History
The official announcement on the agreement of a national rugby competition in Australia was made in mid-2006, following a 70-person three day summit in Sydney that agreed to an eight team competition. However, the competition was not without its share of controversy, with some of the clubs being against the forming of a new level of competition, claiming it could harm club and grass roots rugby. In September an ARU board meeting gave the competition an official green light. A month later the competition kicked off for its inaugural year, the Queensland teams performed poorly as the East Coast Aces & Ballymore Tornadoes finished last & second last respectively. The Perth Spirit performed the best out of the regular rounds winning 6 out of 8 games although due to bonus points finished third on the ladder behind Central Coast Rays & the competitions first minor-premiers the Western Sydney Rams. After the top four teams took part in the semi-finals the Melbourne Rebels and Central Coast Rays would compete in the first ever ARC Grand Final. The Rays took out the competition defeating the Melbourne side 20 - 12.
A review of the tournament was undertaken following the 2007 season. This review found that the competition had run at more than $2 million over budget and that forecast losses for the 2008 season came to a further $3.3 million. The ARU says that the cumulative loss of $8 million over two years would be fiscally irresponsible.
| Year | Final | Losing semi-finalists | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | 1 losing semi-finalist | 2 losing semi-finalist | |||
| 2007 | Central Coast Rays | 20 - 12 | Melbourne Rebels | Perth Spirit | Western Sydney Rams | ||
Read more about this topic: Australian Rugby Championship
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