Morocco national rugby union team
Encyclopedia
The Morocco national rugby union team are a national sporting side, representing Morocco
in rugby union
. The team is also known as the Atlas Lions. Morocco is governed by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Rugby
. Morocco competes in the Africa Cup
annually. The team has won the competition in 2003 and 2005. They usually play their internationals in Casablanca
.
Morocco has thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup
, but have participated in the qualifying tournaments since the early 1990s. For the 2007 world cup
tournament in France
, Morocco failed to qualify when they lost to Portugal
, home and away meaning they would not make the Repechage 1 play-off against Uruguay
.
, which Spain
won 6 to 14. Another match was held three days later, and Morocco managed to hold Spain to a 10-all draw. Morocco met Spain again in April of the next year, though this time in Madrid
, losing 8 to 14. The two teams met again that December, Spain winning 14 nil. After playing four internationals, no official matches would be played by Morocco until 1967.
Making their return to the international rugby stage, Morocco faced off against their old opponents of the 1930s - Spain, losing 3 nil. Morocco then won their first match, at home in Casablanca
, where they defeated Spain by one point. In late 1970 they were beaten by a non-cap French XV in Casablanca. The following year Morocco defeated Italy
in Naples
, and lost 25 to nil to Romania
at home, and in 1972, were defeated 73 to 6 by a non-cap French XV. In 1975 in Brussels
they defeated Belgium
. Morocco they found wins against teams like Italy and West Germany, and lost games to touring French sides, as well as teams like Romania. Morocco played a French XV in 1983 in Casablanca, losing 9 to 16.
Morocco entered the 1991 Rugby World Cup
qualifyings, in a three games pool, in 1990, losing to Zimbabwe
by 0-16, and to Tunisia
by 12-16, finally winning their last fixture to Côte d'Ivoire
by 11-4.
Their qualifying competitions for the 1995 Rugby World Cup started in group 2 Africas, winning their first game over Tunisia by 6-5, in October 1993. They lost their second game to Côte d'Ivoire
but did go through to round 2, where they lost to Cote d'Ivoire again, as well as Zimbabwe, and drew with Namibia
.
Morocco were a part of Round 4 for the 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying for Africas, again playing Namibia, Zimbabwe and Côte d'Ivoire. Morocco finished second in the round, behind Namibia, and went through to a repechage round. Uruguay
won a home and away series. In 2000 Morocco were included in the inaugural European Nations Cup
for Tier 2 rugby nations . They performed well and the highlight was when they defeated Romania 18 to 10 in Casablanca. In the same season, Morocco also played an under-23 Springboks
side. In qualifying tournaments for the 2003 world cup
, Morocco played in the six nation split third round, losing to Tunisia by one point and defeating Côte d'Ivoire. In February 2003 Morocco defeated France Amateurs 32 to 22 in Rabat.
Morocco's bid to qualify for the 2007 world cup
in France
kicked off in June 2006 in pool 2 of round 2 of the Africas qualifying tournament
. They defeated Uganda
36 to 3 in their first match, and then drew Côte d'Ivoire 9-9. They then lost 25-7 in Windhoek and 8-27 in Casablanca to Namibia. Morocco advanced to the Repechage Round as Africa 2, to play Europe 4 - Portugal
who won the home and away series.
Morocco failed surprisingly the early stage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup
qualifyings, after a 9-21 loss at home to Côte d'Ivoire
.
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. The team is also known as the Atlas Lions. Morocco is governed by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Rugby
Fédération Royale Marocaine de Rugby
The Royal Moroccan Rugby Federation is the governing body for rugby union in Morocco. It is affiliated to the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body...
. Morocco competes in the Africa Cup
Africa Cup
The Africa Cup is an annual rugby union tournament involving African nations, organised by the Confederation of African Rugby . The tournament was first held in 2000, and has since been contested on an annual basis...
annually. The team has won the competition in 2003 and 2005. They usually play their internationals in Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
.
Morocco has thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
, but have participated in the qualifying tournaments since the early 1990s. For the 2007 world cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
tournament in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Morocco failed to qualify when they lost to Portugal
Portugal national rugby union team
The Portugal national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union side representing Portugal. They first played in 1935 and now compete in the European Nations Cup. Rugby union in Portugal is administered by the Federação Portuguesa de Rugby. Portugal qualified for their first Rugby World Cup in...
, home and away meaning they would not make the Repechage 1 play-off against Uruguay
Uruguay national rugby union team
The Uruguay national rugby union team is the representative side of Uruguay, governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay. They have been playing international rugby since 1948. Their jersey is blue and black and they are known as Los Teros. They qualified twice for the Rugby World Cup, in 1999 and...
.
History
Morocco played their first international match on December 25, 1931 in RabatRabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
, which Spain
Spain national rugby union team
The Spain national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Spain, representing them at rugby union. Spain have been playing rugby since the late 1920s, playing their first international against Italy in 1929. They have qualified for one Rugby World Cup, in 1999 where they were pooled with...
won 6 to 14. Another match was held three days later, and Morocco managed to hold Spain to a 10-all draw. Morocco met Spain again in April of the next year, though this time in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, losing 8 to 14. The two teams met again that December, Spain winning 14 nil. After playing four internationals, no official matches would be played by Morocco until 1967.
Making their return to the international rugby stage, Morocco faced off against their old opponents of the 1930s - Spain, losing 3 nil. Morocco then won their first match, at home in Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, where they defeated Spain by one point. In late 1970 they were beaten by a non-cap French XV in Casablanca. The following year Morocco defeated Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, and lost 25 to nil to Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
at home, and in 1972, were defeated 73 to 6 by a non-cap French XV. In 1975 in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
they defeated Belgium
Belgium national rugby union team
The Belgium national rugby union team represents the third tier rugby playing nation of Belgium. They first played in 1930 and have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Belgium is administered by the Belgian Rugby Federation...
. Morocco they found wins against teams like Italy and West Germany, and lost games to touring French sides, as well as teams like Romania. Morocco played a French XV in 1983 in Casablanca, losing 9 to 16.
Morocco entered the 1991 Rugby World Cup
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
qualifyings, in a three games pool, in 1990, losing to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe national rugby union team
The Zimbabwe national rugby union team is the rugby union team representing Zimbabwe. They are considered to be a third tier rugby union nation...
by 0-16, and to Tunisia
Tunisia national rugby union team
The Tunisia national rugby union team is the national team of Tunisia, a third tier rugby union nation. They first started competing in 1979 and they competed, unsuccessfully in the African qualification for the 2007 Rugby World Cup....
by 12-16, finally winning their last fixture to Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire national rugby union team
The Ivory Coast national rugby union team, nicknamed Les Éléphants, represents Côte d'Ivoire in rugby union. The team is recognised as Ivory Coast by the International Rugby Board...
by 11-4.
Their qualifying competitions for the 1995 Rugby World Cup started in group 2 Africas, winning their first game over Tunisia by 6-5, in October 1993. They lost their second game to Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire national rugby union team
The Ivory Coast national rugby union team, nicknamed Les Éléphants, represents Côte d'Ivoire in rugby union. The team is recognised as Ivory Coast by the International Rugby Board...
but did go through to round 2, where they lost to Cote d'Ivoire again, as well as Zimbabwe, and drew with Namibia
Namibia national rugby union team
The Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...
.
Morocco were a part of Round 4 for the 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying for Africas, again playing Namibia, Zimbabwe and Côte d'Ivoire. Morocco finished second in the round, behind Namibia, and went through to a repechage round. Uruguay
Uruguay national rugby union team
The Uruguay national rugby union team is the representative side of Uruguay, governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay. They have been playing international rugby since 1948. Their jersey is blue and black and they are known as Los Teros. They qualified twice for the Rugby World Cup, in 1999 and...
won a home and away series. In 2000 Morocco were included in the inaugural European Nations Cup
European Nations Cup (rugby union)
The European Nations Cup is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations. The Championship is split into 7 divisions with 5 or 6 teams in each. The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away...
for Tier 2 rugby nations . They performed well and the highlight was when they defeated Romania 18 to 10 in Casablanca. In the same season, Morocco also played an under-23 Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
side. In qualifying tournaments for the 2003 world cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
, Morocco played in the six nation split third round, losing to Tunisia by one point and defeating Côte d'Ivoire. In February 2003 Morocco defeated France Amateurs 32 to 22 in Rabat.
Morocco's bid to qualify for the 2007 world cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
kicked off in June 2006 in pool 2 of round 2 of the Africas qualifying tournament
2007 Rugby World Cup - Africa qualification
In qualifying for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, there is one place available for African teams, and one place in the repechage. In the group rounds, there are three points awarded for a win, two for a draw, and one for a loss...
. They defeated Uganda
Uganda national rugby union team
The Uganda national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Uganda, representing them at rugby union. Rugby union was introduced by the British during colonial rule and Uganda played their first international game against Kenya in 1958...
36 to 3 in their first match, and then drew Côte d'Ivoire 9-9. They then lost 25-7 in Windhoek and 8-27 in Casablanca to Namibia. Morocco advanced to the Repechage Round as Africa 2, to play Europe 4 - Portugal
Portugal national rugby union team
The Portugal national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union side representing Portugal. They first played in 1935 and now compete in the European Nations Cup. Rugby union in Portugal is administered by the Federação Portuguesa de Rugby. Portugal qualified for their first Rugby World Cup in...
who won the home and away series.
Morocco failed surprisingly the early stage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
qualifyings, after a 9-21 loss at home to Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire national rugby union team
The Ivory Coast national rugby union team, nicknamed Les Éléphants, represents Côte d'Ivoire in rugby union. The team is recognised as Ivory Coast by the International Rugby Board...
.
Current squad
- Samir Amechtane (PoitiersPoitiersPoitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
, France) - Nicolas Benoit (SC AlbiSC AlbiSporting Club Albigeois is a professional French rugby union club playing the second-level Rugby Pro D2. During the past years it went back and forth between Top 14, the highest level of the French league system and the second-level Rugby Pro D2. Their last time in the Top 14 was for 2009–10 after...
, France) - Abdellatif BoutatyAbdellatif BoutatyAbdellatif Boutaty is a Moroccan rugby union footballer. He plays as a lock.-Career:Boutaty played at the Moroccan amateur team of COC, in Casablanca, moving then to Vallée du Girou, in Toulouse, France. He then was assigned to his first major team, Stade Toulousain...
(US MontaubanUS MontaubanUS Montauban were a French rugby union club, which competed in the Top 14 competition between 2007 and 2010, after being promoted from Rugby Pro D2 for the 2006-07 season...
, France) - Aziz Chahid Cigogne (Clermont AuvergneASM Clermont AuvergneAssociation Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club...
, France) - Youness Derraz (Bera Bera, Espagne)
- Lemrhoti Alae Eddine (FUS de Rabat, Maroc)
- Mounir El Hadji (Stade ToulousainStade ToulousainStade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...
, France) - Mounir El Hamzaoui (PoitiersPoitiersPoitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
, France) - Kamal Essaoui (US MontaubanUS MontaubanUS Montauban were a French rugby union club, which competed in the Top 14 competition between 2007 and 2010, after being promoted from Rugby Pro D2 for the 2006-07 season...
, France) - Jaouad Eziyar (AurillacAurillacAurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan....
, France) - Mohamed Gouasmia (Côteaux de l'Arrêt, France)
- Youness Ho (Châteaurenard, France)
- Mounir Jaoui (Châteaurenard, France)
- Mickaël Mokhtar (US Bergerac, France)
- Djalil NarjissiDjalil NarjissiDjalil Narjissi is a Moroccan rugby union footballer who currently plays in the Top 14, for Agen, France. He joined Agen in 2004, having previously played for Castres. Narjissi also acts as the captain for the Morocco national team....
(Capt) (Agen, France) - Sofiane Qelai (Métro-RacingRacing Metro 92 ParisRacing Métro 92 is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. "92" is the number of Hauts-de-Seine, the département of Île-de-France, bordering Paris to the west, where they play, and whose council...
, France) - Moushine Tajer (St-Jean-de-Luz, France)
- Hamid Arif (AuchFC Auch GersFootball Club Auch Gers is a French rugby union club based in Auch in Midi-Pyrénées currently playing in Rugby Pro D2, the second tier of the country's professional league system. In recent years, they have bounced between the first-level Top 14 and Pro D2...
, France) - Hicham Laouni