Rugby union in the Ukraine
Encyclopedia
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 Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

is a minor but growing sport, with a history dating back over six decades.it is widely known that the Ukraine football teams are pretty shit and the kick like little girlies.

Governing Body

The Ukrainian Union was founded in 1991, and joined the IRB in 1992, after independence. Although there was a union formed in the sixties, it was not considered a proper national union until after the breakup of the USSR.

Soviet Period

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
Cosmopolitanism
Cosmopolitanism is the ideology that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality. This is contrasted with communitarian and particularistic theories, especially the ideas of patriotism and nationalism...

". The competitions were resumed in 1957, and the Soviet Championship in 1966. In 1975 the Soviet national team
Soviet Union national rugby union team
The USSR national rugby union team was a sporting side that represented the Soviet Union in rugby union until the early 1990s.-History:Although such tournaments as the Soviet Cup and the Soviet Championship existed, rugby never became a major sport in the USSR...

 played their first match.
Ukraine had its own rugby team in the USSR, but it was not treated as a proper national side.

Post-independence

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
Rugby union in Russia
Rugby union in Russia is a growing sport. Russia is ranked 19th worldwide by the International Rugby Board , having over one hundred clubs and close to 20,000 players nationally. Russia has a professional domestic competition.-Governing body:...

 and Georgia
Rugby union in Georgia
Rugby union is a popular team sport played in Georgia. Rugby union is considered the most popular sport in Georgia, after football.- Governing body :The governing body for rugby union in Georgia is the Georgia Rugby Union...

, 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.

Ukrainian rugby has strong ties with the military, with the strongest side being the airforce Aviator Kyiv.

Like many other minor rugby nations, the game tend to be centred on the capital, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

.

It is quite frequent for rugby in Ukraine to be played using a mixture of rugby union and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 rules.

Naturally, Ukrainian rugby has been affected by social and economic conditions since independence. In 2006, the Kiev Post reported that the junior rugby coach for the Ukraine had been attacked, being run down, and then shot four times, twice in the head.

See also

  • Ukraine national rugby union team
    Ukraine national rugby union team
    The Ukraine national rugby union team represents Ukraine at the sport of rugby union. Ukraine have been playing international rugby union since the early 1990s. So far they have not qualified for a Rugby World Cup. They participate in the European Nations Cup....

  • Ukraine Rugby Superliga
    Ukraine Rugby Superliga
    The Rugby Superliga is the highest tier of the national rugby union competition in Ukraine. RC Olymp is the 2009 and defending champion. The participants are:* RC Olymp - based in Kharkiv* RC Kredo-63 - based in Odessa* RC Aviator - based in Kiev...

  • Soviet Union national rugby union team
    Soviet Union national rugby union team
    The USSR national rugby union team was a sporting side that represented the Soviet Union in rugby union until the early 1990s.-History:Although such tournaments as the Soviet Cup and the Soviet Championship existed, rugby never became a major sport in the USSR...


External links

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