RC Sparta Prague is a Czech

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 rugby

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...

 club based in Prague. They currently play in the KB Extraliga

KB Extraliga

-Results:The scores in blue are links to accounts of finals on the site of the Czech Rugby Union - in Czech -Performance by club:-Regions:The following table lists the Czech rugby champions by region.-External links:*...

 and are the second oldest club in the Czech Republic after Slavia Prague

RC Slavia Prague

RC Slavia Prague is a Czech rugby club based in Prague. They currently play in the KB Extraliga and are the oldest existing club in the Czech Republic. The club forms part of the Slavia Prague sports network.-History:The club was founded on 13 April 1927...

. The club forms part of the Sparta Prague sports network.

Early years

The club was officially founded on August 28, 1928, with the first coach being Frenchman Andrée Cannellas. Their first match was on April 28, 1929 against VŠ sport Brno. Later on in 1929 they took on fellow Prague side Slavia Prague, the latter prevailing 23-3. They did however manage to beat Slavia 8-0 not too long afterwards.

In 1931 Sparta won their first of five Czechoslovak championship titles and supplied a number of players to the national team that took on Germany

Germany national rugby union team

Germany is a third-tier Rugby Union playing nation. Germany currently plays at the second level of European rugby but has never managed to qualify for the Rugby World Cup...

 in Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

.

The club prospered for a while, with many new members joining. But disaster struck in 1934 when the grandstand caught fire, destroying all the club's equipment.

1944 to the present

Rugby activity in the then Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

was only resumed in 1944, due to the intervention of the Second World War.

After playing in the first division for many years, they were relegated to the second division in 1957.

The years 1968 to 1973 saw the club's first Golden Age, winning the championship in 1968 and 1973.

The 1980s were not particularly good for the club, with the low point coming in 1985, when they finished last in the first division. This led to a rebuilding phase lasting from 1986 to 1990, culminating in the championship win in 1990.

The club moved to their present field in 1982.

Sparta's second Golden Age occurred in 1998 and 1999, with back-to-back KB Extraliga titles.

Historical names:

• 1928 — Athletic Club Sparta
• 1950 — Sparta Bratrství
• 1951 — Sparta Praha Sokolovo
• 1965 — Sparta Praha
• 1970 — Sparta ĆKD Praha
• 1989 — RC Sparta Praha

Honours

• Czechoslovak Championships
  • 1931, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1990
• KB Extraliga
  • 1998, 1999