The Czechoslovakia national rugby union team was the national rugby team of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, before the country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They participated in qualifiers for the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup () was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Six Nations Championship, Five Na ...

, but did not qualify.

History

A Czechoslovak international team including players from an Austrian club called Wiener Amateure as well as players from the Slavia Bratislava club first played against Romania in 1927, but the match is seen as unofficial, since the Czechoslovak Rugby Union was only formed in 1928. They were captained by one František Ruber, who incidentally was a very good friend of

Ondřej Sekora Ondřej Sekora (25 September 1899 – 4 July 1967) was a Czech painter, illustrator, writer, journalist and entomologist. He is known mainly as an author of children books. Sekora was also one of the first propagators of rugby in Czechoslovakia. ...

. Their first official match was against Germany in Leipzig in 1931. In 1934 they were among the founding members of

FIRA Firá (, pronounced , official name Φηρά Θήρας - ''Firá Thíras'') is the modern capital of the Greece, Greek Aegean Sea, Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). A traditional settlement,http://www.visitgreece.gr Greek National Tourism Or ...

(as it was then known) along with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1956 they took on European giants France in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, losing by a respectable 3–28,Statistics
/ref> which is rather remarkable, as rugby in Czechoslovakia was considerably ravaged by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Some of their most notable players were Zdeněk Barchánek, Eduard Krützner, who was president of the

Czech Rugby Union The Czech Rugby Union () is the governing body for rugby union in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1926 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1988 while still the governing body for Czechoslovakia. It organises the two le ...

later on and Bruno Kudrna,

Czech Rugby Player of the Year The Czech Rugby Player of the Year (Ragbista roku) is awarded to the player voted the best in the Czech Republic. The awards have grown since 2001. They are presented at an evening ceremony. * 2001: Coach of the Year and U20 Talent of the Year * 20 ...

a record six times.

References

European national rugby union teams Rugby union in Czechoslovakia Former national rugby union teams National sports teams of Czechoslovakia {{CzechRepublic-sport-stub

History

See also

References