Arena/Stadium Parramatta Stadium Ground Concord Oval | Captain Paul Asquith Founded 2007 | |
 | ||
Location Western Sydney, Australia Coach Brian Melrose (Head coach) League National Rugby Championship | ||
Queensland country v western sydney rams scoring plays
The Western Sydney Rams is an Australian rugby union team that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). The team is one of three sides from New South Wales in the competition; the other two being the Sydney Rays and New South Wales Country Eagles.
Contents
- Queensland country v western sydney rams scoring plays
- Name and colours
- History
- ARC Western Sydney Rams
- Greater Sydney Rams
- Western Sydney Rams
- The Horned Army
- Sponsorship
- Stadium
- Current squad
- Honours
- Season standings
- Head coaches
- Captains
- References
The Western Sydney Rams team in the NRC takes its identity from the Rams side that played in the previous national competition, the Australian Rugby Championship (ARC). The ARC was discontinued following the first season in 2007, but after an absence of six years the national competition was relaunched as the NRC in 2014.
The revived Rams team for 2014 was backed by a syndicate of private investors in partnership with four Sydney rugby clubs; Parramatta, Penrith, Southern Districts and West Harbour. The Eastwood club was initially included in the partnership but withdrew prior to the 2014 season.
A law firm, People + Culture Strategies (PCS), was announced as the Rams' naming rights partner for the 2014 to 2016 seasons.
Name and colours
The inspiration for the name Rams derives from the pioneering past of Western Sydney; and as recognition of the settlers that started the Australian sheep and wool industries in Parramatta. The colours of the Rams are taken from the team's previous incarnation as the Western Sydney Rams, as unveiled at the ARC team's launch in March 2007. Orange and blue mirror the colours of the City of Parramatta.
History
In 2007, an attempt was made to form a third tier of rugby in Australia, similar to New Zealand's ITM Cup and South Africa's Currie Cup. The new competition, called the Australian Rugby Championship, included eight teams. Three of those teams were based in New South Wales, including a Western Sydney team based at Parramatta.
ARC: Western Sydney Rams
The Rams' local rivals in the ARC were the Sydney Fleet and the Central Coast Rays. The three ARC teams from New South Wales were aligned with existing clubs and regions. The clubs aligned with the Western Sydney Rams were Eastwood, West Harbour, Parramatta and Penrith. All competed in the Tooheys New Cup and Shute Shield club competitions.
Brian Melrose was the head coach of the Rams in 2007. Melrose had coaching roles with Manly and the Australian Sevens team and was previously an assistant coach to the Waratahs. He played for Eastwood and Parramatta before taking up coaching.
The Western Sydney Rams played at Parramatta Stadium, which then had an all-seater capacity of 20,000. The Rams were the minor premiers of the 2007 ARC season. The team was knocked out of the 2007 finals by the Melbourne Rebels at the semi-final stage.
The Australian Rugby Championship was terminated at the end of 2007 after only one season of competition, with the Australian Rugby Union citing higher costs than budgeted and further projected financial losses. The Western Sydney Rams team was disbanded with the end of the ARC competition.
Greater Sydney Rams
The National Rugby Championship was announced in December 2013 to commence in 2014 with expressions of interest open to any interested parties with accepted bids to be announced early 2014.
In March 2014 it was announced that the Rams would be revived as the Greater Sydney Rams to compete in the new National Rugby Championship, and the team's original colours from the ARC would be maintained.
The new Rams team, representing Greater Sydney, was formed by Greater Sydney Rams Pty Ltd – a syndicate of private investors in partnership with (initially) five Shute Shield clubs: Eastwood, Parramatta, Penrith, Southern Districts, and West Harbour. In late June 2014, Eastwood withdrew financial backing from the Rams, and ended their formal association with the team. The Rams' shareholdings are split, with three quarters being held by the syndicate of investors and the remainder held by the clubs (5% being kept aside for Eastwood should they wish to become a partner).
The Rams appointed Brian Melrose as head coach for the 2014 season, renewing their association with the coach that took the Western Sydney Rams to the minor premiership in 2007. For the first NRC match of 2014 the Rams named 21-year-old Jed Holloway, from the Southern Districts club, as captain of the team. In 2015, former Wallaby assistant coach Jim Williams was appointed Rams coach.
Western Sydney Rams
The franchise reverted to its original name of Western Sydney Rams for the 2016 NRC season. Consideration was given to the Southern Districts Rugby Club switching to the newly renamed Sydney Rays, but the club decided to remain a shareholder of the Rams. Former Australian assistant coach John Muggleton was named as the Rams' new head coach for the 2016 season, with Jeremy Paul and Joel Wilson appointed as assistant coaches.
The Horned Army
Since 2014 the Greater Sydney Rams have had the most entertaining and committed fan base in all of Australian Rugby. Great groups like the Gold Brigade have sprouted following the success of this die hard group. The group is most famous for their "Horns" that fans have been highly sort after since there creation in 2014. They have coined popular sayings "Get Horny" and "Get Rammed". A fan favourite "Lolly Legs" is called out by one loud fan while the opposition lines up a kick at goal. You can find them across all forms of social media, on Twitter at @thehornedarmy and on Instagram and Facebook as "The Horned Army". Members of the supporter group believe being a part of The Horned Army is one of the greatest honours a rugby fan can have. If you'd like to be a part of The Army, join the group on the sideline at any home game.
Sponsorship
The naming rights sponsor for the Rams is the workplace relations law firm, People + Culture Strategies (PCS). Other partners in the 2014 season included financial advice firm Evalesco Financial Services, owned by Jeff Thurecht and Marshall Brentnall, ARC Group, owned by Cameron Ryan and Pacific Restaurants, chaired by businessman Rick Hutchinson, and the University of Western Sydney. In the 2015 and 2016 seasons the RAMS were sponsored by People + Culture Strategies, ARC Group, Evalesco Financial Services and The Digital Athlete.
Stadium
As of 2016, the home ground for the Rams is Concord Oval which is also the home of West Harbour in the Shute Shield competition. Concord hosted eight matches during the 1987 Rugby World Cup, including a semifinal.
The Rams previously played at Parramatta Stadium, which is also the home of the National Rugby League club, the Parramatta Eels, and A-league team Western Sydney Wanderers. The site was originally known as Cumberland Oval and rugby union was played there from 1879 through to 1939. The old wooden grandstand was burnt down in the early 1980s and Cumberland Oval was redeveloped into Parramatta Stadium which opened in 1986.
In 2015, the Rams consortium clubs of Parramatta and Southern Districts also hosted home matches.
Current squad
The squad for the 2016 National Rugby Championship season:
(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped, 1 denotes allocated national player additional to the contracted squad.
Honours
Season standings
National Rugby Championship
Australian Rugby Championship