1885 Southern Rugby Union season

In 1885, the Union decided to elevate three Junior clubs into the Gardiner Challenge Cup. Arfoma, St. Leonards and Newtown had performed well during the previous season and were given the opportunity to compete for the cup.[1]

Teams

Name	Icon	Formed	Ground	Captain
Arfoma		Prior to 1883	None	EC Ebsworth
Balmain		c.1873	None	Ewen Cameron
Burwood		c.1876	Burwood Park	Samuel Chapman
Newtown		prior to 1883	Macdonaldtown Park	Sharpe
Redfern		24 May 1878	Redfern Ground	George Walker
St. Leonards		June 1872	The Reserve	FT Cheeseman
Sydney University		c.1863	University Ground	Charles Tange
Wallaroo		19 May 1871	Wallaroo Ground	George Graham

In 1885 the Sydney Rugby Premiership continued to develop into a more structured competition. Before the season began, the Southern Rugby Football Union decided to promote three Junior Clubs into the Gardiner Challenge Cup. This took the competing teams to eight.[1] The number of games during the season also increased, with most of the teams playing each other twice. However, at the conclusion of the season, some clubs had not played the same number of games as others. The competition still did not see organised rounds and an official points ladder.

Overall, the season was not seen as being as brilliant as the previous. The Association Cricket Ground became unavailable during the season, which had an effect upon the games being played. This ground was the only one that fenced in the playing field. As a result, many games were interrupted by the crowds encroaching upon the field. The Agricultural Society made their ground available to the Union later in the season, with two games often being played side-by-side. This did see some confusion with players stopping play in one game on hearing the call from the other game.[2]

Despite a deficit in their defence and kicking, the Sydney University Football Club proved to be the Premier club and were awarded the Gardiner Challenge Cup. The 'Varsity were well organised and displayed consistent form during the season. The team put the same players onto the field each week. As a result, the club were undefeated during the cup campaign with their only losses coming from non-cup games with a weakened team.[2]

The Wallaroo Football Club displayed occasional brilliance on the field. On a good day, they demonstrated excellent forward play. However, a heavy schedule of 20 games across all matches saw the club become inconsistent in their performance. In 14 Cup games, the team won 8. Despite being beaten by Burwood, Wallaroo were ranked second for the season due to winning more games.[2]

Last season's Premiers, Burwood, were considered the more all-round team. They were splendidly led by their captain Samuel Chapman who had spent some time playing in Cambridge. Using the experience gained, he encouraged his players to back each other. The club finished their season with a draw against the eventual champions, displaying the potential of the team.[2]

The Southern Rugby Football Union classified the participating clubs into two groups, Seniors and Juniors. Prior to 1883, all clubs were considered for the Premiership. With the introduction of the Gardiner Challenge Cup, only Senior clubs participated in the competition. The Junior clubs competed with each other, but no award was recognised for their achievements. Matches between Senior and Junior teams were common place, with results in those matches possibly assisting in deciding the final Senior Premiership winner.

In 1885, the top Junior Clubs were Balmain Wellington and Rosedale who were both undefeated for the season.

• Sydney Club Rugby History.
• NSW Waratahs All-time player list.
• Queensland Reds All-time player list. Archived 11 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine