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 its m ...
is a minor, but developing sport in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
.
Governing body
Jordanian rugby is administered by
Jordan Rugby, which has been recognized by the
Jordan Olympic Committee since 2007.
History
Rugby was first introduced into Jordan by the
British. Since then, it has mainly been played by expatriates from the
British Commonwealth and foreign workers.
Jordan maintains a close relationship with
AGRFU, and their development team includes Ghaith Jalajel, a Jordanian.
The
Dubai Sevens has also helped stir up some interest in the sport in Arabic-speaking nations. Jordanian rugby has its own
sevens and rugby 15s leagues that consists of Citadel Warriors RFC, Citadel Knights RFC, Nomads RFC, Amman Saracens and Aqaba Sharks.
Lowest rugby match
Jordan has hosted a rugby match at the lowest
altitude
Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...
ever recorded - at over 400 metres below
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
on the eastern shore of the
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
on 29 October 1982.
[Cotton, p16] This was between a team representing
Aqaba and
Safi and another representing
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
.
[ The temperature at the time, was in the 90s ( fahrenheit).][
]
National team
The Jordan national rugby union team
The Jordan national rugby team represents Jordan in international rugby union. They have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup.
Jordan played their first test match against on May 14, 2010, in Dubai. Despite losing 27-8 they won the Div ...
is a third tier rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
playing international side. Jordan played their first test match against on 14 May 2010, in Dubai. They competed in and won the inaugural Asian 5 nations division 3 West competition in 2016.
Rugby clubs in Jordan
There are three clubs in Amman:
* Nomads Rugby Club
* Amman Citadel Rugby Club
* Amman Saracens
* Sosruka rugby
Outside Amman:
* Aqaba Sharks
References
* Cotton, Fran (Ed.) (1984) ''The Book of Rugby Disasters & Bizarre Records''. Compiled by Chris Rhys. London. Century Publishing.
* Richards, Huw ''A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union'' ( Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, 2007, )
External links
Jordan Rugby Union
Rugby in Asia, Jordan page
Asian Rugby Football Union
Amman Citadel Rugby Club
Rugby union in Jordan
Sports competitions in Jordan
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