The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) is the

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 ...

governing body in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. It is in charge of the Pakistan national team. Also among the Union's chief activities are conferences, organising international matches, and educating and training players and officials. It was formally established in 2000 and gained membership of the

Asian Rugby Football Union Asia Rugby, formerly the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU), is the governing body of rugby union in Asia under the authority of World Rugby. Founded in 1968 by eight charter nations, the Union today has 36 member unions in countries across Asia, ...

in 2000. In 2003, it became a member of

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 ru ...

. Currently, it is a full member of

World Rugby 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 ...

Asia Rugby Asia Rugby, formerly the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU), is the governing body of rugby union in Asia under the authority of World Rugby. Founded in 1968 by eight charter nations, the Union today has 36 member unions in countries across Asia, ...

Pakistan Olympic Association Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) or National Olympic Committee of Pakistan (NOC) ( ur, پاکستان اولمپک ایسوسی ایشن, acronym: POA) is the national olympic organization in Pakistan. It was established in 1948 to oversee the ...

, and is recognized by the

Pakistan Sports Board Pakistan Sports Board ( ur, ) was established under the Ministry of Education in 1962 as a corporate body for the purposes of promoting and developing uniform standards of competition for sports in Pakistan comparable to the standards prevailing ...

as the governing body of the sport in the country . Fawzi Khawaja, Arif Saeed, and Salman Muzaffar Shaikh are, respectively, the current chairman, president, and secretary-general of the Union, having been elected on 24 March 2021.

History

The origins of rugby union in Pakistan can be traced back to the Karachi Football Rugby Union (KFRU), which was founded in 1925. It was active on the All-India circuit up till the late 1950s. A few local players joined the club in 1968–1969. However, the sport saw a decline by the mid-1970s, as the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

reduced its presence in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

which caused a decline in its visits to the Pakistani ports. By the early-1980s, the sport had almost died out. KFRU continued playing, but found itself unable to travel abroad for matches dues to lack of funding. There was also a dearth of local teams who were available to play against. Things took a turn in the 1990s, when local players, who were introduced to the sport in the 1970s, founded clubs in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. Moreover, staff from foreign embassies, high commissions, and banks established the

Islamabad Rugby Football Club Islamabad Rugby Football Club also known as the JINNS is a rugby football club from Islamabad, Pakistan. It was formed in 1992 by a group of expatriates, as a registered club. The club enjoyed among its members both local and expatriate players. ...

in 1992. Regular matches between these clubs followed soon afterwards. This led to the formation of the Pakistan Rugby Union in 2000 to further promote the game on a national level. In 2003, Pakistan fielded a national team for the first time, participating in the Provincial Tournament in Sri Lanka. It played the Indian national side there as well. Pakistan Rugby Union then became an associate member of the

(later renamed to World Rugby) in November 2003. It received its full membership in 2008.

Activities

Rugby has now been introduced at the provincial and district level by the Pakistan Rugby Union. Schools have also been targeted for rugby to be introduced at the grassroots level. PRU is also an active part of the

’s “Get into Rugby” programme, which aims to increase the participation in the sport. PRU has competed in a number of events organised by

, and has arranged several domestic competitions at both senior and age grade level for men and women. Regularly training and development courses are also arranged to meet the growing demand for training professionals. Rugby is also one of the events in the

National Games of Pakistan The National Games of Pakistan is a multi-sport event held in Pakistan. It comprises various disciplines in which sportsmen from the different teams participate against each other. The games are organized by Pakistan Sports Board, Pakistan Olympi ...

- a move that has reportedly resulted in the employment of over 200 players by universities and departments.

Affiliations

Affiliated associations

The four provinces

* Balochistan Rugby Association * Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rugby Association * Punjab Rugby Association * Sindh Rugby Association

The two territories

* FATA Rugby Association *

Islamabad Rugby Association Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

National departments

* Higher Education Commission (HEC) * Pakistan Army * Pakistan Navy *

Pakistan Police Law enforcement in Pakistan ( ur, ) is one of the three main components of the criminal justice system of Pakistan, alongside the judiciary and the prisons. The country has a mix of federal, provincial and territorial police forces with both gen ...

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...

* Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA)

External links

Official website

Pakistan
on World Rugby
Pakistan
on rugbydata.com

References

Rugby union in Pakistan Rugby union governing bodies in Asia

Rug Rug or RUG may refer to: * Rug, or carpet, a textile floor covering * Rug, slang for a toupée * Ghent University (''Rijksunversiteit Gent'', or RUG) * Really Useful Group, or RUG, a company set up by Andrew Lloyd Webber * Rugby railway station, N ...

Sports organizations established in 2000 2000 establishments in Pakistan {{pakistan-sport-stub