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 senior rugby team that plays in the Rugby Manitoba league and out of Maple Grove Rugby Park. We practice in the north part 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 RFC members coach boys’ and girls’ high school teams and U14 youth development 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. The Wanderers continued to field successful men’s rugby teams for the years. In more recent history, the first women’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).
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
What We've Achieved
Over the last several years, the Wanderers men’s teams have seen great success and growth. Our club uses this success to help recruit new players into the rugby community and/or return old players to the great sport.
Our Youth Development Program has had immense success in growing our program numbers, winning jamborees, and providing a place to develop the great sport of rugby at a grassroots level!
Many of our club members are heavily involved on the team’s executive board, youth development rugby, high school rugby, and Rugby Manitoba.
In February 2022 and 2023, the Men’s side fielded a joint team with the Assassins RFC to play and win the Regina Snow 7s back-to-back!
In February 2019, the men’s and women’s sides fielded teams 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 the Brandon Barbarians, which they defeated in overtime!
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, both men’s and women’s, and we seek to win more in the upcoming years.