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Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union or more often just rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is simply based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends.
World Rugby is the 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 competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
The Argentine Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Argentina. It is a member of World Rugby, with a seat on that body's Executive Council, and a founding member of Sudamérica Rugby.
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby." USA Rugby is responsible for the promotion and development of the sport in the U.S., and promotion of U.S. international participation.
Rugby union in Russia is a moderately popular sport. Russia was in 2011 ranked 20th worldwide by the World Rugby, having over three hundred clubs and close to 22,000 players nationally. Russian Rugby Championship is the top-level professional competition held in Russia. Krasnoyarsk, in the middle of Siberia, is traditionally the heartland of Russian rugby.
Rugby union in Uruguay is considered a popular sport. The Uruguay national team, commonly known as Los Teros, have been playing international rugby since the late 1940s and have made appearances in five Rugby World Cups: 1999, 2003, 2015, 2019 and 2023.
Rugby union in Kenya is a popular sport, in particular due to the success of the Kenya national rugby sevens team in the rugby sevens format, and tournaments such as the Safari Sevens, which has been growing yearly, and now includes numerous international teams.
The Barbados national rugby union team represents Barbados at the sport of rugby union. Barbados has been playing international rugby union since the mid-1990s. They have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup. Barbados has also hosted the Caribbean Championship.
Rugby union in Austria is a minor but growing sport. The national team is currently ranked 79th in the World Rugby's world rankings, which ranks only the top ninety-five countries.
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, stretching from Kazakhstan to Guam.
Rugby union in the Bahamas is a minor, but relatively successful sport. They are currently ranked 86th in the International Rugby Board's world rankings. There are fewer than one thousand registered athletes in the country and only seven official IRB sanctioned teams.
Rugby union in Belgium is a growing sport. The national governing body for rugby union in Belgium is the Belgian Rugby Federation. The national team plays in the European Nations Cup, and as of October 2014, they were ranked thirtieth in the World Rugby Rankings.
Rugby union in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a minor sport. They are currently ranked sixty-eight in the International Rugby Board's world rankings, despite the lack of recognition as an official sport by the government. The governing body for the sport in the country is Rugby Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1992.
Rugby union in India is a minor sport. However, it is a fast-growing sport as some Indian sporting clubs are beginning to embrace the game. Rugby union was the second most popular winter sport after association football in India, but now it is played in the shadow of the women's football team.
Rugby union in Thailand is a significant sport. They are currently ranked 60th, with 16,121 registered players.
Rugby union in Ghana, and its predecessor the Gold Coast is a minor but growing sport with a long history.
Rugby union in Mexico is a minor but growing sport. Rugby union has a stronger following in Mexico with French communities. The Mexican Rugby Federation is the body directing rugby union in Mexico. It has the responsibility of organising and developing rugby in the country.
Rugby union is a popular sport in Solomon Islands. The national team have competed in various international competitions. They are currently ranked 69th by the IRB, with 3068 registered players and 24 clubs.
Rugby union in Guyana is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 66th by the IRB, with 1032 registered players.
References
- ↑ Official IRB statistics on Barbados Archived 2013-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Official IRB World Rankings Archived 2011-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
