The rugby community is again coming together to help those in need, with the announcement that Rugby Australia, the Queensland Rugby Union, the Australian Rugby Foundation, and the Classic Wallabies are combining their efforts to help support the game in the flood-ravaged areas of North Queensland.

‘Rugby Aid Townsville’ is a national fundraising initiative aimed at helping rugby clubs in Townsville and surrounding regions, who have been affected by the late January/early February floods that racked up extensive property damage bills.

The ARF has kick-started the project with a $10,000 up front donation, which will be supplanted by collections taken by the QRU at tomorrow afternoon’s Queensland Reds v Brumbies encounter at Suncorp Stadium. There will be a further collection organised by Rugby AU for the Wallabies v Argentina clash on July 27th at the same venue.

The Classic Wallabies will be doing their bit to help out when they visit Townsville as part of a tour of Central and Northern Queensland in July, where they will be running junior clinics and giving the region’s young hopefuls a chance to rub shoulders with some of the legends of the game.

“The people of Townsville have endured significant heartache and are facing a long road to recovery following the events of the past couple of months, including a number of our Rugby clubs in the region that have had damage to Club facilities ahead of the season,” said Rugby Australia Chief Executive Raelene Castle.

“It is in the toughest of times that the true spirit of the Rugby community comes to the fore, and we know that people in our communities will dig deep to support our clubs in the Townsville area. We thank the Australian Rugby Foundation for getting the ball rolling with a $10,000 donation and together with the QRU and our Rugby partners we will conduct fundraising activity throughout the year to help these clubs through this challenging period.”

Peter Cavallo, President of the Townsville and District Rugby Union, was extremely grateful for the offers of assistance from the game’s power brokers, and the generosity of time and effort from those prepared to put the boots back on and lend a hand.

“The Rugby community of Townsville and surrounding regions would like to extend their thanks to the Australian Rugby Foundation and the Rugby community as a whole. The past couple of weeks have been extremely difficult for many in our region and its pleasing to know that the Rugby community of Australia is there to support their own when times are tough. We are really looking forward to the Classic Wallabies visiting our region in July.”

Rugby fans wishing to make an immediate donation to Rugby Aid Townsville should follow this link: https://asf.org.au/projects/queensland-rugby-union/rugby-aid-townsville/