The Paphos Tigers are an independent rugby union club based in Paphos, Cyprus. They are known as the first independent rugby club in Cyprus. They have been established since July 10, 2003. [1] The Paphos Tigers have a senior rugby team as well as a minis rugby section which is responsible to develop and promote rugby union in the Paphos region. The Tigers compete in various competitions ranging from the 15's, 10's, 7's and beach rugby. The minis enter into tag tournaments that run monthly during the season in the different towns.
Having starting playing rugby in Cyprus as a small independent team, organising ad hoc games with various opposition, the Tigers soon joined the JSRFU (Joint Service Rugby Football Union), along with their rivals, the Limassol Crusaders, which administers the services league in Cyprus. The Tigers now play in the league which falls under the CRF Cyprus Rugby Federation
Alongside the league competition there is also a cup competition between the teams who have entered the league.
The team were predominantly made up of South Africans who learned the game from their home countries, and British resettlers. [2] Cyprus national rugby union team.
Year | Position [3] |
---|---|
2006/7 | 3rd place |
2007/8 | 2nd place |
2008/9 | 1st place (Champions) |
Category | Age [4] |
---|---|
Seniors | 17 years + |
Colts | 13 years up to 16 years + |
Minis | Under 13's |
Minis | Under 11's |
Minis | Under 9's |
Minis | Under 7's |
Minis | Under 5's |
Name | Position [5] |
---|---|
Antonis Thoma | Hooker |
Christoforos Thoma | No 8 |
George Agathocleous | Center |
Dimitri Maratheftis | Scrumhalf |
Michael Maratheftis | Wing |
Jack Bilton | Lock |
Max Bilton | Lock |
Tony Crasas | Flyhalf |
Costa Pavlou | Wing |
Callum Cowley | Fullback |
Stavros Charalambous | Prop |
Dinu Florendan | Prop |
Vladimir Mihaylov | Lock |
Graeme Scott | Hooker |
AJ Pugh | Flank |
Marcus Holden | Flyhalf |
Ryan Bennett | Scrumhalf |
Warren Dean | No 8 |
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 11 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby union system.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competitions other territories for sponsorship reasons, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries. The Championship is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe, the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the highest-level continental club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. Since 2022–23, despite the name, South African teams have been eligible to qualify for European competitions, and one South African place in the Champions Cup from the Championship is guaranteed.
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became the first Scottish team to win a major trophy in rugby union's professional era. The side is known for its fast, dynamic and attacking style of play, using offloads and quick rucks. Defensively the club prides itself on its 'Fortress Scotstoun' where the club play at home.
Rugby league is a sport played in Wales. The governing body of the game in Wales is the Wales Rugby League.
Rugby league is a team sport in Russia. The Russian Association of Rugby League Clubs (ARLK) is the governing body of rugby league in Russia. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Rugby League and European Rugby League banned Russia from all international rugby league competitions.
Matthew Cook is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop, second-row and loose forward for the Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Championship.
Rugby union in England is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports. In 1871 the Rugby Football Union, the governing body for rugby union in England, was formed by 21 rugby clubs, and the first international match, which involved England, was played in Scotland. The England national team compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, and are former world champions after winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The top domestic men's club competition is Premiership Rugby, and English clubs also compete in international competitions such as the European Rugby Champions Cup. The top domestic women's competition is the Premier 15s.
The Cyprus Rugby Federation (CRF) (Greek: Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ράγκμπι, Κ.Ο.ΡΑ) (Turkish: Kıbrıs Ragbi Federasyonu (KRF)) the governing body for rugby union in Cyprus. It runs several competitions including a league with teams from the British military bases (Akrotiri, Episkopi and Dhekelia) and three local teams:
The Cyprus national rugby union team is nicknamed ‘’The Mighty Mouflons’’ after a kind of horned sheep which is also the republic's national animal. They have won 28 of their 30 games and hold the world record for the most consecutive international rugby union wins with 24, which was ended on 15 November 2014 as they lost to Latvia. They were controversially disqualified from the knock-out phase of the 2015 Rugby World Cup Qualifiers, as they did not meet the necessary membership criteria according to the International Rugby Board.
Cyprus, due to its population and size, has modest international sporting achievements. Most sports are governed by associations under the umbrella of the Cyprus Sport Organisation.
The Beit Jala Lions is a rugby union club situated in the town of Beit Jala near Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Rugby union is a popular sport since its introduction by British military personnel in the 19th Century.
Rugby union in Cyprus is a minor but growing sport.
The Limassol Crusaders are an independent rugby union club based in Limassol, Cyprus. They were the 2nd independent rugby club to be formed in Cyprus, after the Paphos Tigers. They were established in late 2003.
The Cyprus national rugby sevens team competes in the FIRA-AER European sevens. They have only played for 2 seasons. In their first season of the 2008 competition they managed to compete with the First and Third Tier sevens teams by defeating Georgia 7-5 and drawing 7–7 with Italy. Their second season saw them finish 12th out of 30 teams, just 2 places off qualifying for the final tournament held in Germany. In just their third year of sevens rugby, Cyprus hosted the final stage of the FIRA-AER European Sevens, this was held in Paphos on 12 and 13 June 2010.
Rugby Europe is the administrative body for rugby union in Europe. It was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organise, and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of World Rugby. However, it is not responsible for the organisation of the Six Nations Championship or the competitions run by European Professional Club Rugby.
The Welsh–Scottish League was a rugby union league in Scotland and Wales jointly implemented by the Scottish Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union from the 1999–2000 season onwards. It was a precursor to the Celtic League and lasted three seasons, being disbanded after the Celtic League was set up.
The Premier 15s, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Allianz Premier 15s, is the top tier of the women's English rugby union domestic league system run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The league was created mainly from teams in the Women's Premiership. Its first season began on 16 September 2017. The reigning champions are Saracens Women.
The RFU Junior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since 1990. It is mostly contested by 1st XV teams at level 9 of the English rugby union system, although sides as low as level 12 or even outside the league system can sometimes enter. The competition is a national one, but split into regions until the national semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London. Presently, the RFU Junior Vase is the fifth most important club cup competition in England, behind the Premiership Rugby Cup, RFU Championship Cup, RFU Intermediate Cup and RFU Senior Vase.
The 2021 Challenge Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2021 Betfred Challenge Cup, was the 120th edition of the Challenge Cup, the main rugby league knockout tournament in British rugby league run by the Rugby Football League (RFL). This year's competition will be contested between only the professional clubs.