2014 National Rugby Championship

2014 National Rugby Championship
Date	21 August – 1 November 2014
Champions	Brisbane City (1st title)
Runners-up	Perth Spirit
Matches played	39
Attendance	87,704 (average 2,249 per match)
Highest attendance	13,700 Brisbane City 37 – 16 University of Canberra Vikings (18 October 2014)
Lowest attendance	500 NSW Country Eagles 26 – 32 Brisbane City (24 October 2014)
Top point scorer	Jack Debreczeni (144)  Melbourne Rising
Top try scorer	Andrew Kellaway (9)  NSW Country Eagles
Official website
buildcorpnrc.com.au
2015 →

The 2014 National Rugby Championship (known as the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the inaugural season of Australia's National Rugby Championship, involving nine professional rugby union teams from around Australia.^[1] The competition kicked off on 21 August 2014. The final was held on 1 November 2014 and won by Brisbane City.

Teams and venues

The nine teams for the 2014 NRC season included four from New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one each from Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and Western Australia:^[2]

Region	Team	Coach(es)	Captain(s)
ACT	University of Canberra Vikings	Dan McKellar	Fotu Auelua
NSW	NSW Country Eagles	Darren Coleman	Matthew Carraro Cameron Treloar
	Greater Sydney Rams	Brian Melrose	Jed Holloway
	North Harbour Rays	Geoff Townsend	Greg Peterson
	Sydney Stars	Chris Malone	Pat McCutcheon
QLD	Brisbane City	Nick Stiles	David McDuling
	Queensland Country	Steve Meehan	Anthony Fainga'a
VIC	Melbourne Rising	Sean Hedger	Nic Stirzaker
WA	Perth Spirit	David Wessels Kevin Foote	Rory Walton Sam Wykes Ian Prior

Home match venues for the 2014 NRC season:^[2]

Region	Team	Match Venue	Capacity	City
ACT	University of Canberra Vikings	Viking Park	10,000	Canberra
NSW	NSW Country Eagles	Caltex Park	12,000	Dubbo
		Central Coast Stadium	20,059	Gosford
		Oakes Oval	10,000	Lismore
		Wade Park	8,000	Orange
		Coogee Oval	5,000	Sydney
	Greater Sydney Rams	Parramatta Stadium	20,700
	North Harbour Rays	Brookvale Oval	23,000
	Sydney Stars	Leichhardt Oval	22,000
QLD	Brisbane City	Suncorp Stadium	52,500	Brisbane
		Ballymore	18,000
	Queensland Country	Ballymore	18,000
		Bond University	5,000	Gold Coast
		Cbus Super Stadium	27,000
		Mike Carney Toyota Park	5,000	Townsville
VIC	Melbourne Rising	AAMI Park	29,500	Melbourne
WA	Perth Spirit	Adelaide Airport Oval	15,000	Adelaide
		HBF Arena	16,000	Perth
		Rockingham RUC	3,000
		UWA Rugby Club	4,000

Experimental Law Variations

As part of the initial championship, the ARU was given approval by the IRB to conduct experimental law trials as part of the 2014 National Rugby Championship.^[3] Proposed law variations were first considered by a panel composed of the current Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie, former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer, former Wallaby Rod Kafer and former top referee Wayne Erikson. The variations were then put to the voting public, before returning to the panel.

The variations in place for the 2014 season are listed below.

Existing Law of the Game	Variation
Law 9.A.1 Value of a Conversion goal - 2 points Value of a Penalty goal - 3 points Value of a Dropped goal - 3 points	Value of a Conversion goal - 3 points Value of a Penalty goal - 2 points Value of a Dropped goal - 2 points Previously trialled in South Africa’s Varsity Cup.[3]
Law 5.7(e) If time expires and the ball is not dead, or an awarded scrum or lineout has not been completed, the referee allows play to continue until the next time that the ball becomes dead. The ball becomes dead when the referee would have awarded a scrum, lineout, an option to the non-infringing team, drop out or after a conversion or successful penalty kick at goal. If a scrum has to be reset, the scrum has not been completed. If time expires and a mark, free kick or penalty kick is then awarded, the referee allows play to continue.	Non-offending team is allowed to kick the ball into touch after being awarded a penalty kick, which has been blown after time expires, and the lineout will take place.
Law 19.6 The player taking the throw-in must stand at the correct place. The player must not step into the field of play when the ball is thrown. The ball must be thrown straight, so that it travels at least 5 metres along the line of touch before it first touches the ground or touches or is touched by a player.	Latitude will be given to the throwing team if the opposing team does not compete for the ball near where the ball is received
Law 9.B.1(e) The kicker must take the kick within one minute and thirty seconds (ninety seconds) from the time a try has been awarded. The player must take the kick within one minute and thirty seconds even if the ball rolls over and has to be placed again.	Time limit reduced to 60 seconds for conversion kicks, and 45 seconds for penalty kicks.
Law 20.1(d) No delay. A team must not intentionally delay forming a scrum.	Team has 30 seconds to form a scrum from the time the referee gives the mark.
Law 20.12(c) When a team has won the ball in a scrum, the scrum half of the opposing team is offside if that scrum half steps in front of the ball with either foot while the ball is still in the scrum.	Opposing scrum half is not allowed to enter the gap between the flanker and number 8, even if they stay behind the ball
Law 21.2(a) The kicker must take the penalty or free kick at the mark or anywhere behind it on a line through the mark.	Increased latitude will be given to where penalty and free kicks are to be taken
Law 19.2(d) For a quick throw-in, the player must use the ball that went into touch. A quick throw-in is not permitted if another person has touched the ball apart from the player throwing it in and an opponent who carried it into touch. The same team throws into the lineout.	Players will be allowed to take quick throw-ins regardless of whether someone else has touched the ball
Law 17.2(d) Keeping players on their feet. Players in a maul must endeavour to stay on their feet. The ball carrier in a maul may go to ground providing the ball is available immediately and play continues.	Greater policing of this law, in order to discourage "hold up tackles", by ensuring that the tackler, who holds up a ball carrier in an effort to form a maul, does not collapse the maul as soon as it has formed.
Competition rule - Bonus point awarded for scoring 4 tries	Bonus point awarded if winning team scores 3 or more tries than their opponents. This particular system has been used in France's professional leagues since the 2007–08 northern hemisphere season.[4][5]
Television match official protocols	Television match official to only be consulted about tries and in-goal plays.

Regular season

The nine teams compete in a round-robin tournament for the regular season. Each team has four matches at home and four away, and one bye. The top four teams qualify for the title play-offs with semi-finals and finals.^[1][6]

Standings

National Rugby Championship
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TB	LB	Pts
1	Melbourne Rising	8	8	0	0	399	184	+215	8	0	40
2	NSW Country Eagles	8	6	0	2	251	202	+49	2	1	27
3	Brisbane City	8	6	0	2	295	257	+38	2	0	26
4	Perth Spirit	8	3	0	5	301	259	+42	2	3	17
5	Greater Sydney Rams	8	3	1	4	254	265	−11	2	0	16
6	Canberra Vikings	8	2	2	4	210	238	−28	0	2	14
7	North Harbour Rays	8	2	2	4	240	327	−87	0	0	12
8	Queensland Country	8	2	0	6	208	281	−73	1	2	11
9	Sydney Stars	8	1	1	6	211	356	−145	0	1	7
Updated: 18 October 2014 Source: rugbyarchive.net[7]  • Teams 1 to 4 (Green background) at the end of the preliminary competition rounds qualify for the Title play-offs.
Four points for a win, two for a draw, and no points for a bye. One bonus point for the winning team scoring three or more tries than their opponent (TB), one bonus point for losing by eight or fewer (LB). If teams are level on points in the standings at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:  • Difference between points for and against  • Match result between tied teams  • Total number of tries scored in the competition

Round-by-round

Team Progression – 2014 NRC season
Team	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9
Brisbane City	4 (3rd)	8 (3rd)	8 (4th)	12 (3rd)	12 (3rd)	16 (2nd)	16 (5th)	21 (3rd)	26 (3rd)
Greater Sydney Rams	0 (9th)	0 (8th)	4 (6th)	9 (6th)	9 (5th)	11 (6th)	16 (4th)	16 (5th)	16 (5th)
Melbourne Rising	5 (2nd)	10 (1st)	15 (1st)	20 (1st)	25 (1st)	30 (1st)	30 (1st)	35 (1st)	40 (1st)
NSW Country Eagles	5 (1st)	10 (2nd)	14 (2nd)	15 (2nd)	15 (2nd)	15 (3rd)	19 (2nd)	23 (2nd)	27 (2nd)
North Harbour Rays	0 (7th)	0 (6th)	0 (8th)	4 (7th)	8 (6th)	10 (7th)	12 (7th)	12 (7th)	12 (7th)
Perth Spirit	4 (4th)	5 (5th)	5 (5th)	5 (6th)	6 (8th)	11 (4th)	16 (3rd)	16 (4th)	17 (4th)
Queensland Country	0 (6th)	0 (7th)	1 (7th)	2 (8th)	6 (7th)	6 (8th)	6 (8th)	11 (8th)	11 (8th)
Sydney Stars	0 (8th)	0 (9th)	0 (9th)	0 (9th)	2 (9th)	2 (9th)	3 (9th)	3 (9th)	7 (9th)
University of Canberra Vikings	1 (5th)	5 (4th)	9 (3rd)	9 (4th)	11 (4th)	11 (5th)	13 (6th)	14 (6th)	14 (6th)
The table above shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
Key:	win	draw	loss	bye

Points by Round
Team	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		Total		Average
Brisbane City	45	20	26	21	18	79	34	26	N/A	N/A	29	13	29	56	77	26	37	16	295	257	37	32
Greater Sydney Rams	2	31	18	37	44	34	47	18	13	24	34	34	56	29	40	58	N/A	N/A	254	265	32	33
Melbourne Rising	55	34	45	13	79	18	44	24	37	16	34	13	N/A	N/A	58	40	47	26	399	184	50	23
NSW Country Eagles	31	2	37	13	33	21	26	34	16	37	N/A	N/A	26	24	42	37	40	34	251	202	31	25
North Harbour Rays	34	55	N/A	N/A	21	33	32	29	32	29	34	34	21	21	26	77	40	49	240	327	31	41
Perth Spirit	28	23	21	26	34	44	24	44	29	32	63	21	68	29	N/A	N/A	34	40	301	259	38	32
Queensland Country	N/A	N/A	13	37	21	26	29	32	24	13	13	29	29	68	53	29	26	47	208	281	26	35
Sydney Stars	20	45	13	45	N/A	N/A	18	47	37	37	21	63	24	26	29	53	49	40	211	356	26	45
University of Canberra Vikings	23	28	37	18	26	21	N/A	N/A	37	37	13	34	21	21	37	42	16	37	210	238	26	30
Key:	Offensive		Defensive

Tries by Round
Team	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		Total		Average
Brisbane City	6	4	4	3	3	11	5	4	N/A	N/A	4	2	4	7	10	4	5	2	41	37	5.1	4.6
Greater Sydney Rams	0	4	3	5	6	5	7	3	2	3	4	4	7	4	5	8	N/A	N/A	34	36	4.3	4.5
Melbourne Rising	8	5	6	2	11	3	7	3	5	2	5	2	N/A	N/A	8	5	7	4	57	26	7.1	3.3
NSW Country Eagles	4	0	5	2	4	3	4	5	2	5	N/A	N/A	4	3	6	5	5	5	34	28	4.3	3.5
North Harbour Rays	5	8	N/A	N/A	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	4	10	5	7	32	44	4.0	5.4
Perth Spirit	4	4	3	4	5	6	3	7	4	4	9	3	10	4	N/A	N/A	5	5	43	37	5.4	4.6
Queensland Country	N/A	N/A	2	5	3	4	4	4	3	2	2	4	4	10	7	4	4	7	29	40	3.6	5.0
Sydney Stars	4	6	2	6	N/A	N/A	3	7	5	5	3	9	3	4	4	7	7	5	31	49	3.9	6.1
University of Canberra Vikings	4	4	5	3	4	3	N/A	N/A	5	5	2	5	3	3	5	6	2	5	30	34	3.8	4.3
Key:	Offensive		Defensive

Competition rounds

Round 1

	21 August 2014	Brisbane City	45–20	Sydney Stars	Ballymore, Brisbane
	19:30 AEST	Try: Toby White  6', 43' Chris Kuridrani  37', 62' Jake McIntyre  45' Harry Parker  64' Con: Jake McIntyre  7', 38', 46', 63', 65' (5/6)	Report[8] Summary[9]	Try: Henry Clunies-Ross  2' Sam Quinn  20' James Dargaville  25' Jim Stewart  31' Con: Stuart Dunbar (0/4)	Attendance: 3,408 Referee: Rohan Hoffmann

	23 August 2014	(BP) University of Canberra Vikings	23–28	Perth Spirit	Viking Park, Canberra
	14:30 AEST	Try: Isaac Thompson  41' Robbie Coleman  54', 63' Nigel Ah Wong  59' Con: Christian Lealiifano  63' (1/4) Cards: Tom Staniforth 65' to 75'	Report[10] Summary[11]	Try: Zack Holmes  7' Dillyn Leyds  28' Amman Matuatu  69' Heath Tessmann  80' Con: Zack Holmes  8' (1/2) Luke Burton  70' (1/2) Pen: Luke Burton  76' (1/1) Cards: Richard Hardwick 55' to 65' Alec Hepburn 56' to 66'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Damien Mitchelmore

	23 August 2014	(BP) NSW Country Eagles	31–2	Greater Sydney Rams	Coogee Oval, Sydney
	15:00 AEST	Try: Matthew Carraro  41' Andrew Kellaway  66' Will Miller  69' Apakuku Ma'afu  80' Con: Sam Windsor  41', 66', 80' (3/4) Pen: Sam Windsor  20' (1/1)	Report[12] Summary[13]	Pen: Ben Volavola  9' (1/1) Cards: Benn Robinson 66' to 76' Vasa Falealii 66' to 76'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: James Leckie

	24 August 2014	(BP) Melbourne Rising	55–34	North Harbour Rays	AAMI Park, Melbourne[14]
	14:00 AEST	Try: Telusa Veainu  5', 42' Sefanaia Naivalu  14', 67' Nic Stirzaker  24' Jack Debreczeni  43', 78' Reuben Rolleston  68' Con: Jack Debreczeni  5', 24', 42', 43', 68' (5/8)	Report[15] Summary[16]	Try: Ed Gower  15' David Fletscheer  25' Matt Lucas  31' Mitch Lewis  40' Dave Porecki  41' Con: Hamish Angus  15', 31', 41' (3/5)	Attendance: 2,187 Referee: Andrew Lees

Bye/s: Queensland Country

Round 2

	28 August 2014	Greater Sydney Rams	18–37	University of Canberra Vikings	Pirtek Stadium, Sydney
	19:30 AEST	Try: Auvasa Falealii  5' Afa Pakalani  18' Jed Holloway  62' Con: Ben Volavola  65' (1/3) Cards: Hugh Roach 67' to 77' Jed Gillespie  78'	Report[17] Summary[18]	Try: Isaac Thompson  25' Les Makin  39' Jarrad Butler  49', 68' Thomas Cusack  51' Con: Jesse Mogg  26', 40', 52', 69' (4/5) Cards: Seilala Lam 10' to 20'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Angus Gardner

	30 August 2014	Queensland Country	13–37	NSW Country Eagles (BP)	Bond University, Gold Coast
	15:00 AEST	Try: Tom Pincus  23' Rubin Fuimaono  51' Con: Tom Pincus  520' (1/2) Pen: Tom Pincus (0/1)	Report[19] Summary[20]	Try: Stephen Hoiles  5' Andrew Kellaway  16', 26', 79' Patrick Dellit  75' Con: Sam Windsor  6', 17', 76' (3/4) Darcy Etrich  80' (1/1)	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Steve Walsh

	31 August 2014	Sydney Stars	13-45	Melbourne Rising (BP)	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
	15:00 AEST	Try: James Dargaville  25' Jim Stewart  29' Con: Stuart Dunbar  30' (1/2)	Report[21] Summary[22]	Try: Nic Stirzaker  11' Mitch Inman  22' Telusa Veainu  39' Sam Jeffries  46' Sefanaia Naivalu  53' Joe Kamana  72' Con: Jack Debreczeni  22', 39', 47', 54', 73' (5/6)	Attendance: 1,005[23] Referee: Shane McDermott

	31 August 2014	(BP) Perth Spirit	21–26	Brisbane City	McGillivray Oval, Perth
	15:30 AWST	Try: Dillyn Leyds  13', 35' Heath Tessmann  21' Con: Dillyn Leyds  14', 36' (2/3) Cards: Matt Hodgson 43' to 53'	Report[24] Summary[25]	Try: Chris Kuridrani  4' Pettowa Paraka  30', 38' Junior Laloifi  66' Con: Jake McIntyre  39', 67' (2/4) Pen: Jake McIntyre (0/1)	Attendance: 2,300 Referee: Graham Cooper

Bye/s: North Harbour Rays

Round 3

	4 September 2014	North Harbour Rays	21–33	NSW Country Eagles	Brookvale Oval, Sydney
	19:30 AEST	Try: Michael Wells  6' Luke Holmes  40' Dave Feltscheer  51' Con: Hamish Angus  40', 52' (2/3)	Report[26] Summary[27]	Try: Andrew Kellaway  12', 60' Ed Stubbs  30' Samu Wara  57' Con: Sam Windsor  13', 31', 58' (3/4) Pen: Sam Windsor  67', 80' (2/2)	Attendance: 1,982 Referee: Graham Cooper

	6 September 2014	Perth Spirit	34–44	Greater Sydney Rams	Adelaide Airport Stadium, Adelaide
	14:00 ACST	Try: Alec Hepburn  29' Zack Holmes  35' Dillyn Leyds  40' Harry Scoble  48' Va'a Mailei  74' Con: Ian Prior  29', 36', 75' (3/5) Cards: Kieran Stringer 22' to 32'	Report[28] Summary[29]	Try: Taqele Naiyaravoro  22', 44', 62' Jed Holloway  56' Jarome McKenzie  64' Dane Chisholm  69' Con: Ben Volavola  23', 57', 63', 65' (4/6) Pen: Ben Volavola  17' (1/1) Dane Chisholm (0/1)	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Andrew Lees

	6 September 2014	University of Canberra Vikings	26–21	Queensland Country (BP)	Viking Park, Canberra
	14:30 AEST	Try: Jarrad Butler  7' Jerome Nuimata  34' Nigel Ah Wong  53' Robbie Coleman  79' Con: Jesse Mogg  8', 54' (2/4)	Report[30] Summary[31]	Try: Clynton Knox  12' Beau Robinson  17' James Turner  80' Con: Matt Brandon  13', 80' (2/3)	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Shane McDermott

	6 September 2014	Brisbane City	18–79	Melbourne Rising (BP)	Ballymore, Brisbane
	15:00 AEST	Try: Chris Kuridrani  12' Samu Kerevi  19' Liam Gill  26' Con: Jake McIntyre  13' (1/3) Cards: Nick Frisby 5' to 15' Will Genia 48' to 58'	Report[32] Summary[33]	Try: Jonah Placid  4' Sefanaia Naivalu  7' Tom English  24', 58', 63', 80' Lopeti Timani  31', 52' Telusa Veainu  43' Pat Leafa  68' Lloyd Johansson  76' Con: Jack Debreczeni  8', 25', 32', 52', 59', 64', 70', 77' (6/8) Lloyd Johansson  70', 77' (2/3)	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Steve Walsh

Bye/s: Sydney Stars

Round 4

	11 September 2014	(BP) Melbourne Rising	44–24	Perth Spirit	AAMI Park, Melbourne
	19:30 AEST	Try: Lopeti Timani  25', 65' Telusa Veainu  28', 65' Joe Kamana  31' Cadeyrn Neville  60' Luke Burgess  75' Con: Jack Debreczeni  25', 66' (2/4) Telusa Veainu  57' (1/2) Lloyd Johansson (0/1) Cards: Pom Simona 68' to 78'	Report[34] Summary[35]	Try: Alex Rovira  14' Brad Lacey  48' Zack Holmes  80' Con: Luke Burton  14', 50' (2/2) Zack Holmes  80' (1/1) Cards: Brent Murphy 51' to 61'	Attendance: 2,096 Referee: Will Houston

	13 September 2014	(BP) Greater Sydney Rams	47–18	Sydney Stars	Pirtek Stadium, Sydney
	15:00 AEST	Try: Taqele Naiyaravoro  5' Jared Barry  19' Chris Alcock  23' penalty try  39' Hugh Roach  43' Jarome McKenzie  57' Michael McDougall  63' Con: Ben Volavola  20', 24', 40', 44' (4/6) Dane Chisholm (0/1)	Report[36] Summary[37]	Try: Jack Macklin  28' Will Skelton  48' Jake Gordon  61' Con: Stuart Dunbar (0/1) Jack Macklin  62' (1/2)	Attendance: 1,063 Referee: Ian Smith

	13 September 2014	(BP) Queensland Country	29–32	North Harbour Rays	Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
	17:10 AEST	Try: Todd Winkley  18', 58' penalty try  53' Jack de Guingand  62' Con: Matt Brandon  19', 54', 59' (3/4) Cards: Anthony Faingaa 23' to 33'	Report[38] Summary[39]	Try: Luke Holmes  7' Hamish Angus  29' Dave Feltscheer  33' Ed Gower  74' Con: Hamish Angus  8', 30', 34', 75' (4/4) Cards: Ed Gower 52' to 62'	Attendance: 1,500[note 1] Referee: Matt O'Brien

	14 September 2014	(BP) NSW Country Eagles	26–34	Brisbane City	Oakes Oval, Lismore
	15:00 AEST	Try: Tala Gray  9', 40' Brendan McKibbin  54' Mick Snowden  79' Con: Sam Windsor  55' (1/3) Darcy Etrich  80' (1/1) Cards: Stephen Hoiles 21' to 31'	Report[41] Summary[42]	Try: Samu Kerevi  6' Jake Schatz  14', 22', 48' Lachlan Turner  26' Con: Jake McIntyre  6', 15', 26' (3/5) Cards: Liam Gill 54' to 64'	Attendance: 750[40] Referee: Damien Mitchelmore

Bye/s: University of Canberra Vikings

Round 5

	18 September 2014	Queensland Country	24–13	Greater Sydney Rams	Ballymore, Brisbane
	19:30 AEST	Try: Sam Grasso  4' penalty try  54' Jamie-Jerry Taulagi  74' Con: Matt Brandon  5', 55', 75' (3/3) Cards: Jamie-Jerry Taulagi 15' to 25' Anthony Faingaa 22' to 32'	Report[43] Summary[44]	Try: Jarome McKenzie  24' Dane Chisholm  39' Con: Ben Volavola  25' (1/2) Cards: Hugh Perrett 52' to 62' David Lolohea 67' to 77'	Attendance: 1,500[45] Referee: Rohan Hoffmann

	20 September 2014	NSW Country Eagles	16–37	Melbourne Rising (BP)	Wade Park, Orange
	15:00 AEST	Try: Sam Windsor  24' Andrew Kellaway  77' Con: Sam Windsor  25', 77' (2/2) Cards: Duncan Chubb 17' to 27'	Report[46] Summary[47]	Try: Nic Stirzaker  19' Tom English  21' Sean McMahon  38' Telusa Veainu  50' Lopeti Timani  56' Con: Jack Debreczeni  20', 21', 39', 56' (4/5) Cards: Paul Alo-Emile 40' to 50' Cadeyrn Neville 69' to 79'	Attendance: 2,000[45] Referee: Michael Hogan

	20 September 2014	Sydney Stars	37–37	University of Canberra Vikings	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
	15:00 AEST	Try: Jack Macklin  31' Hugo Dessens  37' Patrick McCutcheon  47' Will Skelton  61' Jono Sullivan  80' Con: Jack Macklin  38', 48', 62', 80' (4/5) Cards: Will Skelton 16' to 26'	Report[48] Summary[49]	Try: Sean Doyle  9' Fotu Auelua  11' Lausii Taliauli  44' Jesse Mogg  52' Jean-Pierre Smith  72' Con: Jesse Mogg  12', 45', 53', 73' (4/5) Cards: Rodney Iona 28' to 38' Fotu Auelua 57' to 67'	Attendance: 1,047[45] Referee: James Leckie

	20 September 2014	North Harbour Rays	32–29	Perth Spirit (BP)	Brookvale Oval, Sydney
	17:30 AEST	Try: Harry Bergelin  3' Sam Ward  28', 47', 70' Con: Hamish Angus  4', 29', 48', 71' (4/4) Cards: Boyd Killingworth 52' to 62'	Report[50] Summary[51]	Try: Ammon Matuauto  15', 53' Zack Holmes  24' Dillyn Leyds  62' Con: Zack Holmes  16', 25', 63' (3/4) Cards: Va'a Mailei 58' to 68'	Attendance: 2,187[45] Referee: Angus Gardner

Bye/s: Brisbane City

Round 6

	25 September 2014	(BP) Melbourne Rising	34–13	University of Canberra Vikings	AAMI Park, Melbourne
	19:30 AEST	Try: Jack Debreczeni  2' Telusa Veainu  12' Paul Alo-Emile  19' Mitch Inman  25' Luke Burgess  79' Con: Jack Debreczeni  3', 13', 80' (3/5) Cards: Cadeyrn Neville 53' to 63' Nic Stirzaker 64' to 74'	Report[52] Summary[53]	Try: Robbie Coleman  31' Jerome Nuimata  69' Con: Jesse Mogg  32' (1/2)	Attendance: 1,977 Referee: Will Houston

	28 September 2014	Brisbane City	29–13	Queensland Country	Ballymore, Brisbane
	15:00 AEST	Try: Pettowa Paraka  32' Andrew Ready  45' Chris Kuridrani  61' Marco Kotze  74' Con: Jake McIntyre  46' (1/2) Quade Cooper  62', 74' (2/2)	Report[54] Summary[55]	Try: Jamie-Jerry Taulagi  19' Tom Pincus  24' Con: Matt Brandon  25' (1/2) Cards: Haydn Hirsimaki 39' to 49' Will Slipper  72'	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Damien Mitchelmore

	28 September 2014	North Harbour Rays	34–34	Greater Sydney Rams	Brookvale Oval, Sydney
	15:00 AEST	Try: Kotoni Ale  22', 30' Brian Sefanaia  35' Ed Gower  69' Con: Matt Lucas  23', 31', 36' (3/3) Hamish Angus  69' (1/1) Pen: Hamish Angus  80' (1/1)	Report[56] Summary[57]	Try: Ben Batger  38' Jai Ayoub  54' Jarome Mackenzie  61' Dave Lolohea  74' Con: Dane Chisholm  38', 55', 62', 75' (4/4) Pen: Ben Volavola  79' (1/1) Cards: Guy Millar 69' to 79'	Attendance: 2,900 Referee: Michael Hogan

	28 September 2014	(BP) Perth Spirit	63–21	Sydney Stars	HBF Arena, Perth
	15:30 AWST	Try: Kyle Godwin  12' Ross Haylett-Petty  19' Ian Prior  25' Luke Morahan  27' Junior Rasolea  43', 49' Robbie Abel  62', 74' Marcel Brache  66' Con: Ian Prior  13', 26', 44', 50', 64', 67' (6/9) Cards: Junior Rasolea  80'	Report[58] Summary[59]	Try: Laurie Weeks  6' Andrew Leota  9' Paddy Ryan  69' Con: Jack Macklin  10', 70' (2/3) Cards: Matthew Philip 62' to 72'	Attendance: 1,445 Referee: Graham Cooper

Bye/s: NSW Country Eagles

Round 7

	2 October 2014	University of Canberra Vikings	21–21	North Harbour Rays	Viking Park, Canberra
	19:30 AEST	Try: Nigel Ah Wong  8' Jarrad Butler  46' Robbie Coleman  56' Con: Jesse Mogg  47', 57' (2/3) Pen: Jesse Mogg (0/1) Cards: Jordan Smiler 69' to 79' Seilala Lam  73'	Report[60] Summary[61]	Try: Kotoni Ale  38' Luke Holmes  54' Jack Dempsey  70' Con: Harry Jones  38', 55' (2/3) Cards: Kotoni Ale 45' to 55'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Andrew Lees

	3 October 2014	(BP) Greater Sydney Rams	56–29	Brisbane City	Pirtek Stadium, Sydney
	19:30 AEST	Try: Jarome Mackenzie  4', 23' Henry Seavula  14' Auvasa Falealii  35' Henry Taefu  46' Dylan Sigg  51' Chris Alcock  65' Con: Ben Volavola  5', 15', 24', 36', 47', 52', 66' (7/7) Cards: Jed Gillespie 54' to 64' Marcus Carbone  72' Hugh Roach  74'	Report[60] Summary[62]	Try: Chris Kuridrani  17' Curtis Browning  31' Samu Kerevi  43' David McDuling  77' Con: Quade Cooper  18', 43' (2/3) Jake McIntyre  77' (1/1)	Attendance: 1,632 Referee: Ian Smith

	4 October 2014	(BP) Perth Spirit	68–29	Queensland Country	Rockingham Rugby Club, Perth
	15:30 AWST	Try: Christian Joubert  3' Kane Koteka  8', 32', 63' Robbie Abel  24', 48' Luke Morahan  38' Brynard Stander  42' Joe Savage  67' Va'a Mailei  69' Con: Zack Holmes  25', 39', 44', 64', 68' (5/9) Ian Prior  70' (1/1) Cards: Sam Wykes 52' to 62'	Report[63] Summary[64]	Try: Jack de Guingand  10', 17', 53' Blake Enever  60' Con: Matt Brandon  11', 53', 61' (3/4)	Attendance: 1,022 Referee: Will Houston

	6 October 2014	(BP) Sydney Stars	24–26	NSW Country Eagles	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
	15:00 AEDT	Try: James Dargaville  2' Sam Quinn  18' Jim Stewart  56' Con: Jack Macklin  3', 19', 37' (3/3) Cards: Sam Quinn 28' to 38' Paddy Ryan 40' to 50'	Report[65] Summary[66]	Try: Ethan Ford  26', 31' Tala Gray  40' Cameron Treloar  71' Con: Sam Windsor  28', 40' (2/4) Cards: Mitchell Chapman 17' to 27' Ethan Ford 34' to 44'	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Angus Gardner

Bye/s: Melbourne Rising

Round 8

	9 October 2014	North Harbour Rays	26–77	Brisbane City (BP)	Brookvale Oval, Sydney[67]
	19:30 AEDT	Try: Sam Ward  35' Greg Peterson  56' Harry Bergelin  64' Mali Hingano  68' Con: Harry Jones  35' (1/1) Hamish Angus  56' (1/3) Cards: Chazz Mahina 63' to 73'	Report[68] Summary[69]	Try: Matthew Feaunati  2' Michael Gunn  26', 32' Adam Korczyk  28' Samu Kerevi  43' Andrew Ready  52' Jack Mullins  67' Curtis Browning  72' Phil Kite  75' Toby White  78' Con: Quade Cooper  3', 26', 28', 32', 44', 67', 72', 76', 79' (9/10)	Attendance: 1,852[70] Referee: Angus Gardner

	11 October 2014	(BP) University of Canberra Vikings	37–42	NSW Country Eagles	Viking Park, Canberra
	14:30 AEDT	Try: Jarrad Butler  10' Michael Henry  36' Tim Cree  43' Isaac Thompson  68' Joe Powell  75' Con: Rodney Iona  11', 44' (2/3) Isaac Thompson  69', 76' (2/2)	Report[71] Summary[72]	Try: Andrew Kellaway  7', 59' Mitchell Chapman  33' Tala Gray  40' Ethan Ford  53' Apakuki Ma'afu  67' Pen: Sam Windsor  40', 55', 60', 68' (4/6) Cards: Cameron Treloar 26' to 36'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Rohan Hoffmann

	11 October 2014	Greater Sydney Rams	40–58	Melbourne Rising (BP)	Pirtek Stadium, Sydney
	15:00 AEDT	Try: Jed Holloway  8' Henry Seavula  21' Henry Taefu  34' Dylan Sigg  54' Ben Batger  74' Con: Ben Volavola  9', 22', 35', 55', 75' (5/5)	Report[73] Summary[74]	Try: Jack Debreczeni  6' Nic Stirzaker  11' Joe Kamana  28' Mitch Inman  49' Ben Meehan  63' Luke Jones  71' Jonah Placid  77', 80' Con: Jack Debreczeni  7', 12', 49', 64', 72', 80' (6/8)	Attendance: 1,324 Referee: Will Houston

	11 October 2014	(BP) Queensland Country	53–29	Sydney Stars	Mike Carney Toyota Park, Townsville
	15:00 AEST	Try: Jamie-Jerry Taulagi  3', 45' Tom Pincus  49', 62' Sam Grasso  60' Mitch King  66' James Tuttle  72' Con: Matt Brandon  4', 50', 61', 63', 67', 73' (6/7) Cards: Tom Pincus 24' to 34'	Report[75] Summary[76]	Try: Andrew Leota  25' Stuart Dunbar  77' Michael Hodge  80' Con: Angus Roberts  15', 26' (2/2) Jack Macklin  78' (1/2)	Attendance: 2,500[70] Referee: Ed Martin

Bye/s: Perth Spirit

Round 9

	16 October 2014	Sydney Stars	49–40	North Harbour Rays	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
	19:30 AEDT	Try: Tipiloma Kaveinga  3' Jake Wainwright  13' James Willan[77]  21' Jake Gordon  48', 50' Michael Hodge  63' penalty try  79' Con: Angus Roberts  4', 49', 41' (3/5) Jack Macklin  80' (1/2) Pen: Jack Macklin  67' (1/1)	Report[78] Summary[79]	Try: Kotoni Ale  17' David Feltscheer  30' Jack Dempsey  35' Josh Holmes  41', 54' Con: Hamish Angus  18', 31', 36', 42' (4/4) Harry Jones  55' (1/1)	Attendance: 750[80] Referee: Ian Smith

	18 October 2014	(BP) Brisbane City	37–16	University of Canberra Vikings	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
	16:10 AEST	Try: Jack Mullins  15' Jake McIntyre  19' Jake Schatz  53', 64' Will Genia  79' Con: Jake McIntyre  17', 54', 65' (3/4) Sam Green  80' (1/1) Cards: Curtis Browning 43' to 53' Chazz Mahina 66' to 76'	Report[81] Summary[82]	Try: Jarrad Butler  46' Allan Alaalatoa  72' Con: Rodney Iona  47' (1/1) Isaac Thompson  72' (1/1)	Attendance: 13,700[note 2] Referee: Rohan Hoffmann

	18 October 2014	NSW Country Eagles	40–34	Perth Spirit (BP)	Caltex Park, Dubbo
	18:00 AEDT	Try: Will Miller  1', 23' Tala Gray  14' Brendan McKibbin  52' Darcy Etrich  61' Con: Sam Windsor  2', 15', 24', 52', 62' (5/5)	Report[83] Summary[84]	Try: Chris Heiberg  28' Va'a Mailei  46' Robbie Abel  56' Michael Ruru  75', 78' Con: Luke Burton  30' (1/3) Zack Holmes  76', 79' (2/2)	Attendance: 1,500[80] Referee: Andrew Lees

	18 October 2014	(BP) Melbourne Rising	47–26	Queensland Country	AAMI Park, Melbourne
	18:00 AEDT	Try: Nic Stirzaker  11', 41' Jack Debreczeni  16' Lopeti Timani  32' Sam Jeffries  51' Jonah Placid  65' Sean McMahon  75' Con: Jack Debreczeni  12', 42', 52', 66' (4/6) Jonah Placid (0/1) Cards: Sean McMahon 44' to 54' Jack Debreczeni 69' to 79'	Report[85] Summary[86]	Try: Ben Adams  26' Matt Brandon  45' Jamie-Jerry Taulagi  70' James Tuttle  80' Con: Matt Brandon  46' (1/2) Tom Pincus  71' (1/1) Duncan Paia'aua (0/1) Cards: Campbell Magnay 55' to 65' Rubin Fuimaono 67' to 77'	Attendance: 1,924[80] Referee: Damien Mitchelmore

Bye/s: Greater Sydney Rams

Title play-offs

The top four sides in the regular season advanced to the knock-out stage of semi-finals and final to decide the National Rugby Championship title.

Semi-finals

	24 October 2014	NSW Country Eagles	26–32	Brisbane City	Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
	19:30 AEDT	Try: Sam Windsor  6' Samu Wara  14' Ita Vaea  30' Ed Stubbs  34' Con: Sam Windsor  6', 31' (2/4) Cards: Will Miller 20' to 30'	Report[87] Summary[88]	Try: Brando Va'aulu  2', 53' penalty try  25' Toby White  56' Con: Jake McIntyre  3', 26', 54', 57' (4/4)	Attendance: 500 Referee: Angus Gardner

	25 October 2014	Melbourne Rising	29–45	Perth Spirit	AAMI Park, Melbourne
	15:00 AEDT	Try: Mitch Inman  28' Jonah Placid  49' Sefanaia Naivalu  68' Jack Debreczeni  76' Con: Jack Debreczeni  29', 53', 69' (3/4)	Report[89] Summary[90]	Try: Marcel Brache  22', 24' Ollie Hoskins  42' Ammon Matuauto  59', 79' Sam Wykes  66' Con: Zack Holmes  25', 43', 61', 67', 80' (5/6) Cards: Richard Hardwick 75' to 80'	Attendance: 1,764 Referee: Will Houston

Final

	1 November 2014	Brisbane City	37–26	Perth Spirit	Ballymore, Brisbane
	18:30 AEST	Try: Liam Gill  8' penalty try  20' Pettowa Paraka  37', 58' Junior Laloifi  75' Con: Jake McIntyre  9', 20', 38', 76' (4/5)	Report[91] Summary 1[92] Summary 2[93]	Try: Junior Rasolea  4' Dane Haylett-Petty  24' Robbie Abel  34' Davis Tavita  80+2' Con: Zack Holmes  5', 35' (2/4)	Attendance: 7,889 Referee: Rohan Hoffmann

Brisbane City

Perth Spirit

FB 15 Brando Va'aulu RW 14 Chris Kuridrani OC 13 Toby White 80' to 80+2' IC 12 Jack Mullins LW 11 Matthew Feaunati  72' FH 10 Jake McIntyre  77' SH 9 Nick Frisby N8 8 Jake Schatz OF 7 Liam Gill BF 6 Curtis Browning  64' RL 5 David McDuling (c) LL 4 Marco Kotze  76' TP 3 Sef Fa'agase  66' HK 2 Andrew Ready LP 1 Pettowa Paraka  64' Replacements: HK 16 Matt Mafi PR 17 David Feao  64' PR 18 Phil Kite  66' LK 19 Tim Buchanan  76' FL 20 Adam Korczyk  64' SH 21 Will Thompson FH 22 James Dalgleish  77' WG 23 Junior Laloifi  72' Coach: Nick Stiles

FB 15 Dane Haylett-Petty RW 14 Luke Morahan OC 13 Junior Rasolea IC 12 Ammon Matuauto  77' LW 11 Marcel Brache FH 10 Zack Holmes SH 9 Ian Prior  63' N8 8 Alex Rovira OF 7 Richard Hardwick BF 6 Brynard Stander  63' RL 5 Brent Murphy  76' LL 4 Sam Wykes (c) TP 3 Ollie Hoskins HK 2 Robbie Abel  63' LP 1 Pek Cowan  56' Replacements: HK 16 Harry Scoble  63' PR 17 Joe Savage  56' PR 18 Chris Heiberg LK 19 Kieran Stringer  76' FL 20 Cian O'Connor  63' SH 21 Justin Turner  63' FH 22 Davis Tavita  77' WG 23 Christian Joubert Coach: David Wessels Kevin Foote

Man of the Match: Liam Gill (Brisbane) Assistant Referees: Will Houston (Australia) Damien Mitchelmore (Australia) Television match official: Greg Milne (Australia)

Season attendances

Club	Games Hosted	Attendance
		Lowest	Highest	Average	Total
Brisbane City	5	2,500	13,700	6,499	32,497
Greater Sydney Rams	4	1,063	1,632	1,380	5,519
Melbourne Rising	5	1,764	2,187	1,990	9,948
NSW Country Eagles	5	500	2,000	1,150	5,750
North Harbour Rays	4	1,852	2,900	2,230	8,921
Perth Spirit	4	1,022	2,300	1,692	6,767
Queensland Country	4	1,500	2,500	1,875	7,500
Sydney Stars	4	750	1,500	1,076	4,302
University of Canberra Vikings	4	1,500	2,000	1,625	6,500
Totals	39	500	13,700	2,249	87,704

Players

The leading scorers in 2014 over the regular season and play-offs combined were:

See also

• Australian Rugby Championship (predecessor tournament)
• Super Rugby

Notes

Reference list

External links

• "rugby.com.au/nrc", NRC official website, Buildcorp National Rugby Championship, Archived from the original on November 25, 2014  CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
• 2014 NRC squad lists on espnscrum.com
• ARU Board approves nine team National Rugby Championship to start in August 2014

Team webpages