Rugby union in Cyprus

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Rugby union in Cyprus
Slovakia playing Cyprus
CountryCyprus
National team(s)Cyprus
National competitions
IRB Sevens World Series
Audience records
Single match? (?).  ? vs ? (?, ?)

Rugby union in Cyprus is a minor but growing sport.

Governing body

The governing body is the Cyprus Rugby Federation

It became affiliated to

FIRA in 2006.[1]

History

Cypriot rugby goes back to at least the 1950s, when it was played by British Armed Forces there. The British military still contributes teams from the Akrotiri and Dhekelia bases.

During the 1970s, rugby union in Israel trying to break out of its isolation - both political and geographical - reached out to teams in Cyprus.[2] Many of the teams Israelis played with were British military.

In more recent times, it has mainly been a game played by expatriates.

There are several competitions including a league with teams from the British military bases and three local teams:

  • Paphos Tigers - founded by British and South Africans.
  • Limassol Crusaders - Founded by expats after England won in the rugby World Cup
  • Nicosia Barbarians - The Barbarians are currently not playing, although the website is still up.

Cypriot rugby's main ties are to European rugby, although it does play Israel occasionally.

The situation in Northern Cyprus is somewhat different, with teams playing in the Turkish leagues. Rugby is not a major sport amongst Greek Cypriots, but it is even less so amongst Turkish Cypriots.

Introduction of rugby to Cyprus

Rugby Football was introduced formally in league format in the early 1980s by the British Military due to the mannerism of their structure. However the first Cypriot Club was formed in 2003 known as,

Cyprus Sevens Team
took part in two tournaments in Athens and Split. Their performances during these competitions led to them jumping 11 places in the FIRA rankings and are currently ranked 12th in Europe.

National team

Main article: Cyprus national rugby union team

The first international game of the Cyprus Rugby National Team took place on March 24, 2007 against Greece in Paphos. The Cypriot XV won the game by 39-3 in front of 2,500 fans.[3]

In October and November 2007, Cyprus beat Azerbaijan, Monaco, Slovakia to win the FIRA 3D Tournament, a great achievement in their first year on the international scene. However, they lost the play-off game for promotion to level 3C on 6 September 2008 against Israel (which plays in the European leagues) by a score of 23-14.

Cyprus now play in the 2B level, after winning promotion consecutively from the 2008-2010 edition onwards.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cyprus accepted as members of the International Federation of Amateur Rugby" (PDF) (in French). 2006-12-07. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  2. ISBN 1-86200-013-1
    ) p68
  3. ^ McCowan, Alexander (March 27, 2007). "Cyprus trounce Greece in first international rugby match". Cyprus Mail. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-03-28.

External links

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