 | This article needs to be updated.(April 2021) |
| Rugby union in Lithuania | |
|---|---|
 Lithuania playing Israel | |
| Country | Lithuania |
| National team(s) | Lithuania |
| First played | 1961 |
| Registered players | 1,650 [1] |
| Clubs | 15 |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
Lithuanian Rugby Championship | |
Rugby union in Lithuania is a moderately popular sport.
The Lithuanian Rugby Federation (Lietuvos Regbio Federacija) was founded in 1961 and joined the IRB in 1993 after Lithuanian had regained its independence. [2] It is responsible for organizing and developing the sport at various levels within the country. Although the union was formed in the 1960s, it was not considered a full-fledged national union until after the breakup of the USSR.
Rugby union arrived in Lithuania in the 1960s. The first domestic game was played in 1961. Lithuania was never a stronghold of rugby in the USSR. The game was mainly played in Russia and Georgia.
Lithuania had its own national rugby team in the USSR, but it was not treated as an international side.
Republic championship was played since 1963 [3]
Rugby is spread across the country with Šiauliai as the sport's stronghold. There are rugby clubs in all major Lithuanian cities. Some smaller towns only have junior teams. The climate in the country hinders the development of the sport, because the ground is frozen for four months of the year. Snow rugby is played in winter.
The game has experienced some growth in the independence period particularly following the record-breaking performances by the Lithuania national rugby union team in the European Nations Cup. There is some rivalry with neighbours Latvia who were the better side in the 1990s. However, in recent years Lithuania has dominated the fixtures.
Rugby is amateur in Lithuania. The only professional player to have come out of Lithuania is Karolis Navickas who in 2012 signed for Union Bordeaux Bègles. [4]
Currently there are women's rugby teams in Klaipėda, Marijampolė and Vilnius. Another two are forming. Rugby sevens is the dominant variant. Although Lithuania's women are yet to play test match rugby, they have been playing international sevens rugby since 2005. (Current playing record).
The main national competition is the Lithuanian Rugby Championship, currently disputed by 7 teams in the I Group. [5] They are:
Transport in Lithuania relies mainly on road and rail networks.
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The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was de facto one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its territory and borders mirrored those of today's Republic of Lithuania, with the exception of minor adjustments of the border with Belarus.
Šiauliai is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 108,000 in 2023. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County.
Sportin Lithuania is governed by the Physical Education and Sports Department following the country's independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. The Lithuanian government established the department to manage physical education in the schools and sports administration in the country. Over the next few years, Lithuanian sports organizations established membership in international governing bodies. Lithuania participated in the Winter Olympics in Albertville and has participated in every Winter and Summer Olympics since.
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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.
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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 Ukraine is a minor but growing sport, with a history dating back over six decades.
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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.
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