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 Latvia is a minor but growing sport. During the pre-independence period, Latvia was not a centre for the game but nonetheless managed to qualify for the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens - which may be seen as the highest point it has yet reached.

Governing Body

The Latvian Rugby Federation ( Latvian: "Latvijas Regbija Federacija") was founded in 1963, and joined the IRB in 1991, after Latvian independence.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p70 Although the union was formed in the sixties, it was not considered a proper national union until after the breakup of the USSR.

History

Soviet Period

Rugby union was played in

the Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

as early as in 1908. In 1934 the Moscow Championship was started, and in 1936 the first Soviet Championship took place. Rugby union arrived in Latvia itself during the post-War Soviet period. Latvia was never a stronghold of rugby in the USSR - the game was mainly played in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

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 ...

- but has experienced some growth in the post-independence period. After 1949, rugby's funding was withdrawn in the USSR for the sport being non-olympic". The competitions were resumed in 1957, and the Soviet Championship in 1966. In 1975 the Soviet national team played their first match. Latvia had its own rugby team in the USSR, but it was not treated as a proper national side.

Post-independence

Like many other minor rugby nations, the game is centred on the capital, Riga. Latvian rugby received a surprise boost when they qualified for the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens. At the time, there were only two pitches in the country, both of which spent much of their time under snow. However, they lost heavily to Fiji,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. There is some rivalry with neighbours Lithuania, who they beat in the qualifiers for the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

, although they did not succeed in getting into the main competition. The Baltic is not a major rugby playing area at the time of writing, but several neighbouring countries such as

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and Sweden can boast thousands of players. The game is also growing fairly fast in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

.Bath p76 Entry into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

will also make it easier for western European sides to tour the country.

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 also played in Latvia during the winter when conditions make standard play impossible.Bell, Angus ''Batting on the Bosphorus: A Skoda-powered Cricket Tour Through Eastern Europe'', Canongate, Edinburgh, 2008, , p23

References

External links