The Aurora Barbarians RFC (Barbs) celebrated there 70th anniversary in 2020. The Club began as two separate rugby clubs: The Toronto Barbarians and the Aurora Rugby Club. The club officially became the Aurora Barbarians in 2002 when the two clubs successful merged.
The Aurora Barbarians philosophy is “A Club for All” and have focused on developing and leading Junior, Minor and Women’s programs to consistently rank among the largest membership clubs in Canada.
The Aurora Rugby Club was constituted in 1998, developing from the original Aurora Yorks which were formed in 1961 by John .T. P. Brown, a member of the Ontario Rugby Hall of Fame and a past president of the Ontario Rugby Union.
In 1949 rugby was resurrected in post-war Ontario by a group of British expatriates who banded together to form the Wanderers RFC. The following year, the group launched an intensive recruiting drive for players and drawing together a total of 80 would-be participants, set up three additional teams based in Toronto including the Barbarians
The club lead the development of junior rugby in the 70s and purchased a share of Fletcher’s Fields during this time. The club were at the forefront of the re-development of Fletcher’s Fields in the early 90’s, which lead to the construction of a stadium which brought International rugby matches to the GTA.
On the pitch, the club fielded a number of strong championship Senior Mens and youth teams in the 50’s 60’s,70’s and 80’s. After the merger in 2002, the Aurora Barbarians enjoyed a string of success at the Senior Mens level. The club captured five straight league championships, three McCormick Club Championships and made at total of seven McCormick Cup appearances from 2006-2013.
The Senior Women were a similar dominant group with three OWL championships from 2012 to 2016. The club has also seen success from their U-18 Boys and Girls program having won a number of Provincial Championships
The Barbs have strong old Boys network of “Black Sheep” supporters. There were notable tours in the 60s and 70’s to USA and Caribbean destinations; in the 80’s to Vancouver, California and Chicago; in the 90s and 2000’s to Las Vegas and NY
Accolades
Rugby Ontario Cups
U18 Boys 7’s Cup Champions 2023
U18 Girls 15’s Cup Champions 2022
U18 Girls 15’s Cup Champions 2019
U18 Girls 7s Cup Champions 2019
U18 Boys 7s Cup Champions 2019
U18 Boys 7s Cup Champions 2018
Ontario Women’s League 15’s Cup Champions 2016
Ontario Women’s League 15’s Cup Champions 2015
Ontario Women’s League 7’s Cup Champions 2015
U-18 Girls Club Championship 2015
U-18 Boys Club Championship 2013
Ontario Women’s League 15’s Cup Champions 2012
McCormick Cup Champions 2010
McCormick Cup Champions 2009
McCormick Cup Champions 2007
Ontario Men’s Under-18 championship 2002
Rugby Ontario Leagues
Provincial Club Champions 2016 (Womens 1st XV)
Provincial Club Champions 2013 (Womens 1st XV)
Provincial Club Champions 2012 (Womens 1st XV)
Provincial Club Champions 2010 (Mens 1st XV)
Provincial Club Champions 2009 (Mens 1st XV)
Provincial Club Champions 2008 (Mens 1st XV)
Provincial Club Champions 2007 (Mens 1st XV)
Provincial Club Champions 2006 (Mens 1st XV)
Toronto Rugby Union
U17 Boys 7’s Club Champions 2018
U-18 Boys 7’s Club Champions 2015
U-18 Girls Club Champions 2015
U-16 Girls Sevens Champions 2014
U-18 Boys Club Champions 2013
U-18 Girls Club Champions 2011
U-18 Boys Club Champions 2005
ABRFC Notable Alumni
Jack McRogers
Andrew Quattrin- 2019 World Cup
Paul Ciulini
McKinley Hunt- 2021 World Cup
Tyson Beukeboom- 2014/2017/2021 World Cup
Chloe Daniels – Canada 7s
Emma Chown- Canada 7s
Nadia Popov- 2015 PanAM Gold
Jacey Murphy- 2014/2017 World Cup
Lori Josephson
David Nielsen
Oliver Atkinson
Natalie Bendavid
Marco Di Girolamo- 2003 World Cup
The Aurora Barbarians Rugby Football Club was established in 2002, after a very successful merger of two strong clubs, Aurora RFC and the Toronto Barbarians RFC.
We are a community-based club centered in Aurora, Ontario. We practice at St. Maximilian Kolbe CHS and play our home games at Fletcher’s Fields.
The Club supports: 2 Senior Men’s teams 2 Senior Women’s teams Girls’ Junior teams at the U17 and U15 age groups Boys’ Junior teams at the 2 xU17, 2 xU15 and U13 age groups Co-ed teams at the U11 (modified contact), U9/U7 (flag) age groups
Please contact us for more information about the club, or if there is anything you would like to see on this page.