagicon Australia Alex Sulusi Australian women's national rugby union team Template:Flagicon Australia Chloe Butler Australian women's national rugby union team Template:Flagicon Australia Nita Maynard Australian women's national rugby union team Template:Flagicon Australia Hanna Sio Australian women's national rugby union team (sevens)
Other Australian team representatives:
Template:Flagicon Australia Daniel Yakapo Australian national rugby union team (sevens) Template:Flagicon Australia Andrew Vatuvei Australian Schoolboys Rugby Union Template:Flagicon Australia Andrew Cox Australian Barbarians Rugby Team Template:Flagicon Australia Josh Kaifa Australian Barbarians Rugby Team Template:Flagicon Australia Mika Polota Nau Australian Barbarians Rugby Team Template:Flagicon Australia Rodney Ma'a Australian Barbarians Rugby Team
Life members
- Greg Baker
- Bruce Coggins
- Denis Garlick
- Frank Lawson
- Jack Liversedge
- Allan Minett
- Roger O'Neill
- Morris Sutton
- Eric Tweedale
- Hilton "Snow" Elliott
- Janice Dewberry
- John Aquilina
- Patrick Dunne
- Peter Thompson
- Gary Hudson
- Geoff Baldwin
- Moala Polota-Nau
- Andrew Cox
- Tatafu Polota-Nau
- Peter Gillett
- Anthony 'Santa' Privett
- Ian Clarke
- Joe Scott
200 club
The following players have played over 200 Grade games for Parramatta Two Blues Template:Colbegin
- David Bird
- Matthew Campton
- Pat Cooper
- Ray Elliot
- Graham Galloway
- Glen Goddard
- Greg Hackett
- Dominic King
- Ivan Mann
- Gregg Melrose
- David Strong
- Kel Black
- Peter Campton
- Mick Donaldson
- Paul Evans
- John Gardiner
- Andrew Gokel
- Terry Heffernan
- Peter Koen
- Warren Martin
- Allan Minnett
- Craig Minnett
- Glen Stuart
- Tim Calhalane
- Bruce Coggins
- Hilton "Snow" Elliott
- Geoff Ferris
- Dennis Garlick
- Jon Gorman
- Allan Holman
- Frank Lehman
- Peter McDonald
- Andrew Campton
- Joe Cllins
- Kevin Elliott
- Peter Ferris
- Paul Gledhill
- Noel Grant
- Peter Kay
- David Mann
- Keith McKinney
- Steven Simpson
Juniors
Parramatta junior clubs
- Blacktown JRUFC
- Dundas Valley JRUFC
- Hills JRUFC
- Merrylands JRUFC
- Norwest JRUFC
- Liverpool JRUFC
- Hawkesbury Valley JRUFC
Notable junior players
- Template:Flagicon Jeremy Su'a - Canterbury Crusaders
- Template:Flagicon Sam Wykes - Western Force
- Template:Flagicon Jamal Idris - Gold Coast Titans
- Template:Flagicon Sisa Waqa - Melbourne Storm
- Template:Flagicon Jorge Taufua - Manly Sea Eagles
- Template:Flagicon Leon Bott - Retired
- Template:Flagicon Tatafu Polota Nau - ACT Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, Western Force, Leicester Tigers
- Template:Flagicon Sitiveni 'Steve' Mafi - NSW Waratahs, Leicester, Western Force, Castres, London Irish
- Template:Flagicon Hadley Tonga - Australia national rugby sevens team
- Template:Flagicon Waiaria Ellis - NSW Waratahs Women
References
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External links
- http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby-gold/former-all-black-soseni-anesi-joins-parramattas-two-blues/story-fndpt9s1-1226427514708
- http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/rugby-gold/the-parramatta-two-blues-progress-to-shute-shield-finals/story-fn8ouzvd-1226454443914
- http://parramatta-advertiser.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/two-blues-future-looks-bright/
- http://parramatta-advertiser.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/farewell-parramatta-two-blues-go-with-our-blessing/
- http://parramatta-advertiser.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/hooker-revs-up-rookies/
- http://www.nswrugby.com.au/NSWRugby/News/NewsArticle/tabid/374/ArticleID/7371/Default.aspx
- http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/rugby-gold/former-all-black-soseni-anesi-joins-parramattas-two-blues/story-fn8ti7yn-1226427514708
- http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/hookers-humility-keeps-him-in-touch-with-roots-20120706-21mdx.html
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".