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 ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(also known as the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and formerly as Formosa) is a significant sport. For political reasons, they compete as Chinese Taipei. They are currently ranked 61st, and have 3040 registered players.IRB.com, retrieved 1 July 2009

Governing body

The Taiwanese Rugby Union was founded in 1946, and joined the IRFB in 1986.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p75 Concerning its foundation, the efforts of Ke Zhi-Zhang (a.k.a. Ka Shi-Sho:柯子彰 in Japan) cannot be overlooked.

History

Rugby in Taiwan goes back to the turn of the 20th century, when the island was known as "Formosa". It has been claimed that it was being played even earlier by European sailors (as in mainland China, and Japan). Unlike the PRC, rugby union has an unbroken history in Taiwan, but the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

and souring of relations with the mainland has meant it was effectively cut off. The game has a long presence in this part of Asia, especially

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Rugby was also played in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

at an early date, and is played to a high degree in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Right now, Taiwan is No. 4 in Asia, behind Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Not unlike South Korea, Taiwanese rugby has grown with the local economy, and has been tied up with corporate interests. Growing economic links with Japan, a major rugby playing nation, have helped the game in Taiwan from the 1960s to the present. Another thing that Taiwan has in common with South Korea is that it has always performed better at

rugby sevens 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 ...

than the fifteen a side game. During the 70s and 80s, Taiwanese rugby underwent a big development programme, addressing issues such as the shortage of pitches. However, Taiwanese rugby is not short of other resources, and administrators such as Lin Chang Tang have been a great boon. Traditionally, Taiwan has suffered from a shortage of pitches. Taiwan is considered to be the fourth rugby nation of East Asia, after Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong respectively, although developments in the PRC and Malaysia may change that position. Notable Taiwanese players include - * Chae Wei-Che * Chang Chyi-Ming * Tseng Chi-Ming

The Chinese Question

Because Taiwan's relationship with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

is an incredibly complex one, it competes under the name ''Chung Hua Taipei'' or "Chinese Taipei", rather than as either

or the

. Because of political issues, with some commentators trying to work out how the entry of the PRC into international rugby would affect Taiwan's position. When the PRC joined the UN, it resulted in the expulsion of Taiwan.

Governing body

History

The Chinese Question

See also

References

External links