Rugby league in Africa refers to the involvement of the sport of
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
in the African continent.
As of 2020, rugby league has seen activity in countries such as
Burundi,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
,
DR Congo,
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
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,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
, and
South African Rugby League, South Africa.
History
Initial establishment in South Africa
Rugby league in Africa was first conceptualised in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in the 1950s. In 1953, Ludwig Japhet headed a committee which was solely formed for the purpose of promoting the sport in the country. Ludwig had a meeting with English administrator
Bill Fallowfield
William Fallowfield OBE (20 July 1914 – 12 November 1985) was a British rugby league football coach and administrator of the mid-20th century.
Fallowfield was educated at Barrow Grammar School and attended St Catharine's College at the Uni ...
to discuss the possibility of developing the game in South Africa. In 1957, games were organised against
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
and
French national teams in
Benoni,
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, and
East London for the purpose of promoting the sport. However, all teams saw the fixtures as friendly matches, which also resulted in the cancellation of the third match in East London.
After the death of Ludwig Japhet, two organisations were formed in a bid to continue developing rugby league in South Africa. The National Rugby League (NRL) was headed by Norman Lacey, and the Rugby League South Africa (RLSA) was formed by Maurice Smith. As both organisations saw themselves as the governing body of the sport, they each had plans to commence a competition in the summer of 1962. Unfortunately for rugby league in South Africa, the two organisations could not settle their differences and each went ahead with their own competitions; so was born rugby league in South Africa, under confusing and hostile circumstances.
In 1962, after a merger between the NRL and RLSA, South Africa officially became a member of the
RLIF
The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...
. This meant
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
would play international
test-matches for the first time. South Africa's first official test match was a 30–49 defeat against Great Britain in front of 10,000 fans in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
.
Due to the developing success South Africa were experiencing with their national game, and the national team's promising results against Great Britain, the South Africans were invited for a tour of Australia to play against the
Australian national team. However, the South Africans were totally outplayed in all their matches. This had a severe impact on the development on the sport in the country, and it wouldn't be until the 1990s that they would reappear on the international scene.
1990s: Morocco and South Africa compete globally
After the sport suffered a 30-year hiatus, Dave Southern, a former player for the
Widnes Vikings
The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two r ...
, wanted to re-introduce rugby league into the country South Africa. He was playing rugby union in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
at the time. In early 1990, an advertisement was placed in the Sunday Star newspaper looking for people who were interested in playing, officiating, supporting and developing Rugby League in South Africa to call Dave Southern. As a result of a positive response, trial games were held. In 1992,
South African Rugby League held its first-ever domestic competition, and the South African national team played a test-series against
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
Another country that was beginning to incorporate the idea of rugby league was
Kenya
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.
Edward Rombo
Edward Rombo is a Kenyan former rugby union and rugby league footballer. He was one of the few Kenya rugby players to turn professional, when he moved to Leeds Rhinos in 1990.
Playing career
Rombo was born in 1967 in Nairobi, Kenya. He started ...
, a rugby-union player, who was playing for the
Leeds Rhinos
The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...
at the time, wanted to introduce the sport of
rugby league into Kenya.
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
were also a developing rugby league nation, and became an International rugby league member in 1995 as a result. They subsequently played their first international test-matches in the
1995 Emerging Nations tournament. However, they would finish at the bottom of their pool after losing both of their encounters.
South Africa would become the first African nation to compete in the
Rugby League World Cup. South Africa was grouped with Australia, England, and Fiji in the
1995 World Cup. South Africa were dominated in all their matches, only managing to score 12 points in the entire tournament.
The 1999
World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australasian National Rugby League (NRL) and the European Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. The first such match was pl ...
between the
Super League and
NRL champions was mooted as a showpiece fixture at
Ellis Park in Johannesburg. However this didn't eventuate.
2000s
In 2000, Rombo, alongside entrepreneur Eric Murungi, set up rugby league teams, coaching, and an official website in Kenya. However, despite the efforts, rugby league would struggle to establish a foothold in the country for at least another decade.
In 2009 there were two South Africans playing in Australia.
Jarrod Saffy
Jarrod Saffy (born 24 October 1984) is a rugby union player. He played rugby league for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL before switching to rugby union with the Melbourne Rebels for the 2011 Super Rugby season.
Background
He was bo ...
played for the
St. George Illawarra Dragons in the game's premier
NRL competition, while
Allan Heldsinger played for the
Redcliffe Dolphins
The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League (BRL) premiership competition in 1960, and since 1996 have played i ...
in the
Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fou ...
. In 2010 the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...
had signed South African rugby union juniors
JP Du Plessis, and
Brian Skosana. The
NRL had plans to sign more South Africans in the future.
Morocco became the first African country to win an international event, by winning the
2009 Euro Med Challenge. Morocco's team included professional players
Younes Khattabi and
Jamal Fakir
Jamal Fakir (born 30 August 1982) is a Moroccan rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Lézignan Sangliers club in the Elite One Championship.
Background
Fakir was born in Fez, Morocco. He is Moroccan-French.
Career
Fakir caught ...
, the latter of whom had previously represented France.
2010s: Africa United Rugby League
In 2011, South Africa now had an established domestic league which included three competitions:
Rhino Cup (first division),
Protea Cup (second division), and
Western Province Rugby League (third division).
In 2012, a similar concept to the
Latin Heat
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
was developed but for African-based players. This team would be known as Africa United.
In 2013, South Africa put forward a bid to host the
2017 World Cup. However the bid did not receive
central government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
funding, and there were fears a South African World Cup would result in financial loss, for rugby league, due to the second nature of the sport compared to
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
in the country.
In 2014,
Kenya
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, capital = Nairobi
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...
played their first ever rugby league international against an Italian representative team. 5,000 turned up to watch the match, which the Kenyans won by 10 points, at a local primary school in
Watamu
Watamu is a small town located approximately 105 km north of Mombasa and about 15 km south of Malindi on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It lies on a small headland, between the Blue Lagoon and Watamu Bay. Its main economic activities ...
.
In 2015, South Africa were hosts of the
Middle East-Africa play-off for the 2017 World Cup. The games were held in
Brakpan
Brakpan is a mining town in the Gauteng province of South Africa.
History
The name Brakpan comes from a small pan on a farm called Weltevreden, which was filled with very brackish water and was probably referred to as the "brakpan," and it was nea ...
. SARL president, Kobus Botha, hoped that this would be the first of many international events in the country, and as a result showcase the country as potential hosts for the
2021 World Cup. South Africa lost both matches to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
convincingly. This resulted in the Rhinos failing to qualify for their third consecutive World Cup, and ended any possibility of SARL hosting the 2021 event.
In 2018, Africa United competed in the
2018 Emerging Nations Confederations Cup tournament. Africa United finished runners-up after losing to the Mediterranean-Middle East representatives in the final.
In 2019, former
London Broncos player
Ade Adebisi revealed how he was able to establish rugby league in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. A ten team competition was established, with 5 being based
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
, and another 5 being based in the north of the country. Professional English clubs,
Leeds Rhinos
The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...
,
Wakefield Trinity
Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...
, and
Whitehaven R.L.F.C., have also partnered with Nigerian RL to help set up the Lagos Rhinos, Lagos Haven, and Eko Trinity clubs.
As a result of Africa United,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, and
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
were able play their first test-matches in a newly created
Middle East-Africa Championship. Nigeria won the first edition, as hosts, in 2019. The Cameroon national team had to travel by bus for eight days go get to
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
for the competition.
International
Members
Middle East-Africa Championship
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby League In Africa