Rugby union in Serbia
Encyclopedia
Rugby union
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 Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 59th by the IRB
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...

.

History

Rugby union was a moderately popular sport in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

. Although Croatia
Rugby union in Croatia
Rugby union in Croatia is a minor sport. , they are ranked fiftieth in the International Rugby Board's world rankings,.-Governing body:The Croatian Rugby Union was founded in 1962 , became a full national body in 1992 and joined the IRB in 1994.-Yugoslav period:Rugby union in pre-independence...

 was the main centre for the sport in the former Yugoslavia, there was still fair amount of rugby union played in Serbia.

The first known rugby players from Serbia were Serbian students in George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is an independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, with around 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff and 80 non-teaching staff. It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George...

 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 during The First World War. On 11 April, 1918 they played the first international game,in front of 10,000 spectators, against a British Dominions XV and won by eight points to three. Notable players were Toma Tomic from Leskovac, Dimitrije Dulkanovic and Danilo Pavlovic.

After First World War students returned to Serbia and formed a couple clubs like "Jugoslavija" in Belgrade and "Beli orao" in Sabac
Sabac
Sabac may mean:* Šabac, a city in Serbia** FK Mačva Šabac, football club* Sabac Red, an American rap artist* Sabbac, a supervillain character in DC ComicsSabacc may mean:...

 but in 1923 rugby activities were stopped due to the lack of pitches.

During 60's,70's and 80's Serbian players played for Yugoslavia national rugby teams together with players from Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia. After the finish of civil war in former Yugoslavia selection of FR Yugoslavia ,consisted only by players from Serbia, the first game played in Vrsac
Vršac
Vršac is a town and municipality located in Serbia. In 2002 the town's total population was 36,623, while Vršac municipality had 54,369 inhabitants. Vršac is located in the Banat region, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. It is part of the South Banat District.-Name:The name Vršac is of Serbian...

 against Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...

 1996.

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 :...

 ran from 1957-1991. Partisan Beograd, a Belgrade team, won the second, third, and fourth title, as well as the final one in 1991 and Dinamo Pančevo won the first ever championship played in 57`, and later in '68, '69, '74 and '79. Dinamo Pančevo won and the firs ever Cup at the same year.

Before the break up in SFR Yugoslavia RC Partizan won titles in 1988 and 1991, in last championship.

In 2007, the Serbia women's national rugby union team
Serbia women's national rugby union team
The Serbia women's national rugby union team represents Serbia at rugby union. The side first played in 2007.-Results summary:-Results:...

 played their first international, and they have played several games since then and regularly compete in FIRA Sevens competitions.

Domestic structure

There are currently two divisions in Serbia.In season 2011/2012 In Pool A compete four clubs from Belgrade - RC Pobednik, RC Partizan, RC Zarkovo Balkanski komarac and KBRK. In Pool B are RC Vojvodina (Novi Sad), RC Krusevac, KBRK 2 and RC Crvena zvezda.

See also

  • Serbia national rugby union team
    Serbia national rugby union team
    The Serbia national rugby union team represents Serbia in international rugby union. Serbia are considered a tier three nation by the International Rugby Board , and have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup...

  • Rugby union in Yugoslavia
    Rugby union in Yugoslavia
    Please note, this article refers to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . For rugby in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, post-1992, please see rugby union in SerbiaRugby union in Yugoslavia was a moderately popular sport...

  • Serbia women's national rugby union team
    Serbia women's national rugby union team
    The Serbia women's national rugby union team represents Serbia at rugby union. The side first played in 2007.-Results summary:-Results:...


External links

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