FK Ventspils is a Latvian football club, based at Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions in Ventspils city and is one of the most popular football clubs in the country. The club played in the Latvian Virsliga since 1997. It was abolished in 2020, but has since returned to Latvian football and competes in the Latvian First League as of 2023.
The Estonia national rugby league team represents Estonia in the sport of rugby league football. Estonia started competing in international rugby league in 2005. They have competed in several tournaments, including the Central Europe Development Tri-Nations and the European Bowl.
The Portuguese Rugby Federation is the governing body for rugby union in Portugal. It was founded in 1926 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1988. The Portuguese Rugby Federation organises the main rugby union championship of Portugal, the Campeonato Nacional de Rugby, and oversees the country's national teams—men's and women's, age-grade teams, and sevens teams for both men and women.
The Croatia national rugby union team is governed by the Croatian Rugby Union. Croatia have been playing internationals rugby since 1992, they have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. The national side is ranked 46th in the world
The Latvia national rugby union team represents Latvia at the sport of rugby union. They are governed by the Latvijas Regbija federācija and have been playing international rugby since the early 1990s. They have played most of their games in the Daugava Stadium in Riga.
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.
The Estonian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Estonia and was formed in 2007 in response to FIRA-AER expulsion of the Estonian Rugby Federation. In June 2009 the Estonian Rugby Union formally received recognition as the governing body of Rugby Union in Estonia from the Estonian Olympic Committee with permission to represent Estonia at international level.
The Lithuanian Rugby Federation, abbreviated to LRF is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Lithuania. Lithuania currently comprises 1,650 registered players and there are 15 club in the whole country.
The Latvia national rugby league team was established in 2008 to represent Latvia at rugby league football, and initially competed in the European Bowl, for fourth-tier developing nations. They beat Estonia in a two-game series and therefore won the inaugural tournament after Ukraine could not gain visas to travel. In 2009 they reached the second place after losing to Ukraine and defeating Estonia. In 2010 they played in the European Shield, losing to Russia and Ukraine. After a hiatus of several years, Latvia will return to international competition on May 9, 2015 for the first match of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying process, taking on Spain in a one-off knockout match to determine the final participants in the 'European C' section.
Rugby union in Latvia is a minor but growing sport. During the pre-independence period, Latvia was not a centre for the game but nonetheless Latvia managed to qualify for the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens - which may be seen as the highest point it has yet reached.
Rugby union in Lithuania is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union in Liechtenstein is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union in the Soviet Union was a moderately popular sport. It was most popular in the Georgian SSR; parts of the Russian SFSR such as Moscow and certain regions in Siberia like Krasnoyarsk; and Alma-Ata, the capital of the Kazakh SSR. Rugby enjoyed a more limited popularity in the Ukrainian SSR, Minsk in the Byelorussian SSR and parts of the RSFSR such as Leningrad and areas in Southern Russia, including Krasnodar. Rugby gained a significant following due to the vast size of the Soviet Union, but was never a major sport; despite many attempts to develop the sport, which Soviet citizens came to nickname the "leather melon" due to the shape of the ball. Still, an early championship in 1960 gives an idea of the sheer scale of Soviet rugby: one hundred teams from over thirty cities took part.
Harris Academy FPRFC is a rugby union club based in Dundee, Scotland, that was founded for the former pupils of Harris Academy on 5 November 1926. The club ceased to exist throughout the latter part of the 1990s and the early 2000s due to dwindling numbers. However, the club was reformed in August 2007 by former players combined with a large senior squad of players who had left the school the previous season. Those places had had a successful tour to Latvia in which they beat a local club side before beinvolved beaten by a Latvian under 19 select squad.
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.
Snow rugby refers to forms of rugby union that are especially adapted to be played in winter conditions, particularly in deep snow. It is played in Canada, the Kashmir region in India, the Baltic states, Russia, the northern United States, and Finland. Specific locations of play include the Argentinian Ski Resort of Las Leñas and the Boitsfort Rugby Club in Brussels.
The Spanish Rugby League Association also known as España Rugby League, is the governing body of rugby league in Spain. The body was officially founded in 2013 and has held affiliate-level membership of the Rugby League European Federation since 2015, making the national team eligible to qualify for the Rugby League World Cup.
The Israel women's national rugby sevens team represents Israel in rugby sevens. They compete in the Rugby Europe Women's Sevens regularly. Israel won the 2021 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Conference in Belgrade.
The Latvian Rugby Federation is the governing body for rugby in Latvia. It oversees the various national teams and the development of the sport.
The 2022 Rugby Europe Sevens Trophy was the second division of Rugby Europe's 2022 sevens season. This edition was hosted by the cities of Zagreb and Budapest on 11–12 June and 18–19 June. The two highest-placed teams were promoted to the 2023 Championship series. The two teams with the fewest points were relegated to the 2023 Conference.
Gary Walker 
