Rugby union is a growing sport in the Cayman Islands. The

Cayman Islands national rugby union team The Cayman Islands national rugby union team represents the Cayman Islands in the sport of rugby union. They have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have participated in qualifying tournaments. The sport in the Cayman Islands is ...

is ranked 62nd in the world, with 2,256 registered players.IRB.com retrieved 24 August 2009

Governing body

The governing body is Cayman Rugby, which is a member of the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

, and the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association ''NACRA''.

History

Although there has been interest in the game in the Cayman Islands for decades, it only became properly organised in 1972, when the Cayman Islands RFC was founded.Cotton, p14 This team faced the challenge of having no rugby ball, pitch, and no clubhouse, for several years, and their nearest opponents were in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

600 miles away. In 1975, however,

Jeff Butterfield Jeffrey Butterfield (9 August 1929, Heckmondwike, Yorkshire – 30 April 2004, Wicken, Northamptonshire) was an England, British and Irish Lions, Yorkshire, Cleckheaton RUFC, Northampton and Barbarians Rugby player and businessman. Education ...

, a former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

player acquired the rights to a piece of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

forest, which was turned into their pitch. Nowadays, the islands have their own men's team, and also a women's team, which was established in 2004. There is also a national Sevens team. A schools development programme is also now in force.Retrieved 4 August 200
Cayman Rugby
/ref> The Cayman Islands compete in the

Caribbean Championship The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

, a tournament which includes

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

and

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

.Bath, p78

Teams

Male

* Queensgate Pigs Trotters RFC (Originally a police team) * Advance Fire & Plumbing Buccaneers RFC * John Doak Iguanas RFC * Fidelity Cayman Storm RFC Other former teams include: * The Cayman Surge * ReMax Old Boys - Tarnished Turtles RFC

Female

* The Iguanas * Buccaneers * Trotters

References

* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) * Cotton, Fran (Ed.) (1984) ''The Book of Rugby Disasters & Bizarre Records''. Compiled by Chris Rhys. London. Century Publishing.

External links

Cayman Rugby

on IRB.com
NAWIRA Cayman Islands page

Cayman Islands
on RugbyData.com
Boost for Rugby 7's in the Americas & Caribbean

{{rugbyunion-stub