Lions RFC is an Israeli amateur

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

club based in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

History

The Jerusalem Lions RFC was founded in the 1970s by

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from South Africa and England. It was strongly associated with HUJI. In 1988, the collaboration with the university came to its end when the field was used for Israel's 50th anniversary celebrations. In 2004 the ''foundation for development of Rugby in Jerusalem'' was founded. In 2013 a visiting Argentinian organisation

Rugby Without Borders Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

organised a youth rugby match between Israeli children and Palestinian children, none of whom had previously played rugby. The event was a success with over 100 children taking part. The event was jointly organised by the President of Israel;

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

The club today

The club today has both a men's team and a women's team. The club is composed of players from Kibutz Tzova, students, legacy players mostly from Argentina and foreigners working at the UN or as Journalists. The men's team uniform is a

royal blue Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by a consortium of mills in Rode, Wiltshire (in Somerset as of 1937), which won a competition to make a robe for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. I ...

shirt, royal blue with yellow flash shorts and bright yellow socks. The kit is produced by

Kukri The kukri () or khukuri (, ) is a type of knife or short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting/chopping tool throughout ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The shirt is currently sponsorless but a recent mutual agreement has been reached with a brewery in

Bet Shemesh Beit Shemesh () is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024. The city is named after and located near the ...

near Jerusalem named Shapiro beer. Shapiro Beer currently sponsor the training shirts.

The men's team

The men's team play 15s (XVs)

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

in Israel's 2nd division together wit
Upper Galilee (''Galil ole'')
team and Tel Aviv B Team. This year Jerusalem Lions RFC won the 2nd Division Championship after losing only one game and drawing one game. The team participates in all rugby 7's tournaments throughout the year.

The women's team

The women's team play

Rugby 7's Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) 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. R ...

in both the national league and the regional league. Each year the club makes a notable contribution to the national 7's team. Other women's teams are located in Haifa, Upper Galilee and Tel Aviv.

Rituals

It is said that a Rugby match in Jerusalem has 3 halves. The first 2 played on the field and the 3rd "half" off the field, both teams drinking beer, eating BBQ and socialising. Post match the traditional ceremonies begin. The man of the match and the "shittiest player" are awarded their titles and prizes. Downing a beer in less than ten seconds. ''Higher than the highest mountain, deeper than the deepest sea. Is it a bird don't be absurd. is it a duck who gives a fu** it's...'' and then sing ''why was he born so beautiful...''

References

External links

Jerusalem Lions Rugby Club - מועדון רוגבי אריות ירושליםwww.jerusalemrugby.com
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828104350/https://www.jerusalemrugby.com/ , date=2017-08-28 Rugby union teams in Israel Sport in Jerusalem