Rugby union in the Czech Republic - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

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...

in the Czech Republic
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....

is a minor sport. As of 01 November 2010, they are currently ranked thirty-first in the International Rugby Board

International Rugby Board

The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...

's world rankings,.

Traditionally, Czech rugby has centred around a "section of the middle class" in and around Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, which has been fairly small but fairly loyal to the sport.

The Czech Republic has also been popular with touring sides, because of its relatively low beer prices, and historic surroundings.

Governing body

Czechoslovakia was a founder member of FIRA in 1934, and joined the IRB in 1988.

Rugby union in the Czech Republic is governed by a national body called the Česká Rugbyová Unie (ČSRU). The president of the ČSRU is Pavel Telička

Pavel Telicka

Pavel Telička is a Czech lobbyist.-Early life:Born in Washington, D.C. as the son of a communist diplomat´. After his graduation from the Charles University in Prague, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia...

History

Josef Rössler-Ořovský, who introduced a number of sports 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...

, among others skiing

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

and tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, was originally credited with starting rugby as well back in 1895. He went to England and brought back a rugby ball with him. Efforts were made to play the game at the Czech Yacht Club, but a public struggle ensued, and rugby subsequently never really caught on.

Rugby union was only properly introduced to the country by the writer Ondřej Sekora

Ondřej Sekora

Ondřej Sekora was a Czech painter, illustrator, writer, journalist and entomologist. He is known mainly as an author of children books. Sekora was also one of the first propagators of rugby in Czechoslovakia....

, when he returned from living 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...

in 1926, with a rugby ball and set of rules. Brno

Brno

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...

, the Moravia

Moravia

Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

n capital is considered the cradle of rugby in 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...

, and is where the first match took place, between SK Moravská Slávie, based in Brno-Pisárky, and AFK Zizka, based in Brno. Both of these teams were trained by Sekora, who also coined Czech language

Czech language

Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

rugby terminology.

Czech rugby took off after 1945, when Zdenek Bárchenék, Eduard Krützner and Bruno Kudrna, helped in games against rivals Poland

Poland national rugby union team

The Poland national rugby union team represent Poland at the international level of rugby union. They are governed by Polski Związek Rugby and have been participating in international rugby since 1958. Poland have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup...

and 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...

Rugby union in the Czech Republic has not been popular historically, but due to its recent international successes, it is gaining more recognition. As of April 2009, more than half of the registered players are pre-teens or teenagers. In addition, there are currently twenty-one domestic clubs that compete against each other on various levels.

National team

The national team

Czech Republic national rugby union team

The Czech Republic national rugby union team is the third tier rugby national team of the Czech Republic.They first started playing as the Czech Republic in 1993 after the split of Czechoslovakia and now compete in the European Nations Cup. They have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup, but...

has been competing since the early 1990s. As of April 2009, the national team is currently competing in the 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...

and is attempting to qualify for 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...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Governing body

History

National team

See also

External links