Atkinson Rugby Union Home ground: Caloola Reserve, Atkinson Street, Oakleigh.
Atkinson Rugby Union (ARU) is a Melbourne based rugby club made up of primarily Sri Lankan born rugby fanatics. Through humble beginnings, ARU has grown to a 50-man strong club over the last 21 years. 50 victory hungry members have proved over and over again that ARU is a force to be reckoned with.
In the early 1996s, a group of young lads got together every Sunday at Caloola Reserve to play touch rugby for fun. But 15 years later in 2009 they decided to form a team to play in the Kingswood Rugby Sevens Annual Tournament. This was the inception of Atkinson Rugby Union.
The founding members are proudly Buddika Weerakkody, Gayan Kodagoda, Anurudda Edirisingha, Shan Balasuriya, Thila Gunaratna These guys along with Jeewantha Niroshan, Madhava Wijayaratne, Shanka Gunawardana, Shehan Shakoor and Kushan Atukorale was the first ARU team that represented the club.
The club has grown immensely and now sports a second team, The Atkinson Warriors. ARU has come forward in bounds and leaps now also playing in contact rugby tournaments throughout Victoria. ARU would like to extend special thanks to the support of the club's friends, from various national backgrounds such Fijians, Kiwis, Samoans and Aussies.
Massive successes in recent tournaments show the determination of ARU's players to keep pushing the club to the future. Now calling Caloola Reserve home, the ARU players give 110% during training every week to ensure that the Atkinson name is bulletproof.
Success stories include:
Kingswood Rugby Sevens Annual Tournament:
- Runners Up 2016
- Champions 2015
- Champions 2014
- Champions 2012
- Runners Up 2011
- Runners Up 2010
- Runners Up 2009
Daylesford Spring Rugby Sevens Tournament:
- Champions 2015
Ballarat 7s
- Bowl semi finalists