Ballymore Tornadoes
Encyclopedia
The Ballymore Tornadoes were an Australian rugby union
football club that played in the now-defunct Australian Rugby Championship
. The Tornadoes were formed as one of Queensland
's two clubs that will participate in the inaugural season of the championship, starting in August 2007. Based in Ballymore Stadium
, Brisbane
, they represent the northside of the city, as well as the north of Queensland. The team colors are maroon
, blue
and silver
and their local rivals are the East Coast Aces
.
in Brisbane
.
The name, logo and team colors (along with the Aces) were unveiled on 14 February 2007, by the Queensland Rugby Union
(QRU).
On 23 February Chris Roche was announced as the coach of the Tornadoes. Roche, the Coaching Director of Norths QUT, one of the Tornadoes feeder clubs is also a former Wallaby
, playing 17 Tests as well as 49 matches for the Reds
during the 1980s. The selection process of Queensland's (Tornadoes and Aces) two coaches were overseen by Reds head coach Eddie Jones
. The Tornadoes selected a preliminary squad of 56 players from the Premier Rugby competition in early April.
The Tornadoes and Aces were the first teams of the Australian Rugby Championship to be unveiled. Ballymore Tornadoes Steering Committee Chairman said that "The prefix Ballymore was attached to indicate not only the geographical aspect of north of the river and northern region, but also to enliven the tribal aspect by capturing all the devotees of Ballymore in making the Tornadoes their team". The team logo depicts a football(ball) and a tornado
with the team name. Their colours are maroon, blue and silver.
. Ballymore was built in 1966 and is the home of the QRU. It was also home to the Super Rugby
team the Queensland Reds
until they moved to the larger Suncorp Stadium
in 2006. The stadium has a capacity of around 24,000. It was known from early stages of the planning of the competition that one of Queenslands' clubs would likely use Ballymore as its home ground for the competition. It was even mentioned at one stage that both clubs may use Ballymore as a home base. Ballymore has also in the past played host to international games.
formed a georgaphical divide between the two ARC teams. The Tornadoes are aligned with six clubs that participate in the Queensland Premier Rugby
competition, those six are; Brothers
, GPS
, Norths/QUT
, Sunshine Coast Rugby
, University
and Wests
.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
football club that played in the now-defunct Australian Rugby Championship
Australian Rugby Championship
The Australian Rugby Championship, often abbreviated to the ARC , was a domestic Rugby union football club competition in Australia which ran for only one season in August–October 2007...
. The Tornadoes were formed as one of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
's two clubs that will participate in the inaugural season of the championship, starting in August 2007. Based in Ballymore Stadium
Ballymore Stadium
Ballymore is the name of a rugby union stadium situated in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It was the home of Queensland Rugby Union, and used to be the home ground for the Queensland Reds and the Brisbane Strikers Football Club. The Queensland Reds have since moved to Suncorp Stadium...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, they represent the northside of the city, as well as the north of Queensland. The team colors are maroon
Maroon (color)
Maroon is a dark red color.-Etymology:Maroon is derived from French marron .The first recorded use of maroon as a color name in English was in 1789.-Maroon :...
, blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
and silver
Silver (color)
Silver is the metallic shade resembling gray, closest to that of polished silver.The visual sensation usually associated with the metal silver is its metallic shine. This cannot be reproduced by a simple solid color, because the shiny effect is due to the material's brightness varying with the...
and their local rivals are the East Coast Aces
East Coast Aces
The East Coast Aces were an Australian rugby union football club that played in the now defunct Australian Rugby Championship. The Aces were formed as one of two Queensland based clubs that participated in the inaugural season of the championship, which started in August 2007 The East Coast Aces...
.
History
The inaugural Australian Rugby Championship, which started in August 2007, included eight teams of which two are based in Queensland. In June 2006 it was announced that one of the Queensland sides will be playing out of Ballymore StadiumBallymore Stadium
Ballymore is the name of a rugby union stadium situated in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It was the home of Queensland Rugby Union, and used to be the home ground for the Queensland Reds and the Brisbane Strikers Football Club. The Queensland Reds have since moved to Suncorp Stadium...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
The name, logo and team colors (along with the Aces) were unveiled on 14 February 2007, by the Queensland Rugby Union
Queensland Rugby Union
The Queensland Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Queensland. It is a member and founding union of the Australian Rugby Union.-See also:*Queensland Reds*Australian Rugby Union*The Wallabies*Rugby union in Queensland...
(QRU).
On 23 February Chris Roche was announced as the coach of the Tornadoes. Roche, the Coaching Director of Norths QUT, one of the Tornadoes feeder clubs is also a former Wallaby
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
, playing 17 Tests as well as 49 matches for the Reds
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
during the 1980s. The selection process of Queensland's (Tornadoes and Aces) two coaches were overseen by Reds head coach Eddie Jones
Eddie Jones (rugby)
Eddie Jones is a rugby union coach and former player.-Coaching career:...
. The Tornadoes selected a preliminary squad of 56 players from the Premier Rugby competition in early April.
Colours and logo
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
with the team name. Their colours are maroon, blue and silver.
Stadium
The Ballymore Tornadoes will be playing out of Ballymore StadiumBallymore Stadium
Ballymore is the name of a rugby union stadium situated in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It was the home of Queensland Rugby Union, and used to be the home ground for the Queensland Reds and the Brisbane Strikers Football Club. The Queensland Reds have since moved to Suncorp Stadium...
. Ballymore was built in 1966 and is the home of the QRU. It was also home to the Super Rugby
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
team the Queensland Reds
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
until they moved to the larger Suncorp Stadium
Suncorp Stadium
Lang Park is the original name of the site located in the Brisbane suburb of Milton, Queensland, Australia, now occupied by the major sports facility known by its sponsorship name, Suncorp Stadium...
in 2006. The stadium has a capacity of around 24,000. It was known from early stages of the planning of the competition that one of Queenslands' clubs would likely use Ballymore as its home ground for the competition. It was even mentioned at one stage that both clubs may use Ballymore as a home base. Ballymore has also in the past played host to international games.
Franchise area
Queensland's two teams in the ARC were aligned with existing clubs and regions. The Brisbane RiverBrisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
formed a georgaphical divide between the two ARC teams. The Tornadoes are aligned with six clubs that participate in the Queensland Premier Rugby
Queensland Premier Rugby
Queensland Premier Rugby is a club rugby union competition in Queensland, Australia. Ten clubs compete in the competition, eight of which are from Brisbane, with a club each from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast also competing. The competition has been contested in its present form since 1929...
competition, those six are; Brothers
Brothers Old Boys
The Brothers Old Boys are an Australian rugby union club, based in Brisbane,Queensland. The team currently competes in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition against nine of the states best Rugby Union clubs. The club was established in 1905 and has won 27 premierships since...
, GPS
GPS Rugby
GPS Rugby Club is one of the oldest in Australia, tracing its roots to 1887 -even before the Australian Rugby Union was born.Based at Ashgrove in Brisbane, Queensland, Jeeps has produced 29 Wallabies including Ben Tune, Daniel Herbert, Matt Cockbain, and Daniel Heenan, along with a host of other...
, Norths/QUT
Norths/QUT
Norths/QUT is a Brisbane rugby union club based in Brisbane, Queensland. They currently compete in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition.The club's players were available for selection to the Australian Rugby Championship franchise Ballymore Tornadoes during that competition's short-lived...
, Sunshine Coast Rugby
Sunshine Coast Stingrays
The Sunshine Coast Stingrays are an Australian rugby union club, based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. The club currently competes in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition. The club is the most recent addition to the Premier competition, having their first season in 2005...
, University
University of Queensland Rugby Club
The University of Queensland Rugby Club is an Australian rugby union club, based at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland. They currently compete in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition...
and Wests
Wests Rugby
Wests are an Australian rugby union club, established in 1951 and based in Toowong, Queensland. They wear green and yellow jerseys and compete in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition. The bulk of their players come from the Western Suburbs of Brisbane, fighting for players from local rivals GPS...
.
Former squad
| Name | Position | Club | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Doneley | Outside Back | Brothers | Australia |
| Brendan McKibbin | Scrumhalf | Brothers ** | Scotland |
| Anthony Sauer | Outside Back | Brothers | Australia |
| Will Genia Will Genia Will Genia is a Papua New Guinean-born, Australian rugby union player who plays at scrum-half for the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition, in which he debuted round one, 2007. Currently, he plays for the Wallabies.-Career:... |
Scrumhalf | GPS * | Papua New Guinea |
| Tom McVerry | Backrow | GPS (captain) * | Australia |
| Steve Miller | Backrow | GPS | Australia |
| Brett Naylor | Tighthead Prop | GPS | Australia |
| Byron Roberts | Outside Back | GPS | Australia |
| Kirk Topia | Hooker/Wing | Norths | |
| Blair Connor Blair Connor (rugby union) Blair Connor born 29 September 1988 in Brisbane, Australia is a rugby union from Brisbane, Australia. He played for the Queensland Reds in the 2009, 2010 Super 14 season... |
Outside Back | Norths ** | Australia |
| Tristan Hill | Lock | Norths | New Zealand |
| Peter Loane | Tighthead Prop | Norths | Australia |
| Ray Stowers | Backrow | Norths | |
| Michael Jew | No 8/ Centre | Norths | |
| Luke Horsefield | Utility | Norths | |
| Shon Siemonek Shon Siemonek Shon Siemonek is a New Zealand-born Rugby Union player for the Ballymore Tornadoes in the Australian Rugby Championship, where he plays as a loose-head prop.- Background :... |
Loosehead Prop | Sunshine Coast | |
| Charles Wyllie | No 8 | Sunshine Coast | |
| Brett Gillespie | Inside Back | University ** | |
| Peter Hynes Peter Hynes (rugby player) Peter Hynes is an Australian Rugby Union Player for the Queensland Reds and the Australian Wallabies. He attended Brisbane State High School.-Career:... |
Winger/Five-Eighth | University * | |
| Daniel Linde | Lock | University ** | |
| Geoff Abram | Hooker | Wests * | |
| Jared Hanna | Lock | Wests | |
| Scott Higginbotham Scott Higginbotham Scott Higginbotham is an Australian rugby union player. He currently plays for the Queensland Reds in the international Super 15 competition. He can play anywhere in the backrow.-Career:... |
No 8 | Wests ** | |
| Ed O'Donoghue Ed O'Donoghue Ed O'Donoghue is an Irish rugby union player for Leinster Rugby in the Magners League competition.-Position:O'Donoghue's position of choice is as a lock and he can also operate as a flanker.-Rugby career:... |
Lock | Wests * | |
| Clinton Schifcofske Clinton Schifcofske Clinton Schifcofske is an Australian rugby league footballer for the Crusaders in the European Super League. He has previously played for Irish rugby union club Ulster in the Magners League competition and also he spent a year with Queensland Reds in the Super 14... |
Fullback | Wests * | |
| David Collis | Flyhalf | Sydney | |
| Leroy Houston Leroy Houston Leroy Houston, grew up in Shannon, New Zealand. Houston is an Australian Rugby Union who played for the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition. He now plays in France, in the Top14 with Union Bordeaux-Bègles.-Career:... |
Backrow | Sydney * | |
| ... | |||
| * Denotes contracted Queensland Reds player | |||
| ** Denotes Reds Academy player |
Records
| ARC seasons | ||||||||||||
| Year | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | PF | PA | Diff | Bonus (4 tries) | Bonus (Loss <7pts) | Points | Place | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 180 | 229 | -49 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7 | Did Not Compete |
External links
- Ballymore Tornadoes on QRU.com.au
- Australian Rugby Championship on rugby.com.au