About USC Rugby Union Club - Sippy Downs Sunshine Coast

USC Rugby was founded in 1997 just one year after the opening of the University of the Sunshine Coast (then Sunshine Coast Community College). The USC Rugby Club plays in the Sunshine Coast Rugby Union competition, the local competition to the Sunshine Coast which is apart of the Queensland Country Rugby Union.

USC Rugby is fast becoming the club of choice on the Sunshine Coast due to its commitment to nurturing the running game and it’s strong club culture. Numerous programs have been put in place to host and nurture the development of individual players and officials, and of course the game of rugby union. USC Rugby has a very innovative philosophy for such a young club, believing that a club should not be segregated into teams but work as one united club. This is evident on and off the field with strong training sessions involving all players regardless of age or skill, and a social calendar that sees University as the envy of the district.

The USC summer rugby academy targets skill development, skill education and fitness for players aged between U11 to U18’s. The academy is run by a collection of great coaches and current senior players through the months of November to March.

Our club encourages our junior representative players with a rebate for all representative fees. Also we encourage our young players to join the Sunshine Coast Refereeing program where the young refs are paid to referee games of younger age groups. The more games refereed the more they earn!

Our Location

The USC Rugby Club is based at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs Campus. This is a short 15 minute drive to the award winning beaches of Mooloolaba, Maroochydore and Kawana. The Sippy Downs Campus is handy to the Bruce Highway (Australia’s National Highway) which is the direct route to Brisbane (Queensland’s capital) just 80 kilometers away. It is also supported by ever improving public transport to the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.

Rugby Programs

Social Program

As previously mentioned the social culture with University is what really sets it apart from its rival clubs across numerous codes. The social scene is not limited to the season, events such as surf carnivals, Men’s nights, ladies days, adopt-a-colt night, Golf Days, The Rugby Ball, theme nights such as wig night and Hawaii 5-0 night, and plenty more keep the club’s patrons entertained throughout the year.

Clan Wars

To spread the work load around and really break down barriers between all teams within the club a house style program has been introduced similar to the system used at school. Players have been segregated into 4 clans and will compete throughout the year in a number of tasks and events to get all of the work done as well as grow the club spirit.

Tours

In 2000, the club ventured to ‘the land of the long dark pint’, Ireland, for their first international tour. So successful was the Irish Invasion tour, that the tradition of the USC Rugby tour began, which will see the boys travel to far and away places every three years.

In 2003, the club showcased their talents on rugby fields across Austria, Hungary the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Italy and Germany. The representative team comprised of 20 tourists, of mixed grade, who spent 21 days showing Europe how a Rugby game is really played! The boys spent two days at DKHS Calone (a sporting facility similar to that Australian Institute of Sport), and came up against many selected provincial sides and University teams. The USC Rugby Club is the first Australian team to have the privilege of touring through Austria.

2009 was the most recent tour with the team travelling to New Zealand for a Sevens tournament.