| Rugby union in Luxembourg | |
|---|---|
 The drawing Rugby by Luxembourgeois painter Jean Jacoby, which earned him a gold in a 1928 Olympic art competition. | |
| Country | Luxembourg |
| Governing body | Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Rugby |
| National team(s) | Luxembourg |
| First played | 1960s |
| Registered players | 846 in 2019 [1] |
National competitions | |
Rugby union in Luxembourg is a minor but growing sport.
The Fédération luxembourgeoise de rugby was founded in May 1973, and joined the IRB in 1991. [2] It was created mainly by French and British expatriates, following the foundation of the first club of the country, the Rugby Club Luxembourg, because the club could not be officially recognised without a national federation.
Rugby was introduced into Luxembourg in the late 1960s. They have traditionally seen themselves as rivals to Andorra, which is in a similar position to them - i.e. a small population, a growing interest in the game, plus the input of many foreigners working there in the finance industry. [2] (Andorra was also to give Luxembourg its first international win, in 1989. [2] )
Luxembourg played its first international in 1975, against Belgium, which they lost 28-6. [2]
The first club, the Rugby Club de Luxembourg was established in the early 1970s, and plays in the Alsace-Lorraine section of the French leagues. A second club, De Renert Walferdange was created in 1990, and plays in the Belgian Championships.
Because it neighbours France, one of the world centres of rugby, and French media has strong penetration into Luxembourg, the game has enjoyed an inordinately high-profile. Its proximity to the British Isles has also helped, meaning that they sometimes receive touring clubs from the British Isles, more often than might be expected for a rugby nation of their calibre. Neighbours Belgium, and Germany, and near neighbours, the Netherlands also have thousands of registered players, and whose rugby tradition goes back before World War II.
In 2009, there were 2370 registered players in Luxembourg [3] but this number decreased to 846 in 2019. [1]
There were three formally organised clubs for seniors: De Renert, and the Rugby Club Luxembourg and a club exclusively for youths, the Cercle Sportif des Communautés Européennes Luxembourg (CSCE-Section Rugby). A fourth club was founded in 2017 in the South of the country in Dudelange, called Rugby Club Terres Rouge. At the moment, the club exclusively caters for the youth, but with the potential for founding a senior team. A fifth club, the Rugby Eagles Luxembourg, was founded in 2019 and became a Member of the Luxembourg Rugby Union in June 2020. This club is exclusively a child-centered rugby project.
The Argentina national rugby union team represents the Argentine Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Officially nicknamed Los Pumas, they play in sky blue and white jerseys. They are ranked 7th in the world by World Rugby, making them by some distance the highest-ranked nation in the Americas.
The Andorra national rugby union team, nicknamed Els Isards represent the Andorran Rugby Federation (FAR) 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 Luxembourg national rugby union team is a minor team, and is ranked as a third tier nation. The team participates in the annual Rugby Europe Championship Conference 2 North 2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference. Since 1996 Luxembourg also competes in the sevens circuits in Europe Luxembourg national rugby sevens team.
The Tahiti national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union team, representing the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. They first played in 1971 and have played numerous games to date, most against rivals Cook Islands and several against Niue. Other games have been played against Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. France played a match against Tahiti at the end of their 1979 tour and won 92–12. Plans to have annual "test" match series against Pacific island neighbours, New Caledonia have been put on hold, due to time, availability, finances, and coaching and refereeing resources. They have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Tahiti is administered by the Fédération Tahitienne de Rugby de Polynésie Française. Currently, players who have represented or played for the Tahiti national rugby team, are eligible to represent France. However, playing at a professional level can only enable this. At present there are several Tahitian professional rugby players abroad in France's Top 14 and Pro D2 professional competition.
The Belgian Rugby Federation is the governing body for rugby union in Belgium.
Rugby union in Kenya is a popular sport, in particular due to the success of the Kenya national rugby sevens team in the rugby sevens format, and tournaments such as the Safari Sevens, which has been growing yearly, and now includes numerous international teams.
Rugby Club Walferdange, known as "De Renert", is a francophone rugby union club, based in Walferdange, in central Luxembourg. Luxembourg has no domestic league of its own, so De Renert plays in the German Regional Leagues.
Unlike in most countries in Europe, sports in Luxembourg are not concentrated upon a particular national sport, but encompasses a number of sports, both team and individual. Despite the lack of a central sporting focus, over 100,000 people in Luxembourg, which has a total population of only 610,000, are licensed members of one sports federation or another.
Rugby union in Andorra is considered the second most popular sport in Andorra and has increased in popularity rapidly over the last decade and the national team has had a growing success on the international stage.
Rugby union in Azerbaijan is a growing sport. They are currently unranked in the International Rugby Board's world rankings, which ranks only the top ninety-five countries. The governing body for Azerbaijan is Azerbaycan Reqbi Federasiyasl.
Rugby union in Belgium is a growing sport. The national governing body for rugby union in Belgium is the Belgian Rugby Federation. The national team plays in the European Nations Cup, and as of October 2014, they were ranked thirtieth in the World Rugby Rankings.
Rugby union in Burundi is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union in Senegal is a moderately popular sport. The Senegal national team is currently ranked 54th by World Rugby.
Rugby union in Malta is a small but growing sport. The national senior men's team are ranked 46th by the World Rugby.
Rugby union in Serbia is a minor but growing sport. The game was first played in Belgrade after the first World War and was revived again in the 1950s. Serbia currently has 12 rugby clubs and around 2,000 players.
Rugby union in Mexico is a minor but growing sport. Rugby union has a stronger following in Mexico with French communities. The Mexican Rugby Federation is the body directing rugby union in Mexico. It has the responsibility of organising and developing rugby in the country.
Rugby union in Cambodia is a minor but growing sport. Its governing body is the Cambodian Federation of Rugby.
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 Guadeloupe is a minor, but growing sport.
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.