'The Wallopers' are a team of serving and retired police (with a few ring-ins) who still love playing the game. The players come from the Federal and NSW Police Services, at this stage, but plans are to have representatives from all states play. This plan came together at the recent Australian Police Rugby Championships where the team was joined by South Australian and Western Australian Police.
The rules are for over 35's, with an emphasis on having fun.There are different coloured shorts indicating the age, and or injury's that allow for other players to go easy on them.
'The Wallopers' started in 2009, with their first game being at Kiama. At this game we had four representatives from the NSW Police and one from the Australian Federal Police. The rest of the team was made up from other teams just wanting another run. Since then, we have gone on to play in regular gala days, around the Sydney and Illawarra areas.
In 2012 'The Wallopers' toured Japan, playing two tests against the Japanese Police. The tests were played in Osaka and Tokyo, and whilst they were played in good hard spirit, they were not quite to 'oldies' rules with the language barrier making explaining those rules quite difficult. The average age of the Japanese teams was 26. The Japanese had us playing on grounds that were reserved for international games e.g. Japan Vs New Zealand at the end of the last rugby season. We were hosted on tour by the ex-Prime Minister of Japan and now current President of Japanese Rugby, Mr. Yoshiro Mori. Mr. Mori attended the games, which obviously was a great honour for not only us, but the Japanese players as well. We were also honoured at a dinner at the Australian Embassy hosted by the Australian Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Bruce Miller. Special guests at the dinner were the Commanders of the Police Districts affected by the Earthquake and subsequent tsunami of 2011. The Commanders gave emotional speeches about their loss of Officers in this tragedy. We presented the three Commanders with donations for the families of those officer's killed or missing. Other guests were members of the Japanese Parliament.
During the 12 day tour we were lucky enough to visit the Imperial Police Guards facilities, a tour which is reserved for VIP's. We also toured Police facilities in Osaka and Tokyo.
In March 2013, Mitsubishi Japan paid over $100,000 to send a rubgy team to play against us. The Japanese team, arrived on Friday 1st March, played us on the 2nd and returned to Japan on the 3rd March. This game was a good hard game, with the visitors eventually coming out winners. Eastwood Rugby Club hosted the after game celebrations with special guests on the day the Australian Attorney General Mr. Greg Smith, the Japanese Consular General Dr. Masahiro Kohara and retired Wallaby Daniel Manu attending.
During 2013 we played in four gala days with the team remaining undefeated throughout the tournaments. The games were held in Camden, Penrith, Heathcote and Vincentia.
In 2014, the team travelled to the Barossa Valley to play an exhibition game during the Australian Police Rugby Championships. The game was against a South Australian Invitational side and hosted by the Barossa Rams. The day included two pool games from the Championships,, two women's games and the main event, being our game. The previous four games wet the appetite for a great exhibition of Golden Oldies Rugby. (the trip by most to a nearby winery didn't help) 'The Wallopers' team comprised of 13 NSW Reps, 1 AFP and a South Australian Officer. The game was a lot of fun for those playing as well as watching.
We also played in the Penrith Gala Day, and a four way invitational at Oatley. We still have several games planned with Kiama, Heathcote and Vincentia still to come. We are also planning our own gala day for late August and a day at Cowra in the Central West of NSW. The Cowra game is to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the infamous Cowra Breakout and is to be held on the 2nd August. The invitiations we receive, the feedback and planning to host our own gala day are examples of how successful 'the Wallopers' are, and will continue to be.
In 2015, besides the domestic duties, in which we won both the Sydney Cup at Engadine and the Guzzlers Cup at Eastwood, we hosted our first gala day at Foreshaw Rugby Park, the home of the Southern Districts Premier Rugby side. The teams played for the Wallopers Stick, a unique trophy which was won by the Southern District Rebels.
In November 2015, we hosted Generation 69, a French Oldies team, on the last leg of their Australian New Zealand tour. A tough game eventually won by the Wallopers.
In 2016 we have played in the local Sydney Oldies Comp. We had planned a tour to Japan but unfortunately it didn't come off.
The team gathered in Canberra to play a round robin with the Australian Federal Police Oldies side and the ACT Vets teams. This was prior to the Australian Police Rugby Championships.
Planning is well underway and we are looking forward to the Vintage Rugby Tournament in Ottawa Canada, in August 2017.
Of course, none of this would be possible without sponsors, which we have several. We would like to thank them for their continued support. We also would like to thank our families for allowing us, a bunch of rugby has beens, to continue playing and 'nursing' us after our games.
A special mention to our club Patron, Nick Farr-Jones, who is a genuine nice guy, thank you.
The rules are for over 35's, with an emphasis on having fun.There are different coloured shorts indicating the age, and or injury's that allow for other players to go easy on them.
'The Wallopers' started in 2009, with their first game being at Kiama. At this game we had four representatives from the NSW Police and one from the Australian Federal Police. The rest of the team was made up from other teams just wanting another run. Since then, we have gone on to play in regular gala days, around the Sydney and Illawarra areas.
In 2012 'The Wallopers' toured Japan, playing two tests against the Japanese Police. The tests were played in Osaka and Tokyo, and whilst they were played in good hard spirit, they were not quite to 'oldies' rules with the language barrier making explaining those rules quite difficult. The average age of the Japanese teams was 26. The Japanese had us playing on grounds that were reserved for international games e.g. Japan Vs New Zealand at the end of the last rugby season. We were hosted on tour by the ex-Prime Minister of Japan and now current President of Japanese Rugby, Mr. Yoshiro Mori. Mr. Mori attended the games, which obviously was a great honour for not only us, but the Japanese players as well. We were also honoured at a dinner at the Australian Embassy hosted by the Australian Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Bruce Miller. Special guests at the dinner were the Commanders of the Police Districts affected by the Earthquake and subsequent tsunami of 2011. The Commanders gave emotional speeches about their loss of Officers in this tragedy. We presented the three Commanders with donations for the families of those officer's killed or missing. Other guests were members of the Japanese Parliament.
During the 12 day tour we were lucky enough to visit the Imperial Police Guards facilities, a tour which is reserved for VIP's. We also toured Police facilities in Osaka and Tokyo.
In March 2013, Mitsubishi Japan paid over $100,000 to send a rubgy team to play against us. The Japanese team, arrived on Friday 1st March, played us on the 2nd and returned to Japan on the 3rd March. This game was a good hard game, with the visitors eventually coming out winners. Eastwood Rugby Club hosted the after game celebrations with special guests on the day the Australian Attorney General Mr. Greg Smith, the Japanese Consular General Dr. Masahiro Kohara and retired Wallaby Daniel Manu attending.
During 2013 we played in four gala days with the team remaining undefeated throughout the tournaments. The games were held in Camden, Penrith, Heathcote and Vincentia.
In 2014, the team travelled to the Barossa Valley to play an exhibition game during the Australian Police Rugby Championships. The game was against a South Australian Invitational side and hosted by the Barossa Rams. The day included two pool games from the Championships,, two women's games and the main event, being our game. The previous four games wet the appetite for a great exhibition of Golden Oldies Rugby. (the trip by most to a nearby winery didn't help) 'The Wallopers' team comprised of 13 NSW Reps, 1 AFP and a South Australian Officer. The game was a lot of fun for those playing as well as watching.
We also played in the Penrith Gala Day, and a four way invitational at Oatley. We still have several games planned with Kiama, Heathcote and Vincentia still to come. We are also planning our own gala day for late August and a day at Cowra in the Central West of NSW. The Cowra game is to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the infamous Cowra Breakout and is to be held on the 2nd August. The invitiations we receive, the feedback and planning to host our own gala day are examples of how successful 'the Wallopers' are, and will continue to be.
In 2015, besides the domestic duties, in which we won both the Sydney Cup at Engadine and the Guzzlers Cup at Eastwood, we hosted our first gala day at Foreshaw Rugby Park, the home of the Southern Districts Premier Rugby side. The teams played for the Wallopers Stick, a unique trophy which was won by the Southern District Rebels.
In November 2015, we hosted Generation 69, a French Oldies team, on the last leg of their Australian New Zealand tour. A tough game eventually won by the Wallopers.
In 2016 we have played in the local Sydney Oldies Comp. We had planned a tour to Japan but unfortunately it didn't come off.
The team gathered in Canberra to play a round robin with the Australian Federal Police Oldies side and the ACT Vets teams. This was prior to the Australian Police Rugby Championships.
Planning is well underway and we are looking forward to the Vintage Rugby Tournament in Ottawa Canada, in August 2017.
Of course, none of this would be possible without sponsors, which we have several. We would like to thank them for their continued support. We also would like to thank our families for allowing us, a bunch of rugby has beens, to continue playing and 'nursing' us after our games.
A special mention to our club Patron, Nick Farr-Jones, who is a genuine nice guy, thank you.
