Tirana Rugby Club ( Albanian:Klubi Regbisë Tirana) are a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

and former

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 ...

team based in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. Established in August 2013, they are the first and oldest rugby team in Albania.Rugby, l'incontro tra il Tirana Rugby Club e alcuni appassionati aquilani
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Pre-foundation

In 2011, rugby was promoted as the next major sport in

. The first match was held on 4 August 2013, with the participation of Tirana Rugby Club and immigrants from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The promotional event was held at

Selman Stërmasi Stadium The Selman Stërmasi Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi Selman Stërmasi) is a multi-purpose stadium in Tirana, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of KF Tirana. The stadium holds 9,500 people (all seated). It ...

History

In August 2013 Tirana RC was officially founded from some guys who simply had the desire to offer something more than the existing sports in the country. It was created for something different, more adrenaline, more contact. The beginnings and creation of a compact squad was not easy due to lack of popularity of this sport, which made the approach and recruitment very difficult. Xhino Drangu and Adam Vernon were two guys who worked hard to establish the first steps of the game which then made the recruitment easier. More new players joined the club. Drangu has had 5 years experience in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He became the first coach in 2013. He helped players start understanding and play genuine rugby. As years went on, squad became more solid and was able to play friendlies. The first one was played against Kosovo Roosters RC in 2013. In 2014, Adam Vernon became the second coach of the team. He is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

origin and has played rugby in high levels, semi or fully professional. The second friendly was again played against Kosovo Roosters RC in

. In beginning of 2015, club submitted the necessary application to become officially recognized. Registration was made possible and club got the status of a non-profit organization. Same year, along with rugby, club took part at the first cricket game in Albania. This was mediated from members of the British Embassy in

and of Crown Agents. In 2015, club took part in a tournament organized in

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...

with the participation of 3 clubs: Tirana RC (Albania), Kosovo Roosters RC (Kosovo) and Kibubu RC (Belgium). Tirana RC ranked third in the end of the event. Same year two more friendlies were played against RK Podgorica (Montenegro), a very experienced team with many players part of Montenegro National Team. First match was played in

and second one in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

and despite the heavy defeats, served as necessary tests and experience for Tirana's young players. As Tirana RC was gaining more experience and connections with other clubs, the plan of a Nationwide Cup was soon materialized. It was named "Skenderbe Cup" and there were only two participants; Tirana RC and Kosovo Roosters RC. It consisted of three matches within a year and the winner of two matches would be the victor. Other Albanian and Kosovan clubs were free to join the event. First match was played in 28 November 2015 and was won by Tirana RC with a score 24-10. A second one was played in Pristina. In 2016, Tirana RC created a second club, KR Iliret. History was written again on 16 May when for the first time the two first clubs of

had their first match. This was played in

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

and KR Iliret won 12-0. Match was sponsored by

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

. The two teams played two more friendlies, on 30 October 2016 and 9 January 2018. On 9 April 2016 Tirana RC played a friendly against RK Mornar in Tirana, which was won by the guests. 1st part ended 17-17 and the 2nd 27-36. On 19 June 2016 Tirana RC participated on the second Cricket Game in Albania.

Future plans

With Tirana RC growing with new members and gaining more experience, club is planning to arrange friendlies with stronger rivals. The main goal of Tirana RC is development of rugby as a new sport in Albania and, as the first and only rugby squad has the obligation to disseminate it further. The other goal is assisting and cooperating on the creation of other rugby teams in the country. An important step in the establishment of relations with international clubs is twinning with two

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

clubs, Aquila and

Gran Sasso Gran Sasso d'Italia (; ) is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande (2,912 metres), is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies wi ...

. Club is attempting on organizing events and matches in the future.

Roster

Current coaching staff

References

{{reflist Rugby clubs established in 2013 Albanian rugby league teams Albanian rugby union teams Sport in Tirana 2013 establishments in Albania