Approximately 5 million of the 17 million people in the Netherlands are registered to one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country. About two thirds of the population older than 15 years participates in sports weekly.
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rugby competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to serve as "the national governing body charged with achieving and maintaining high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby." USA Rugby is responsible for the promotion and development of the sport in the U.S. and promotion of U.S. international participation.
Rugby India, previously named the Indian Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in India. It was founded in 1968 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board now World Rugby in 1999.
The Italian Rugby Federation or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby.
The Netherlands national rugby union team represents Netherlands in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The Oranges (Oranje), is considered one of the stronger tier 3 teams in European rugby and currently compete in the second division of the Rugby Europe International Championships in the Rugby Europe Trophy, a competition which is just below the Rugby Europe Championship where the top 6 countries in Europe (apart from the teams in the Six Nations compete. They are yet to participate in any Rugby World Cup.
The Lithuania national rugby union team represents Lithuania in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The Knights (Vytis), is considered one of the relatively stronger tier 3 teams in European rugby and currently compete in the second division of the Rugby Europe International Championships in the Rugby Europe Trophy, a competition which is just below the Rugby Europe Championship where the top 6 countries in Europe compete. They are yet to participate in any Rugby World Cup and play in black with a pattern involving the colours red, yellow and green.
Women's international rugby union has a history going back to the late 19th century but it was not until 1982 that the first international fixture involving women's rugby union took place. The match was organised in connection with the Dutch Rugby Union's 50th anniversary. As part of the celebrations on June 13, 1982 the French national women's team played the Dutch, in Utrecht, Netherlands, with France winning 4–0 in a game that has since been recognised as the first ever women's international rugby union match.
Women's rugby union is a full contact team sport based on running with the ball in hand. The same laws are used in men's rugby union with the same sized pitch and same equipment. Rugby was originally a men's sport, and women's rugby has become popular only more recently. These days, women's rugby is gaining a higher profile thanks to international tournaments' exposure and financial investment.
The Netherlands women's national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Netherlands, representing them at rugby union. The side first played in 1982.
The Netherlands national rugby sevens team is a minor national sevens side. They have competed in the Hong Kong Sevens since the 1980s. They are traditionally seen as "minnows", but have not been completely unsuccessful.
Rugby union in the Netherlands is a growing sport. The sport is governed by the Rugby Nederland, which organizes the Netherlands national rugby union team.
The Dubai Women's Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held in Dubai, UAE. The tournament includes several competitions including, since 2006, an international women's invitational competition. Though most entrants are ad hoc sides composed of club and international players from a variety of countries, some are official national selections - the results of matches between such sides appear below.
On October 4, 2012, the International Rugby Board, now known as World Rugby, announced the launch of a circuit now known as the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, the women's counterpart to the World Rugby Sevens Series for men. The inaugural 2012–13 season featured four events, with the USA Women's Sevens taking place at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston as the second event in February 2013.
The National Rugby Federation of Ukraine is the governing body for rugby union in Ukraine. It was founded in 1991 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1992. It is based in Kyiv.
The English women's national rugby sevens team has competed in the Hong Kong Women's Sevens tournaments since 1997. England are also one of six teams announced by the International Rugby Board as "core teams" that will compete in all four rounds of the inaugural IRB Women's Sevens World Series in 2012–13.
The Netherlands women's national rugby sevens team participated in the IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup in Hong Kong losing to Spain in the Plate semi-finals, they finished 8th overall. In October 2012, the Netherlands was announced by the International Rugby Board as one of six "core teams" that will compete in all four rounds of the inaugural IRB Women's Sevens World Series in 2012–13. The team finished seventh in the standings. In 2013-14 they competed in three tournaments, with a best results of 8th at São Paulo. In 2014–15 the Netherlands were not invited to any tournament, apart from the Amsterdam event where they finished 11th.
Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held over six days in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 Olympics was the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was last played at the 1924 games.
The World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby sevens tournaments for women's national teams run by World Rugby. The inaugural series was held in 2012–13 as the successor to the IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup held the previous season. The competition has been sponsored by banking group HSBC since 2015.
The National Rugby Centre Amsterdam, also known as NRCA Stadium, is a rugby stadium in Amsterdam. The complex is situated within the Sportpark de Eendracht in the district of Geuzenveld-Slotermeer. All international matches of the Netherlands national team are played at the NCRA, and the offices of the Netherlands Rugby Board (NRB) are at the complex. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000.
Jan-Hein Pieterse
Zane Gardiner
