Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends.
The Hong Kong Sevens is considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition. The Hong Kong Sevens is currently the seventh tournament on the World Series calendar, and is held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. The tournament spans three days, beginning on a Friday and concluding on Sunday. The tournament is organised each year by the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU). The latest Hong Kong Rugby Sevens was originally due to be held on Friday 3, Saturday 4, Sunday 5 April 2020, but was postponed, and then later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where adult men's Irish rugby union international matches are played. In addition, the Union also owns the Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast, Thomond Park in Limerick and a number of grounds in provincial areas that have been rented to clubs.
Rugby sevens, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, the governing body of rugby union for the world. It dropped the word "Football" from its name in 2006. The brand name New Zealand Rugby was adopted in 2013. Officially, it is an incorporated society with the name New Zealand Rugby Union Incorporated.
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.
The India national rugby union team was admitted to the IRB in 2001, but it took three years before India won a match, beating Pakistan 56-3 in the third tier competition of the Asian Biennial tournament.
Rugby union is a football code within Australia with a history dating back to 1864. Although traditionally most popular in Australia's rugby football strongholds of New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT, it is played throughout the nation.
Rugby union is a growing team sport in Spain. As of 2019, there were 37,241 registered rugby union players in Spain, playing for 332 clubs in various divisions. The sport's governing body in Spain, the Spanish Rugby Federation, was founded in 1923. It joined the International Rugby Board in 1988, and is also a member of Rugby Europe.
Rugby union in Germany is a minor but growing sport with 124 men's clubs and 5 women's clubs competing in 4 men's and 1 women's national leagues.
Association football is the most popular sport in almost all Asian countries. Cricket is the second most popular sport in Asia, and is most popular in South Asia. Other popular sports in Asia include baseball, basketball, badminton and table tennis among others. Top sporting nations in Asia include China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Uzbekistan.
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.
Rugby union in India is a minor sport. However, it is a fast-growing sport as some Indian sporting clubs are beginning to embrace the game. Rugby union is the second most popular winter sport after association football in India, which itself trails greatly in popularity to cricket and field hockey.
Emil Vartazarian is an Armenian-Iranian retired Rugby football and Soccer player who played in the India national rugby union team from 1998 to 2006. He has also played professional football for Bengal Mumbai FC in the Mumbai Super Division League alongside Mohammedan Sporting in the Calcutta Football League.
Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 103,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
The history of football in India is a long and detailed one, as it was the national sport at one time. The impetus for this was to unify the Indian Army. There is evidence for refereed team football games being played in the Indian Army since at least 1949. India is home to some of the oldest football clubs in the world, and the world's third oldest competition, the Durand Cup.There was a time when football in India was highly celebrated. The Indian football outfit was called the "Brazilians of Asia".
Delhi Hurricanes RFC is an Indian rugby union club based in New Delhi, India. They currently participate in the All India & South Asia Rugby Tournament.
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.
Sports is an important part of the culture of Odisha and hence it plays a key role in development of the state. Field hockey, athletics, tennis, rugby union, rugby sevens, association football and cricket is the most popular sports in the Indian state of Odisha. It is also called as 'Sports Capital'. The Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar hosted the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup from 28 November to 16 December 2018.
