Rugby in Eastern Ontario

The first Royal Military College rugby team 1918

The first Royal Military College rugby team – 1918

The Eastern Ontario Rugby Union (EORU) is a branch of Rugby Ontario and serves as the administrative body for rugby in Napanee, Kingston, Brockville, Cornwall, Lanark, Petawawa and Ottawa.

EORU was incorporated in 1979 but can trace its roots back to the early 1950’s when the very first club in Eastern Ontario was formed. The Bytown Beavers, now known as the Ottawa Beavers and Banshees,  played its first match against Westmount (Montreal) at Ashbury College in Ottawa.

In the 1960’s interest in the sport started to take hold and some members of the Bytown Beavers split off to form the Ottawa Indians and Ottawa Irish. The very first game between two Eastern Ontario clubs took place in September 1962, when the Beavers defeated the Indians 6 to 3.

The addition of these new clubs helped to further advance rugby as the sport of choice and provide more opportunity for players to join and grow. The objectives of EORU remain much the same today; to promote and develop the game of rugby within Eastern Ontario.

Eastern Ontario Rugby Union Constitution