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The Ballymore Tornadoes are an Australian rugby union club that plays in the Australian Rugby Championship. The Tornadoes were formed as one of Queenslands' two clubs that will participate in the inaugural season of the championship, starting in August of 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.
The inaugural Australian Rugby Championship, starting in August of 2007, includes 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 Stadium in Brisbane.[1] The name, logo and team colors (along with the Aces) were unveiled on the 14 February 2007, by the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU).[2] 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 rugby ball and a tornado with the team name. The Tornadoes kit has yet to be unveiled but it has been confirmed that their colours will be maroon, blue and silver. Coaches have also yet to be announced.
On February 23 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.[3] The selection process of Queensland's (Tornadoes and Aces) two coaches were overseen by Reds head coach Eddie Jones.[3]
The Ballymore Tornadoes will be playing out of Ballymore Stadium. 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.[4] 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.[5] Ballymore has also in the past played host to international games.
Queensland's two teams in the ARC are aligned with existing clubs and regions. The Brisbane River forms a georgaphical divide between the two ARC teams.[6] 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.
- Squad yet to be announced.
| ARC seasons |
| Year |
Played |
Win |
Draw |
Loss |
PF |
PA |
Diff |
Points |
Place |
Playoffs |
| 2007 |
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Chris Roche (2007 -)
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