Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School 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 Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring, featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franchises also compete in the United Rugby Championship competition.
The Andorra national rugby union team, nicknamed Els Isards represent Andorra in international rugby union competitions. They play most of their home games in Andorra la Vella, the country's capital, though have had some matches in Foix, which is in France.
The Russia national rugby union team, nicknamed Medvedi, represented Russia in men's international rugby union international competitions. The team is administered by the Rugby Union of Russia (RUR). The RUR is considered the official successor union of the Soviet Union by World Rugby and the combined CIS team which played in the early 1990s. Since 1992, the team has played as Russia. Its first test match as Russia was against the Barbarians in Moscow in June 1992 and the country's first test against an official Test nation was against Belgium later that same year.
Rugby union in South Africa is a highly popular team sport, along with cricket and football, and is widely played all over the country. The national team is among the strongest in the world and has been ranked in at least the top seven of the World Rugby Rankings since its inception in 2003. The country hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and won again in 2007 and 2019.
The Israel national rugby union team is governed by Rugby Israel, which oversees all rugby union in Israel. As of 24 January 2022, Israel is ranked 60th in the IRB World Rankings.
Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and basketball (secondly) - with the first being considered the national sport - in both of which Israeli professional teams have been competitive internationally. Israel is an international center for Jewish sport around the world and since 1932 the Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes, is held in the country. Despite Israel's location in the Asian continent, the Israeli sports associations in various sports belong to the European associations due to the refusal of many Arab Asian countries to compete with Israeli athletes.
Rugby union in Peru is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union in Austria is a minor but growing sport. The national team is currently ranked 79th in the World Rugby's world rankings, which ranks only the top ninety-five countries.
The France women's national rugby union team represents France in women's international rugby union. They played their first international in 1982 against the Netherlands.
Rugby union in Chile is a fairly popular sport.
Rugby union in Cyprus is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union in Malta is a small but growing sport. The national senior men's team are currently ranked 46th by the World Rugby.
Zachary "Zack" Test is a retired American rugby union player who played for the United States national rugby sevens team. With 143 career tries in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Test led all U.S. players in tries scored until Perry Baker broke his record in early 2018. He is the current head coach of the San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby (MLR).
Rugby Israel is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Israel. It was founded as the Israel Rugby Union in 1971, and joined the International Rugby Board in 1988. For political reasons, it is also part of FIRA-AER, the European rugby body, rather than the Asian Rugby Football Union. The Israel national rugby union team play in the European Nations Cup. Its headquarters are in Ra'anana.
Leo Camron, aka "Leo Caminsky" or "Arieh Camron", was a South African-Israeli educationalist and sportsman, from Natal particularly remembered for his English textbooks, and rugby advocacy.
Mark Schulze was a South African-born German international rugby player who played for both the Germany national rugby union team, which he captained on occasion, and Germany Sevens team from 1996 to 2000.
Rugby union and apartheid had a complex and supportive relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era.
Mark Richards is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the Sharks XV. His regular position is winger.
The 2017 Maccabiah Games, also referred to as the 20th Maccabiah Games, were the 20th edition of the Maccabiah Games. They took place from 4 to 17 July 2017, in Israel. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world, and to all Israeli citizens regardless of their religion. A total of 10,000 athletes competed, a Maccabiah Games record, making the 2017 Maccabiah Games the third-largest sporting competition in the world. The athletes were from 85 countries, also a record. Countries represented for the first time included the Bahamas, Barbados, Cambodia, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Malta, Morocco, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Trinidad. The athletes competed in 45 sports.
