From the Archives: The Team Sheets That Started It All
In a season defined by milestones, one of the most quietly significant moments in our 25th Anniversary celebrations has been the chance to go back through the archives and revisit the very beginning of the Uni-Norths story. For a number of years, Ross Walker and Dicky Neves have been leading a dedicated project to capture and preserve the history of our club, securing photographs of past players and teams, recordings of matches, and team sheets from seasons long since played. Their work is ongoing, and in this anniversary year it has produced something genuinely special, the team lists for the men's sides who took the field for the very first time under the Universities/Norths banner, drawn from the ACT Rugby Union's Rugby News from April and May 2001. It is worth noting that the club initially appeared in the Rugby News under the name "Universities," with the Uni-Norths designation taking hold from Round 2 onwards. The amalgamation, as the Rugby News noted at the time, brought together "a stronger, more youthful club" that was keen to establish itself in the Premier Division from the very first whistle. Round 1, 21 April 2001: Queanbeyan v Universities Campese Field, kick off 3pm The first match under the amalgamated banner saw the side make the trip to Campese Field to take on Queanbeyan on home turf. It was a baptism of fire, Queanbeyan made good use of their home ground advantage to win 18-14 in what the Rugby News described as "a close one." The result stung, but the scoreline told its own story about a side that was already competitive. Across 1st Grade, 2nd Grade and Colts, the Universities players who ran out that day were as follows: 1st Grade C Madden, D Power, D Clysdale, S Thompson, E Rush, D McGrath, W Glenwright, D Hogden (c), S Grey, M Watter, J Wilson, T Grenfell, C O'Sullivan, J Osbourne, D Hannan. Coaches: N Leah/G Brewer. Manager: B Burston. 2nd Grade G Corliss, A Power, M Fai, A Hirst, A Stanton, M Kaye, S Edwards, M Lesume, M Gray, M Watter, N O'Sullivan, Z Maguire, D Berryman, S Hanson, D Chambers. Coach: I Fowler. Manager: S Hammond. Colts E Fardell, S Kibbey, D Hutton, G Ritchie, R Neeves, J Pilcher, A Murray, C Newsam, N Kirby, L Wild, S Mugford, L O'Connor, N Notaris, J Valentine, W Stefaniak. Coaches: R Widmer/D Luchetti. Manager: B Hannan. Round 2, 28 April 2001: Unis/Norths v Wests ANU North Oval, kick off 3pm Round 2 brought the side home to ANU North Oval for the first time and it was also the first occasion on which the club appeared in print as Unis/Norths. The day had an added dimension off the field, Ladies Day was held at The Barn for the first time, drawing what the Rugby News called "a huge crowd" to the club's first home game of the season. On the field it was a mixed afternoon, the 1st Grade side were well in the contest at half time before the reigning premiers Wests, widely rated the best team in the competition that year, heavily pulled away in the second half to win 46-5. The Rugby News noted that Mick Watter, Will Glenwright and Dave Hogden were the best performers for the home side. The 2nd Grade result was a tight one, going down 13-12 after Wests kicked a penalty goal after the final whistle had sounded. Colts were beaten 33-8, while the First Division 1st Grade side produced an encouraging performance in a 31-22 win over Wests, with Charlie Knaggs, Ben Nelson and Simon Thurbon standing out. 1st Grade C Madden, D Power, D Clysdale, S Thompson, E Rush, D McGrath, W Glenwright, D Hogden (c), S Grey, M Watter, J Wilson, T Grenfell, C O'Sullivan, J Osbourne, D Hannan. Coaches: N Leah/G Brewer. Manager: B Burston. 2nd Grade G Corliss, A Power, M Freemantle, A Hirst, A Stanton, M Kaye, S Edwards, M Lesume, M Gray, M Bourne, N O'Sullivan, D Maguire, L Freemantle, S Hanson, D Williams. Coach: I Fowler. Manager: S Hammond. Colts N Kirby, G Smith, N Long, A Joseph, E Campbell, S Kibby, D Berrants, C Newsam, J Dexter, J Riddley, L Isaacson, A Nicholls, H Thomas, A Keating, N Notaris. Coaches: R Widmer/D Luchetti. Manager: B Hannan. First Division 1st Grade R Jones, N Read, S Lasscock, N Baff, C Toyne, J Thomas, C Knaggs, D Purser, JT Neeves, B Nelson, R McDonald, S Thurbon, T Egan, S Sill, S Cotello. Coaches: R Kimberly/J Grenfell. Manager: P Bailey. Round 3, 5 May 2001: Gungahlin v Unis/Norths Nicholls Oval, kick off 3pm Round 3 was billed as the Match of the Round, with both Gungahlin and Unis/Norths looking for their first win of the season. The Rugby News framed it simply, "with the competition reduced to only 12 rounds this year, it will be important to get on the board as early as possible." Unis/Norths delivered, playing into a strong wind in the first half and reduced to 14 men for 20 minutes of the second, the 1st Grade side held firm to record what the club notes described as "our first ever first grade win," 27-22. Chris Madden, Dan Hannan and Will Glenwright were the standouts. The Women's side also recorded a dominant 25-0 win over the Eagles, and the First Division 1st Grade side made it three straight victories in that grade. 1st Grade C Madden, D Power, D Clysdale, S Thompson, E Rush, D McGrath, W Glenwright, D Hogden (c), S Grey, M Watter, J Wilson, C O'Sullivan, D Hannan, N O'Sullivan, J Osbourne. Coaches: N Leah/G Brewer. Manager: B Burston. 2nd Grade G Corliss, A Power, M Freemantle, A Hirst, A Stanton, M Kaye, S Edwards, M Lesume, M Gray, M Bourne, I Miller, D Maguire, A Flemming, S Hanson, L Freemantle. Coach: I Fowler. Manager: S Hammond. Colts N Kirby, G Smith, N Long, A Joseph, E Campbell, S Kibby, D Berrants, C Newsam, J Dexter, J Riddley, L Isaacson, A Nicholls, H Thomas, A Keating, N Notaris. Coaches: R Widmer/D Luchetti. Manager: B Hannan. First Division 1st Grade R Jones, N Read, S Lasscock, N Baff, C Toyne, J Thomas, C Knaggs, D Purser, R McDonald, B Nelson, D Williams, S Thurbon, T Egan, S Sill, S Cotello. Coaches: R Kimberly/J Grenfell. Manager: P Bailey. Round 4, 12 May 2001: Unis/Norths v Royals ANU North Oval, kick off 3pm The Match of the Round for Round 4 was hosted at ANU North Oval, with Unis/Norths taking on a Royals side sitting equal top of the ladder. The team lists for this fixture are as follows: 1st Grade C Madden, D Power, D Clydesdale, S Thompson, E Rush, D McGrath, W Glenwright, D Hogden (c), S Grey, M Watter, J Wilson, C O'Sullivan, W Aitken, J Osbourne, D Hannan. Coaches: N Leah/G Brewer. Manager: B Burston. 2nd Grade G Corliss, A Power, M Freemantle, A Hirst, L Jensen, M Kaye, S Edwards, M Lesume, M Gray, M Bourne, N O'Sullivan, D Maguire, A Fleming, S Hanson, L Freemantle. Coach: I Fowler. Manager: S Hammond. Colts N Kirby, G Smith, A Hickey, A Joseph, Cullen-Ward, S Kibby, D Berrants, C Newsam, J Dexter, J Riddley, Dennent, A Nicholls, H Thomas, A Keating, N Notaris. Coaches: R Widmer/D Luchetti. Manager: B Hannan. First Division 1st Grade R Jones, N Read, S Lasscock, A Stanley, C McCrow, J Thomas, C Knaggs, D Purser, D Eason, B Nelson, Miller, M Arsiocondo, T Egan, N Smith, S Cotello. Coaches: R Kimberly/J Grenfell. Manager: P Bailey. The Women's Side One gap in the record that is worth acknowledging is that the women's teams from 2001 were not included in the Rugby News team sheets, so we are unable to name the players who represented the club in those first fixtures. What we do know is that the women's side made an immediate impression. The season ladder published during the year showed them as one of the team to beat and the match notes confirm a 25-0 win over Gungahlin in Round 3. If anyone from that era has team sheets, photographs, or simply remembers who was involved, we would very much like to hear from you. Twenty-Five Years On The club that ran out at Campese Field on 21 April 2001 looks different from the one that takes the field today. The grades have grown, the community has deepened, and the OwlEnvironment has become something genuinely its own. But the thread runs unbroken from those first team sheets to the present day and the names listed above are the ones it all started with.
