Established in 1926, the Wanderers RFC has been a part of Rugby in Manitoba since the beginning.

 
 

 Our Team

Wanderers RFC is a community-based Men’s and Woman’s senior rugby teams that play in the Rugby Manitoba league and play out of Maple Grove Rugby Park. We practice in the north of Winnipeg in Kildonan Park’s Teddy Bass athletic field. Our team is a not-for-profit group that is entirely run by volunteers. Our membership is drawn from Winnipeg, Selkirk, and surrounding areas. During the preseason months, the Wanderers club members coach both boy’s and girl’s high school teams in order to help grow the sport of rugby in Manitoba at all levels.

 
 

Club History

Wanderers RFC was established in 1926 as a community-based club. As the oldest football club in Manitoba, the wanderers have a long and proud past. In 1930, when a modification of the original British rugby rules gained popularity, the wanderers helped found the Winnipeg Football Club to play under the Canadian Rugby Football rules. This team eventually became the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of today, who play in the CFL. Throughout the next years, the Wanderers continued to field successful men’s rugby teams. In more recent history, the first woman’s team was fielded in 1979. In 1983, the Wanderers joined other Manitoba rugby clubs to fund and build a centralized rugby facility: Maple Grove Rugby Park (MGRP).

 
 
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This photo is of John A. Bulloch, captain of the Wanderers in 1929! John was an apprentice in the Woolen business in Belfast, Ireland. He came to Canada in 1928, working for a year in the wheat fields of Saskatchewan to pay for his passage. John moved to Winnipeg in 1929 and worked for Eaton’s where he learned to measure and sell custom clothing. While in Winnipeg he was the captain of the Wanderers. In this photo, he can be seen wearing his jersey in what was called a “picture postcard” that he sent to his friends and family in Ireland. Before he came to Canada, John played rugby in Belfast at the Royal Belfast Academic Institution, where on weekends he and his friends would head to a Catholic pub, start singing an “orange” song (a protestant song), and start a good fight. Now we sing The Wanderer song at the pub and try our best not to get into fights but it seems the spirit of having a good time has always been a part of this club. Thank you to John’s grandson, Andrew Bulloch, for sharing this amazing piece of Wanderers History!

 
 

Club Awards

 
 
Spirit of the Game Award

Spirit of the Game Award

 
 

What We've Achieved

 
 

  • Over the last several years both the Wanderers men’s and woman’s teams have seen great success and growth. Our club members are using this success to help recruit new players into the rugby community and/or bring old players back into the great sport.

  • Many of our club members are heavily involved on the team’s executive board, high school rugby, and Rugby Manitoba

  • In February 2019, the Men’s, and Women’s both fielded a team for the annual Wasps Snow 7s Rugby Tournament. Both teams did very well in the tournament.

  • In 2018, the men’s team had a fantastic season, winning the Division Two Provincial Championship in a hard-fought game against Brandon Barbarians, and managing to defeat them in overtime for a victory.

  • Our Women’s team won the 2019 SNAFU 7’s tournament in a hard-fought battle against a team from Saskatchewan.

  • We have won many past Provincial championships and tournaments in both men’s and woman’s, and we seek to win more in the upcoming years.