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
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
is a minor but growing sport.
For some years, Norway was perhaps the northernmost country to actively engage in the sport and boasted the world's most northernmost rugby club, Oslo RFC,
[Cotton, p18] which was founded in 1964.
[Store norske Leksikon]
Governing body
The Norwegian Union was founded in 1982, and joined the IRFB in 1993.
[Bath, p72]
History
Norway was the last of the three Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n countries to take up rugby. However, amongst the Nordic countries, it is by no means the weakest, Norway is good against smaller teams but is not very good under pressure but they still play well.
as it is a more recent introduction to Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, and has no presence in the other three nations.[ A major problem though, is the climate, which means that many pitches may be under snow for large parts of the year. Serious interest in the game began in the 1960s.][
For many years, Oslo RFC was the most northerly rugby club in the world.][ Stavanger Rugby Club was formed in 1978 and played Oslo in the Autumn of that year, presenting Oslo with a trophy, a rock bit, in 1979, a return match was played in Stavanger; Oslo won both matches.. During the mid-1980s, Oslo RFC's nearest opposition in Norway was Stavanger, a round trip of 685 miles.][ Their nearest club was Karlstad RFC in '' Sweden'' a round trip of 310 miles.][
Rugby has a much longer standing in neighbouring Sweden and ]Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
,
which have a combined figure of around 10,000 registered players,[ and it has been introduced there. Rugby union is also played in neighbouring
Shetland, and visitors from there have toured Norway, including people from the British military bases and ships there.][
]Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
played its first international against Latvia who beat them 44–6.[ At the time, the Welsh fly-half Huw Howells was the driving force in trying to promote the game.][
]
Notable players
* Erik Lund, Leeds Carnegie
Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include:
Current
* Leeds Carnegie Handball Club
Changed name
* Leeds Carnegie ...
, Biarritz and captain of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
* Anton Smith-Petersen, Harlequin F.C.
See also
* Norway national rugby union team
Norway national rugby union team (Norwegian: Norges nasjonale rugbyunionsteam) represents Norway in men's international rugby union competitions, It's a member of the Rugby Europe and plays in Rugby Europe's Conference 2- North Championship.
No ...
External links
Archives du Rugby: Norvege
References
* Cotton, Fran (Ed.) (1984) ''The Book of Rugby Disasters & Bizarre Records''. Compiled by Chris Rhys. London. Century Publishing.
* Richards, Huw ''A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union'' (Mainstream Publishing
Mainstream Publishing was a publishing company in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1978, it ceased trading in December 2013.Charlotte WilliamsMainstream to cease publishing 1 March 2013, The Bookseller.com' (Retrieved 30 December 2016) It was ass ...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, 2007, )
"Rugby"
on Store norske leksikon
{{Rugby union in Europe