The Czechoslovakia national rugby union team was the national rugby team of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, before the country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They participated in qualifiers for the

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 the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

, but did not qualify.

History

A Czechoslovak international team including players from an Austrian club called Wiener Amateure as well as players from the Slavia Bratislava club first played against Romania in 1927, but the match is seen as unofficial, since the Czechoslovak Rugby Union was only formed in 1928. They were captained by one František Ruber, who incidentally was a very good friend of Ondřej Sekora. Their first official match was against Germany in Leipzig in 1931. In 1934 they were among the founding members of

FIRA Firá ( el, Φηρά, pronounced ) is the modern capital of the Greek Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). A traditional settlement,http://www.visitgreece.gr Greek National Tourism Organisation "Firá" derives its name from an alternative pron ...

(as it was then known) along with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 1956 they took on European giants France in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

, losing by a respectable 3–28,Statistics
/ref> which is rather remarkable, as rugby in Czechoslovakia was considerably ravaged by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Some of their most notable players were Zdeněk Barchánek, Eduard Krützner, who was president of the

Czech Rugby Union The Czech Rugby Union ( cz, Česká rugbyová unie) is the governing body for rugby union in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1926 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1988 while still the governing body for Czechoslovaki ...

later on and Bruno Kudrna,

Czech Rugby Player of the Year The Czech Rugby Player of the Year (Ragbista roku) is awarded to the player voted the best in the Czech Republic. The awards have grown since 2001. They are presented at an evening ceremony. * 2001: Coach of the Year and U20 Talent of the Year * 20 ...

a record six times.

References

European national rugby union teams Rugby union in Czechoslovakia Former national rugby union teams National sports teams of Czechoslovakia {{CzechRepublic-sport-stub

History

See also

References