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 ...
in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
is a minor but growing sport.
Governing Body
The
Lithuanian Rugby Federation
The Lithuanian Rugby Federation ( lt, Lietuvos Regbio Federacija), abbreviated to LRF is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Lithuania. Lithuania currently comprises 1,650 registered players and there are 15 club in the whole count ...
(Lietuvos Regbio Federacija) was founded in 1961 and joined the IRB in 1993 after Lithuanian had regained its independence.
[Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p71] It is responsible for organizing and developing the sport at various levels within the country. Although the union was formed in the 1960s, it was not considered a full-fledged national union until after the breakup of the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
.
History
Soviet Era
Rugby union arrived in Lithuania in the 1960s. The first domestic game was played in 1961. Lithuania was never a stronghold of rugby in the USSR. The game was mainly played in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
Lithuania had its own national rugby team in the USSR, but it was not treated as an international side.
Republic championship was played since 1963
Post-independence
Rugby is spread across the country with
Šiauliai
Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County.
Names
Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...
as the sport's stronghold. There are rugby clubs in all major Lithuanian cities. Some smaller towns only have junior teams. The climate in the country hinders the development of the sport, because the ground is frozen for four months of the year.
Snow rugby
Snow rugby refers to forms of rugby union that are especially adapted to be played in winter conditions, particularly in deep snow. It is played in Canada, the Kashmir region in India, the Baltic states, Russia, the northern United States, and Fi ...
is played in winter.
The game has experienced some growth in the independence period particularly following the record-breaking performances by the
Lithuania national rugby union team
The Lithuania national rugby union team ( lt, Lietuvos Nacionalinė Regbio Sąjungos Komanda) represents Lithuania in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The Knights (''Vytis''), is considered one of the relatively stronger ti ...
in the
European Nations Cup European Nations Cup may refer to:
*UEFA European Championship, formerly known as European Nations' Cup
* Europcar Cup, a European Tour golf tournament
* European Nations Cup (golf), a European Ladies Tour golf tournament
* European Nations Cup (fi ...
. There is some rivalry with neighbours
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
who were the better side in the 1990s. However, in recent years
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
has dominated the fixtures.
Rugby is amateur in Lithuania. The only professional player to have come out of Lithuania is
Karolis Navickas who in 2012 signed for
Union Bordeaux Bègles
Union Bordeaux Bègles (; oc, Union Bordèu Begla) is a French rugby union team playing in the Top 14, the first level of the country's professional league system. They earned their Top 14 place by winning the promotion playoffs that followed ...
.
Women's rugby
Currently there are women's rugby teams in
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...
,
Marijampolė
Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mari ...
and
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
. Another two are forming.
Rugby sevens is the dominant variant. Although Lithuania's women are yet to play test match rugby, they have been playing
international sevens rugby since 2005.
(Current playing record).
Competitions
The main national competition is the Lithuanian Rugby Championship, currently disputed by 7 teams in the I Group.
They are:
* Vairas-Jupoja
Šiauliai
Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County.
Names
Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...
* Baltrex Šiauliai
* RK Šiauliai
* Ąžuolas
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
* Tauras-VRA
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
* Kuršiai
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...
* Stats-
Ķekava
Ķekava (german: Keckau) is a village in central Latvia. It is the centre of Ķekava Municipality
Ķekava Municipality ( lv, Ķekavas novads) is a municipality in Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Baloži town, Daugmale ...
(from
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
)
See also
*
Lithuania national rugby union team
The Lithuania national rugby union team ( lt, Lietuvos Nacionalinė Regbio Sąjungos Komanda) represents Lithuania in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The Knights (''Vytis''), is considered one of the relatively stronger ti ...
*
Lithuania national rugby sevens team
*
Lithuania women's national rugby sevens team
The Lithuania women's national rugby sevens team represents Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three ...
*
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 tournaments such as the Soviet Cup and the Soviet Championship existed, rugby never became a major ...
References
External links
IRB Lithuania pageOfficial webpageREGBIS LIETUVOJELithuania dreaming of 2011 Rugby World Cup, AFP story published by rugbyweek.com
{{Rugby union in Europe
Rugby union in Lithuania,