Reds · History

Suncorp Stadium, the Brisbane ground known for much of its history as Lang Park, has been the home of the Queensland Reds since 2006. The site was fenced off and named Lang Park in 1914, and a redevelopment completed in 2003 brought its capacity to 52,500. The Reds are the professional rugby union team of the Queensland Rugby Union and play in Super Rugby, which they won in 2011. They also won Super Rugby AU in 2021, and before that, in the amateur era, the Super 6 and two Super 10 titles.

Origins and the amateur era

Representative rugby in Queensland dates back to 1882, when a Queensland side toured Sydney. The Northern Rugby Union, the body that later became the Queensland Rugby Union, was formed in late 1883. The union was disbanded in 1919 and re-formed in 1928. For most of the twentieth century the main fixture was the interstate series against New South Wales. That rivalry, played for the Bob Templeton Cup, runs to more than 270 matches: New South Wales have won more than 170, Queensland more than 80, and 12 have been drawn. The traditional strip was a maroon jersey with a white collar, navy shorts and maroon socks with white hoops, although recent home kits have been mostly red. Michael Lynagh scored 1,145 points for Queensland between 1982 and 1994. Brendan Moon set the try record with 69 between 1978 and 1987, 16 of them in the 1978 season.

Super 6 and Super 10 titles

Before rugby turned professional, Queensland took part in the southern hemisphere provincial tournaments that came before Super Rugby. They won the Super 6 in 1992. In 1994 they won the Super 10, beating Natal 21–10 in the final at Kings Park in Durban, and in 1995 they kept the trophy with a 30–16 win over Transvaal at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Both titles were won away from home, in South Africa.

Super 12 and Super 14

When the Super 12 started in 1996, the Reds played at Ballymore Stadium in the Brisbane suburb of Herston, which stayed their home until 2005. John Connolly coached the side from 1996 to 2000. The Reds topped the regular-season table in 1996 and 1999 and made the playoffs again in 2001. They also won the Ricoh National Championship in 2000. The move to Suncorp Stadium came in 2006, the year the competition expanded to the Super 14. That same year the Reds reached the final of the Australian Provincial Championship, a tournament held only once, and lost 42–17 to the Brumbies in the Australian Capital Territory. Eddie Jones coached the team in 2007, the year of a 92–3 defeat by the Bulls, and Phil Mooney was in charge in 2008 and 2009. Sean Hardman played 148 matches for the Reds between 1999 and 2010, more than anyone else in the club's history.

The 2011 title under Ewen McKenzie

Ewen McKenzie took over in 2010. In his first season, with Quade Cooper, Will Genia and Digby Ioane in the squad, the Reds beat both teams that went on to contest that year's final. James Horwill captained the side in 69 matches, a club record. In 2011 the Reds reached the Super Rugby final at Suncorp Stadium and beat the Crusaders 18–13 in front of 52,113 spectators, the club's first title of the professional era. Cooper scored 228 points that year, the most by a Reds player in a single season. McKenzie's team made the playoffs again in 2012 and 2013, and he left the job in 2013.

Thorn, Super Rugby AU and the 2021 final

Richard Graham coached the team from 2014 to 2016 and Nick Stiles until 2017. Former All Black Brad Thorn then took charge and stayed until 2023. In 2020 the Australian teams played a domestic competition, Super Rugby AU, and the Reds finished runners-up in its first edition. In 2021 they topped the table and hosted the final at Suncorp Stadium, where they beat the Brumbies 19–16 in front of about 42,000 people. James O'Connor scored the winning try after the full-time hooter and converted it himself. Liam Wright captained the team from 2020 to 2025 and shared the role with Tate McDermott from 2022.

Les Kiss and the playoff seasons

The Reds made the Super Rugby playoffs in 2022 and 2023, Thorn's last two seasons. Harry Wilson won the Pilecki Medal as the club's player of the year in both of those years, and Fraser McReight received the Australian Super Rugby Player award in 2023. Les Kiss was appointed head coach in 2024, and the team reached the playoffs that year and again in 2025. McReight won the Pilecki Medal in 2024. In 2025 it went to Filipo Daugunu, and Dre Pakeho was named the club's rookie of the year.