Australian Rugby Shield

The Australian Rugby Shield is a rugby union competition in Australia. It was launched in 2000 by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), now Rugby Australia (RA). The competition was intended to unearth new talent outside of the existing rugby strongholds of Sydney and Brisbane. The competition was suspended after the 2008 season,

NRC Division 2 (2018−2020)

An Emerging States Championship was formed in 2018 for representative teams from smaller rugby unions within Australia. There had been no regular competition for these teams since the demise of Australian Rugby Shield a decade earlier. The new tournament was hosted by Rugby Union South Australia in Adelaide and featured the South Australia Black Falcons, Victoria Country Barbarians, Northern Territory Mosquitoes and Tasmania Jack Jumpers. The Black Falcons were the inaugural winners. The tournament was rebranded as NRC Division 2 for 2019, with eight representative teams invited:

New South Wales Country Cockatoos
Northern Territory Mosquitoes
Perth Gold
Queensland Country Heelers

South Australia Black Falcons
South Australian U23
Tasmania Jack Jumpers
Victoria Country Barbarians

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

! scope="col" |Year

! scope="col" |Teams

! Champion

! Runner-up

! Third

! Fourth

! 2018

! 4

| South Australia

| Tasmania

| Northern Territory

| Victoria Country

! 2019

! 7

| Perth Gold

| New South Wales Country

| Queensland Country

| South Australia

! 2020

| colspan="5" |Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Revival of the Competition

During the coronavirus pandemic, Rugby Australia suffered severe economic hardship, nearing bankruptcy. These financial issues were quickly turned around by a new board and led to the reintroduction of the Australian Rugby Shield and Australia ‘A’ competitions from the 2022 season.

Held in Adelaide, teams participated from ACT & Southern New South Wales, New South Wales Country, Outback Queensland, Queensland Country, Rugby Tasmania, Rugby Victoria & Rugby Western Australia.

The ACT and Southern New South Wales Griffins were crowned champions defeating NSW Country 34–31 in the Grand Final at Brighton Oval, Adelaide.

The 2022 Australian Rugby Shield also had a women's competition, with Victoria defeating all who stood before them.

Following the conclusion of the 2022 edition, Rugby Australia came under scrutiny for not promoting the competition enough, resulting a lack of awareness in the rugby community it was taking place. Critics did praise the return of the competition as a whole, calling it a significant step in growing rugby union in regional areas.

Television coverage

From 2000 to 2008, the competition was broadcast on national television by the digital channel ABC2. It showcased two of the Australian Rugby Shield matches each round.

In 2022, games were only available to watch via YouTube. This contributed to the criticism that Rugby Australia received in relation to the lack of the promotion this tournament received.

Participating teams

South Australian Black Falcons
ACT & Southern New South Wales Griffins
Victorian Axemen
New South Wales Country Cockatoos
Perth Gold
Queensland Country Heelers
Tasmania Jack Jumpers
Northern Territory Mosquitos

Men's Champions

2000 Queensland Country Heelers
2001 New South Wales Country Cockatoos
2002 New South Wales Country Cockatoos
2003 Perth Gold
2004 New South Wales Country Cockatoos
2005 Perth Gold
2006 ACT & Southern New South Wales Griffins
2007 Victorian Axemen
2008 New South Wales Country Cockatoos
2009–2021 Not played
2022 ACT & Southern New South Wales Griffins
2023 ACT & Southern New South Wales Griffins
2024 Queensland Country Heelers
2025 Queensland Country Heelers

Women's Champions

2022 Victoria Women
2023 NSW Country Corellas
2024 ACT & SNSW Kestrels
2025 Sydney Women