| Rugby union in Ukraine | |
|---|---|
 Oleg Kvasnitsa intercepts the ball from Ireland | |
| Country | Ukraine |
| National team(s) | Ukraine |
| First played | 1922 |
| Registered players | 2,820 [1] |
| Clubs | 42 |
National competitions | |
Rugby union in Ukraine is a minor but growing sport, with a history dating back over six decades.
The Ukrainian Union was founded in 1991, and joined the IRB in 1992, after independence. [2] Although there was a union formed in the sixties, it was not considered a proper national union until after the breakup of the USSR.
Rugby union was played in the Russian Empire as early as in 1908. In 1934 the Moscow Championship was started, and in 1936 the first Soviet Championship took place.
In 1949, rugby union was forbidden in the USSR during the "fight against the cosmopolitanism". The competitions were resumed in 1957, and the Soviet Championship in 1966. In 1975 the Soviet national team played their first match. [3] Ukraine had its own rugby team in the USSR, but it was not treated as a proper national side.
Rugby union arrived in Ukraine during the post-War Soviet period. Ukraine was not a stronghold of rugby in the USSR - the game was mainly played in Russia and Georgia, but it was stronger there, than certain other republics. The game has experienced some growth in the post-independence period, particularly the 1990s, when former USSR team coach Igor Bokov helped run the game there. [2]
Ukrainian rugby has strong ties with the military, with the strongest side being the airforce Aviator Kyiv. [4]
Like many other minor rugby nations, the game tend to be centred on the capital, Kyiv. [2]
Naturally, Ukrainian rugby has been affected by social and economic conditions since independence. In 2006, the Kyiv Post reported that the junior rugby coach for Ukraine had been attacked, being run down, and then shot four times, twice in the head. [5]
Rugby union in Russia is a moderately popular sport. Russia was in 2011 ranked 20th worldwide by the World Rugby, having over three hundred clubs and close to 22,000 players nationally. Russian Rugby Championship is the top-level professional competition held in Russia. Krasnoyarsk, in the middle of Siberia, is traditionally the heartland of Russian rugby.
Rugby union in Georgia is a popular team sport. Rugby union is considered one of the most popular sport in Georgia.
Rugby union in Bulgaria is a minor but growing sport. Bulgaria is ranked 90th worldwide by the International Rugby Board (IRB) as of 8 October 2007. There are 3,026 Bulgarian rugby players.
The Jamaica national rugby union team represents Jamaica in the sport of rugby union. The team has thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup but has participated in qualifying tournaments.
The British Virgin Islands national rugby union team represents the British Virgin Islands in international rugby union. The nation are a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament. The British Virgin Islands played their first international in 1996 – losing to Barbados 17 – 0.
Rugby union in the Bahamas is a minor, but relatively successful sport. They are currently ranked 86th in the International Rugby Board's world rankings. There are fewer than one thousand registered athletes in the country and only seven official IRB sanctioned teams.
Rugby union in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a minor sport. They are currently ranked sixty-eight in the International Rugby Board's world rankings, despite the lack of recognition as an official sport by the government. The governing body for the sport in the country is Rugby Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1992.
Rugby union in Croatia is a minor sport. As of August 2011, they are ranked fiftieth in the International Rugby Board's world rankings.
Rugby union is a minor, but growing, sport in Denmark.
Rugby union in Hungary is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union in Luxembourg is a minor but growing sport.
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 Thailand is a significant sport. They are currently ranked 60th, with 16,121 registered players.
Rugby union in French Polynesia, particularly on the main island of Tahiti, is a popular team sport. Rugby union was first introduced by British, Kiwi and Australian sailors, and also through the French and the strong presence of the game amongst Pacific Nations. Top Tahitian clubs participate in the domestic club league, the Championnat de Tahiti. Clubs also competed in friendlies vs foreign club teams from neighboring nations as far across the Pacific to Chile.
Rugby union in the British Virgin Islands is a minor but growing sport. They currently have around 440 registered players.
Lelo or lelo burti, literally a "field ball [playing]", is a Georgian folk sport, which is a full contact ball game, and very similar to rugby. Within Georgian rugby union terminology, the word lelo is used to mean a try, and the popularity of rugby union in Georgia has also been attributed to it. In 2014, lelo burti, along with khridoli, a traditional martial art, was inscribed by the government of Georgia as a "nonmaterial monument" of culture.
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.
Rugby union in Yugoslavia was a moderately popular sport. It was most popular in the Croatian SR, and to a lesser extent in the Serbian and Slovenian SRs, with some presence in the Bosnian SR as well.
Rugby union in Czechoslovakia was a moderately popular sport. It was most popular in Moravia, Prague and Bratislava
