|
Rugby Union In Bulgaria
Rugby union in Bulgaria is a minor but growing sport. Bulgaria is ranked 90th worldwide by the International Rugby Board (IRB) as of 8 October 2007. There are 3,026 Bulgarian rugby players. Governing body Rugby union in Bulgaria is governed by the Bulgarian Rugby Federation, which was formed in 1962.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p64 History Bulgarian rugby is centred on the capital, Sofia. Although rugby was well organised in Bulgaria during the 1960s, the first international was not until 1976, when Bulgaria lost to Czechoslovakia. Bulgarian rugby has not traditionally enjoyed a high reputation. For example, in 1988, an anonymous French rugby official joked that "one of the FIRA nightmares... is to have playing refereed by a Soviet." Rugby union like many other sports, was long to be connected in the public mind with the less savoury aspects of Communism: :"''In fact, since the end of the Second World War, the East European ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis, who according to a popular legend, invented rugby by picking up the ball during a football game. The tournament was first held in 1987 and was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Four countries have won the trophy; New Zealand and South Africa three times, Australia twice, and England once. South Africa is the current champion, having defeated England in the 2019 tournament final. Sixteen teams participated in the tournament from 1987 until 1995; since 1999, twenty teams have participated in each tournament. Japan hosted the 2019 Rugby World Cup and France will host the next in 2023. Beginning 2021, the women's equivalent tournament was officially renamed Rugby World Cup to promote equalit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
