Rugby union in Croatia
Encyclopedia
Rugby union
in Croatia
is a minor sport. , they are ranked fiftieth in the International Rugby Board
's world rankings,.
Croatian sides competed in the Rugby Championship of Yugoslavia
, which ran from 1957-1991. Croatia was something of a centre of rugby union in Yugoslavia before it gained its independence.
meant that rugby was a low priority. However, it ironically had something of a minor revival in Croatia, when occupying British troops started to play regular games against the locals in the 1990s. By that point there were a thousand registered players in the country, and fourteen clubs, and some fifty Croats playing in the France's top three divisions.
In the early 1990s, former Italian cap, Dr Giancarlo Tizanini was a major driving force in Austrian rugby
. Before his death in 1994, he tried hard to establish a Central European
equivalent of the Six Nations
between Austria
, Hungary
, Croatia
,
Slovenia
and Bosnia
.
The biggest rugby "scrum
" in the world was made on 14 Oct 2007, in Croatia, with over 200 players of all categories from Croatian rugby club Nada
, for a Millennium Photo.
, more than half of the two thousand registered players are pre-teens or teenagers. In addition, there are currently twenty-three domestic clubs that compete against each other on various levels.
since 2003. (Current playing record).
has been competing since the early 1990s. As of April 2009, the national team is currently competing in the European Nations Cup
and is attempting to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
.
Croatia have a host of players who are New Zealanders, Australians and South Africans of Croatian origin who play the game and have played internationally for these countries.
Frano Botica
was a one time Croatian rugby coach and former All Black, whose grandparents were born in Korčula
. Another former All Black who turned out for the Croatian side at the same time was Matthew Cooper
. Dan Luger
is an England representative whose father Darko Luger is from the island of Brac. Sean Fitzpatrick
is another former All Black captain who has Croatian heritage.
Currently members of the Croatian Rugby Federation are the following teams (and cities in brackets)
The woman's club is called Viktorija Zagreb.
In 2004/05, 9 teams participated (Croatia - Nada, Zagreb,Mladost, Makaska Rivijera and Sisak - Slovenia - Ljubljana, Bezigrad and Emona - Bosnia - Celik) with Ljubljana finishing first.
In 2005/06, 5 teams entered with Croatia's Zagreb winning the competition
In 2006/07, 6 teams entered and Nada became competition winners for the first time.
Also in season 2007/08, there has been a Regional Rugby 15 League set up with teams from Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Serbia.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
is a minor sport. , they are ranked fiftieth in the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
's world rankings,.
Governing body
The Croatian Rugby Union was founded in 1962 (as a domestic body), became a full national body in 1992 (after independence) and joined the IRB in 1994.Yugoslav period
Rugby union in pre-independence Croatia was a moderately popular sport, but due to its recent international successes, it is gaining more recognition. Some people date the start of Croatian rugby to the 17th of January 1954 when the Mladost team from Zagreb was formed to become Croatia's first rugby union club. Some years later, a XV from London Welsh RFC toured Zagreb, which may be seen as a sign of how things were to improve.Croatian sides competed in the Rugby Championship of Yugoslavia
Rugby Championship of Yugoslavia
The Rugby Championship of Yugoslavia was the highest level of rugby union competition in the federation of Yugoslavia. The league lasted until 1991, when several successor leagues were formed:*Croatian Rugby Championship- Results :-Wins by club :...
, which ran from 1957-1991. Croatia was something of a centre of rugby union in Yugoslavia before it gained its independence.
Post-independence
The breakup of YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
meant that rugby was a low priority. However, it ironically had something of a minor revival in Croatia, when occupying British troops started to play regular games against the locals in the 1990s. By that point there were a thousand registered players in the country, and fourteen clubs, and some fifty Croats playing in the France's top three divisions.
In the early 1990s, former Italian cap, Dr Giancarlo Tizanini was a major driving force in Austrian rugby
Rugby union in Austria
Rugby union in Austria is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 79th in the International Rugby Board's world rankings, which ranks only the top ninety-five countries....
. Before his death in 1994, he tried hard to establish a Central European
equivalent of the Six Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
between Austria
Austria national rugby union team
Austria is a third tier rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby in the early 1990s. Thus far, Austria has not made an appearance at any of the World Cups.-History:...
, Hungary
Hungary national rugby union team
The Hungary national rugby union team represents Hungary at rugby union. They are governed by the Magyar Rögbi Szövetség , and have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup, although they have entered qualifiers for all the tournaments from the 1995 edition onwards...
, Croatia
Croatia national rugby union team
The Croatia national rugby union team are the national rugby union team of Croatia. They are governed by the Croatian Rugby Union. Croatia have been playing internationals rugby since 1992, they have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.- Internationals :...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia national rugby union team
The Slovenia national rugby union team represents Slovenia at rugby union. They are governed by the Rugby Zveza Slovenije, and have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.-Current squad:Slovenia...
and Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina national rugby union team
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national rugby union team represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in international rugby union. The nation have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup...
.
The biggest rugby "scrum
Scrum (rugby)
Scrum , in the sports of rugby union and rugby league, is a way of restarting the game, either after an accidental infringement or when the ball has gone out of play...
" in the world was made on 14 Oct 2007, in Croatia, with over 200 players of all categories from Croatian rugby club Nada
RK Nada
RK Nada is a rugby union club from Split, Croatia. It participates in the Croatian Rugby Championship, the Croatian Rugby Cup and the Regional Rugby Championship...
, for a Millennium Photo.
, more than half of the two thousand registered players are pre-teens or teenagers. In addition, there are currently twenty-three domestic clubs that compete against each other on various levels.
Women's rugby
Although Croatia's women have not yet played test match rugby, they have been playing international sevens rugbyWomen's International Rugby Union Sevens
Rugby Union Sevens - a short form of the sport of rugby union - was first played in 1883, with the first internationals taking place in 1973...
since 2003. (Current playing record).
National team
The national teamCroatia national rugby union team
The Croatia national rugby union team are the national rugby union team of Croatia. They are governed by the Croatian Rugby Union. Croatia have been playing internationals rugby since 1992, they have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.- Internationals :...
has been competing since the early 1990s. As of April 2009, the national team is currently competing in the European Nations Cup
European Nations Cup (rugby union)
The European Nations Cup is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations. The Championship is split into 7 divisions with 5 or 6 teams in each. The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away...
and is attempting to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
.
Croatia have a host of players who are New Zealanders, Australians and South Africans of Croatian origin who play the game and have played internationally for these countries.
Frano Botica
Frano Botica
Frano Michael Botica is a former rugby union and rugby league player who represented his country at both sports and also played for Croatia in a rugby union world cup qualifying match.-Rugby union:...
was a one time Croatian rugby coach and former All Black, whose grandparents were born in Korčula
Korcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
. Another former All Black who turned out for the Croatian side at the same time was Matthew Cooper
Matthew Cooper (rugby union)
Matthew Cooper is a former New Zealand international rugby union player. He made his All Black debut v Ireland on 6 June 1992, setting a then-world record of 23 points on test debut, with the last of his 8 caps coming on 3 July 1994 v France....
. Dan Luger
Dan Luger
Daniel Darko Luger MBE is a former English rugby union international who was a member of the squad that won the Webb Ellis Cup in 2003.- Club career:...
is an England representative whose father Darko Luger is from the island of Brac. Sean Fitzpatrick
Sean Fitzpatrick
Sean Fitzpatrick MNZM is a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country. He is also the son of former player Brian Fitzpatrick....
is another former All Black captain who has Croatian heritage.
Local Teams
There are 22 men's teams and 1 women's team. Teams are located in the major cities.Currently members of the Croatian Rugby Federation are the following teams (and cities in brackets)
- RK Knin (Knin)
- Pula (Pula)
- Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik)
- Kastelanska Rivijera (Kastel)
- Lokomotiva (Zagreb)
- Makarska Rivijera (Makarska)
- HARK (Hrvatski Akademski Ragbi Klub) Mladost (Zagreb)
- NadaRK NadaRK Nada is a rugby union club from Split, Croatia. It participates in the Croatian Rugby Championship, the Croatian Rugby Cup and the Regional Rugby Championship...
(Split) - Ploce (Ploce)
- Ragbi '59 (Split)
- Rijeka (Rijeka)
- Rudes (Zagreb)
- Sinj (Sinj)
- Sisak (Sisak)
- Šibenik (Šibenik)
- RK Zadar (Zadar)
- ZagrebRK Zagreb (rugby union)RK Zagreb is a rugby union club from Zagreb, Croatia. It participates in the Croatian Rugby Championship, the Croatian Rugby Cup and the Interleague...
(Zagreb) - Zagreb Veteranski RK (Zagreb)
- Zrinski (Zagreb)
- Atletiko Filipjakov (Sv. Filip i Jakov)
The woman's club is called Viktorija Zagreb.
Interliga Competition
This competition involves club teams from Croatia, Slovenia and previously Bosnia-Herzegovina.In 2004/05, 9 teams participated (Croatia - Nada, Zagreb,Mladost, Makaska Rivijera and Sisak - Slovenia - Ljubljana, Bezigrad and Emona - Bosnia - Celik) with Ljubljana finishing first.
In 2005/06, 5 teams entered with Croatia's Zagreb winning the competition
In 2006/07, 6 teams entered and Nada became competition winners for the first time.
Also in season 2007/08, there has been a Regional Rugby 15 League set up with teams from Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Serbia.