Canberra Royals 01/11/2024

Highly respected Royals member, Bob Smith, passed away on 28 October 2024 following a long illness. Bob was well known to sports clubs across Canberra through his businesses, Classic Framing and TrophyLink. His sons, Nathan and Damon, both played rugby for Royals. Bob made an enormous contribution to Royals over the years in a number of areas. He was a key member of the Royals Rugby Foundation which raised significant funds for Royals player development. He also generously donated items for fundraising functions organised by the Foundation and framed rugby memorabilia for auction at these events. He took on the...

Matt Cleary 01/11/2024

ON a Saturday morning early in 1996, 16-year-old Davina Wright (then Cooke) was woken in bed by a loud tap on her bedroom window. It was her sister, Louise, fully kitted out in Royals gear – socks up, boots on, head taped, ready to play.“She’d run home from Rivett Oval to number three Bangalay Crescent and she’s telling me through the window, ‘get up and put footy boots on, the team is short, we need you to play’,” Wright says.“I was reluctant, but there’s a part of me that is slightly terrified of my sister, so I don’t really remember...

Matt Cleary 15/09/2024

MICHAEL Roche was known as ‘Cocka’ as a nod to Al Pacino’s character, Tony Montana, from the movie Scarface (1981). A better nickname was draped over his younger brother, Tim, who was known as ‘Cockatoo’.“Cocka was a wonderful backrower. Tough, smart, ‘everywhere’; he was a quiet achiever, the glue sides need at the breakdown,” Geoff Didier says.“He could be very aggressive in his moments. But as a captain, generally speaking, he was a school prefect. He was great for Royals and had a big influence. It can’t be underestimated.”John Kelsey says Roche had “great presence on the field and was...

Matt Cleary 28/08/2024

ALL three Royals teams - firsts, seconds and thirds (U/18s) - appeared in grand finals in 1959 though only the young ones won a premiership, knocking over Canberra High 22-17, with firsts going down to Queanbeyan.Two weeks earlier, however, Royals won the Canberra Cup final over the same opponent. It was a game significant, according to the ACTRU’s Rugby News of 22 August 1959, because it was shown on the relatively recent invention known as ‘television’.“Saturday’s ABN Channel 2 telecast of the Queanbeyan-Canberra Royals Canberra Cup Final made local sporting history as the first time a local sporting event had...

Matt Cleary 14/08/2024

IN the first four seasons of Canberra Royals RUFC, the club was without a clubhouse. Home games and training were at Acton Park2 and players would change on the sidelines or turn up wearing boots and all.After match ‘functions’ were a keg at Brian ‘Brickie’ Baulk’s place. At the end of season 1952, the Royals’ committee went on a fund-raising drive to build a home. The target sum was 400 pounds - about $17,000 in 2024 money - and members were given a book of tickets worth one pound which was used to raffle a carton of beer and half...