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 Bolivia is a minor, but growing sport.

Governing body

The governing body is the Federación Boliviana de Rugby, which is affiliated to CONSUR, but not to 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 ru ...

History

Rugby in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

is dominated by

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and to a lesser extent

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

(who have qualified for the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

) and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and is most popular in the southern part of the continent. However, rugby can be found in almost all the South American nations, partly because of massive immigration from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, notably the British Isles and France. Rugby was also introduced to some regions of the continent by the Irish

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brothe ...

and their schools. However, Bolivian rugby was not really established from these waves of European immigration in the 19th and early 20th century, but during the late 20th century. The impetus came partly through large numbers of foreign nationals working for various countries, but most especially people from Argentina. It has been claimed for example that British workers connected with the mines were playing in the mid 20th century.Welcome to Bolivia Altiplanic Rugby pt1
retrieved 8 July 2009 The confirmed roots of Bolivian rugby go back to the 1960s, when

José Pipo Viale José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, from Córdoba, Argentina introduced the game to

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630 ...

. As in Paraguay, the French have been instrumental in expanding the game. French diplomats from the Embassy, and the Colegio Franco Boliviano produced a team which managed to tour Chile, and played an informal match against a

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

side touring South America. Traditionally rugby is most popular in La Paz, the capital, but it is also fairly successful in the Santa Cruz region, and is played by some university sides. There are also clubs in

and

Tarija Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is the largest city and capital and municipality within the Tarija Department, with an airport ( Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport, (TJA)) off ...

. The interest in Santa Cruz was partially the result of a community of Argentine expatriates, who formed a club with the locals. The first Santa Cruz team was Jenecheru. The first Bolivian Club Championship was in 2006. Touring sides occasionally visit from neighbouring countries.

Teams of 2010 Bolivian Championship

* Jenecherú * Santa Cruz * Universitário de Cochabamba * La Paz * Tarija * Brangus * Supay Rugby Club

References

External links

Welcome to Bolivia Altiplanic Rugby pt1

Rugby de Bolivia
*
Santa Cruz Rugby
*
La Paz Rugby Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Union In Bolivia