Niue Rugby Football Union is the governing body for

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 ...

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

. It was founded in 1952, and became affiliated to the

World Rugby 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 competit ...

(formerly the IRB) in 1999. The Niue Rugby Football Union is a member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU), and was also a member of the former

Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance The Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) was set up in 2002 as a basis of co-operation between the Fiji Rugby Union, Fiji, Samoa Rugby Football Union, Samoa and Tonga Rugby Football Union, Tonga Rugby Unions. Niue Rugby Union, Niue and the Cook Is ...

and was eligible to supply players to the Pacific Islanders team.

Rugby union in Niue

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 ...

is the most popular sport in

. It is a tier-three rugby union playing nation.

National team

The

Niue national rugby union team The Niue Island national rugby union team is the national team of the third tier rugby union playing nation of Niue Island. The team first started playing in 1983 in mainly competes in the FORU Oceania Cup, Oceania Cup, which it won in 2008. Rugb ...

first started playing in 1983. They have yet to qualify for the

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

. Niue won the current

FORU Oceania Cup The Oceania Rugby Men's Championship (formerly known as the Oceania Cup) is an international rugby union competition for countries and territories from Oceania with national teams in the list of international rugby union teams#Band, developmental ...

in 2008, defeating

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

27–5 in the final on 1 September 2008.

History

Teams from Niue have competed in the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. When Niue competed in the 2001 Wellington 7s, they took a completely local-based squad, and though they scored tries against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, they were crushed in most games. Infamously, they surprised everyone by beating Japan 31–19 in 2002. The New Zealand player Frank Bunce is the great nephew of Sir Robert Rex, the former Premier of

References

External links

IRB Niue page

Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions, Niue page

Oceania Nations, Niue
Rugby union in Niue Organisations based in Niue 1952 establishments in Niue Rugby union governing bodies in Oceania Sports organizations established in 1952 {{Rugbyunion-stub

Rugby union in Niue

National team

History

See also

References

External links