The Melbourne Unicorns Rugby Club have won the Cowper Shield for an impressive sixth straight year. The Cowper Shield is not just about success on field, it is also about growth and participation across all levels.

The object of the Cowper Shield award is to encourage Clubs to recruit and field as many teams as possible, with the ultimate goal of growing the game within Victoria. The award is decided at the end of the home and away season and is awarded to the Club that has received the most championship points.

In 2015, the Unicorns fielded an incredible twenty two teams including twelve Junior teams, seven Senior teams, two Masters teams and one Women’s team.

Melbourne finished twenty-five points clear of second placed Harlequin. Moorabbin, Endeavour Hills and Southern Districts finished in third, fourth and fifth position respectively.

Tyrone Landsman, Melbourne Rugby Union Football Club President said, “This is absolutely fantastic news and a reflection of all the hard work our volunteers put in on a weekly basis, and the dedication and enthusiasm shown by all our Coaching, support Staff and Players from Under 6s to our 1st Grade team.”

The Melbourne Unicorns again qualified for finals this year in the Direct Connect Dewar Shield, being eliminated by eventual Runners up Melbourne Uni, while they were the Runners up in the Women’s competition. They won the Premier 3 and Premier 4 Grand Finals, and this weekend will play off in the U14B Grand Final as well.

2015 Cowper Shield:

1 Melbourne 565.5
2 Harlequin 540.5
3 Moorabbin 386
4 Endeavour Hills 335
5 Southern Districts 334.5
6 Box Hill 300.5
7 Power House 244
8 Footscray 232.5
9 Wyndham City 222.5
10 Melbourne Uni 219
11 Northern 132
12 Eltham 192.5
13 Geelong 110
14 Cerberus 70
15 Brimbank 68
16 Bendigo 47
17 Maroondah 43
18 Shepparton 35.5
19 Kiwi Hawthorn 35
20 Monash Uni 29
21 Ballarat 28
22 Puckapunyal 18

Source: Rebels Media Unit