The history of rugby dates back well into the 19th Century at Rugby School in England and moved over to the English colonies in the South Pacific sometime in the 1870s. According to Sean Fagan’s book “The Rugby Rebellion: the Divide of League and Union” rugby union arrived in Brisbane in the year of 1879 “... when occasional games were played” (2005: 9). In this book Fagan alludes to the fact that Victorian Rules was more popular at that time until, of course, 1882 when Pring Roberts invited the Wallaroo club in Sydney to play a rugby match that and surprisingly “... the inter-colonial aspect attracted much wider attention” (Fagan, 2005: 9).

The first official International Test match in Brisbane was the 2nd Test against Britain played on the 22nd of July, 1899 at the Exhibition Ground. Unfortunately Australia lost 11-0 after winning the inaugural International 13-3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the 24th of June and the Queensland team beating the tourists 11-3. Peter Jenkins in his classic rugby tome “Wallaby Gold: 100 years of Australian Test Rugby” suggests that with the locals having won the earlier tour matches that much interest had been achieved. “Special trains brought 2000 spectators from the Darling Downs, Gympie and Maryborough, and the 15,000 on hand when the Australians ran out in maroon jumpers, complete with Australian crest, was said to be a Queensland record for rugby or cricket” (1999: 4).