Rugby union in Western Australia describes the sport of rugby union being played and watched in the state of Western Australia. First introduced some time in 1868 it was the most popular football code until it was overtaken by Australian rules football in Western Australia in 1885. After a period of decline and recess between 1905-1927 it grew throughout the 20th century. The governing body is the Western Australia Rugby Union (RugbyWA). Rugby clubs are centred on the metropolitan Perth and Fremantle, the game is uncommon elsewhere. Despite being the second most popular code with spectators, rugby has the distinction of holding the record attendance of any football code in the state, with 61,241 attending the Bledisloe Cup at Optus Stadium in 2019. Western Australia is the home of the Western Force, a franchise in the Super Rugby competition since 2006. Their home ground is NIB Stadium, which has a capacity of 20,500 spectators. The development team is the Perth Spirit, which has competed in the Australian Rugby Championship in 2007 and the National Rugby Championship since 2014. History Early history: 1860-1892 Rugby was first played in the Colony of Western Australia in the late 1860s and early 1870s. One of the earliest matches was played in 1868 in Fremantle by a team from West Yorkshire Regiment against a local sides in Perth on the grounds of the Bishop’s Collegiate School. Rugby was the leading football code in the colony up until the mid 1880s before its popularity was overtaken by Australian rules football in Western Australia. In 1885 one of the leading rugby clubs, Fremantle, decided to change to Australian rules football. It was quickly joined by three other clubs - , Victorians, and a team of schoolboys from The High School. Rugby was to suffer considerably from this exodus in the latter 1880s. Rugby Revival and Interstate matches: 1893-1905 The 1890s however saw a revival in West Australian rugby and it continued to be played by a small number of clubs sufficient to form the Western Australian Rugby Union in 1893. A 4 team competition commenced in 1895 with the I Zingari, Fremantle, Swans and Midland Junction Club's taking part. These clubs were joined by a Goldfields Association consisting of the Coolgardie Rugby Football Club and Kalgoorlie Rugby Football Club (Goldfields) (1896). Other Perth based clubs to form later included the Pirate Football Club (1898) and Metropolitan Rugby