Eastern Suburbs RUFC (Canberra)
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| Union | ACT & Sthn NSW Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Easts, Easties, East Beasts, Beasties |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Region | ACT |
| Ground(s) | Griffith Oval (Capacity: N/A) |
| President | Greg Dennis |
| Coach(es) | John Ross |
| League(s) | ACTRU Premier Division |
| Official website | |
| www |
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The Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Club Canberra, based out of Griffith, Australian Capital Territory, was founded in 1938.
Easts compete in the John I Dent Cup, the highest level rugby competition in the region.
'Easties' as they are affectionately known by their club members, has a rich and proud history. The club is responsible for producing some of Australia's most talented and respected rugby players. Easts are one of A.C.T rugby's foundation clubs, and were an integral part of the developmental process that has seen Canberra become known worldwide as one of the most influential and respected rugby playing cities.
Easts were once affiliated with the RMC Duntroon Rugby Club. RMC provided Easts with a plethora of rugby talent, and this dramatically increased the capacity of Easts to turn out competitive sides on a weekly basis. In the mid 80s the RMC rugby fraternity split from the Easts to establish itself as an independent entity. RMC now compete in the ACT Division 1 competition.
The club survived tumultuous years in the early 2000s, which saw the clubhouse in Manuka sold. Whilst Easts played regular finals football in these years, the financial stability and ongoing future of the club was in jeopardy.
Easts has survived in large part due to the diligent work undertaken under the former President, Mr Owen Brown in the years following the sale of the clubhouse, as well as many other dedicated club men and ladies.
2008 was a great year for Easts who made the grand final on the back of a strong playing roster and great depth in the clubs ranks. Easts narrowly lost to the Queanbeyan Whites 22-15 in an exciting match in front of a large crowd at Viking Park.
The period following the strong 2008 season has been dark for Easts, with 2009 to 2012 seeing the club struggle on the field, however a slew of new initiatives should see Easts again challenging for the John I Dent Cup in 2013.
2012 saw Brumbies head coach, Jake White (Springboks RWC winning coach) undertake an initiative to bolster the local ACT competition. This saw the introduction of five ACT Brumbies players allocated to Easts, including: Stephen Moore (Brumbies/Wallabies - Hooker), Jerry Yanuyanutawa (Fiji, Brumbies, London-Irish - Prop), Ben Hand (Brumbies, Grenoble RFC - Lock), Michael Hooper (Australian U20's, Wallabies, Brumbies, Waratahs - Flanker) and Andrew Smith(Brumbies -Fullback/Centres). Should these players not be named in the match 22 for the Brumbies in the Super 15 Competition, they will play for Easts.
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Wikipedia