Rugby union in Belgium

Rugby union in Belgium

Belgian rugby goes to the carnival: the Giant Xhovémont in the streets of Outremeuse in Liège, 15 August 2008
Country Belgium
Governing body Belgian Rugby Federation
National team Belgium
Registered players 14,266 [1]
Clubs 58
National competitions
Club competitions
Romain Orban of Kituro Rugby Club scores the winning conversion in the last second of the final of the Belgian Rugby Championship, 2009

Rugby union in Belgium is a growing sport. The national governing body for rugby union in Belgium is the Belgian Rugby Federation. The national team plays in the European Nations Cup, and as of October 2014, they were ranked thirtieth in the World Rugby Rankings.[2]

Governing body

The national governing body for rugby union in Belgium is the Belgian Rugby Federation (FBRB - Fédération Belge de Rugby in French and Belgische Rugby Bond in Dutch) which is headquartered in Brussels. The Belgian Rugby Federation was formed in 1931, and joined the IRFB in 1988.[3]

Rugby union is governed by two regional bodies that answer to FBRB, the national governing body. Most of the clubs in the northern region of Belgium are governed by the Vlaamse Rugby Bond (VRB). The remaining clubs are governed by the Ligue Belge Francophone de Rugby (LBFR).[4]

Rugby union in Belgium is also structured into four districts for competition purposes. These districts are; Brabant, Hainaut, Liège/Namur/Luxembourg, and Flanders.

Within these districts, there are also several leagues and divisions that are structured based on the skill level of the clubs.

History

For a long time, Belgian rugby's most high-profile personality was the former international referee, Teddy Lacroix, who became president of the union.[3]

Rugby union in Belgium has not been popular historically, but due to its recent international successes, it is a quickly growing sport. As of the December 2007, more than half of the nearly seven thousand registered players are pre-teens or teenagers.[5] In addition, there are currently forty-eight domestic clubs that compete against each other on various levels.

Notable players

Notable Belgian rugby players include:

Selection 2016-2017

Naam speler ploeg klassement ploeg
EERSTE LIJN
Christophe Debaty Luik BEL D2
Thomas Dienst Ottignies BEL D1
Lucas Sotteau Oloron FR FED 2
Alexis Cuffolo CS Beaune FR FED 2
Max Dubois Soignies BEL D1
Maxime Jadot RC Vannes FR PRO D2
Martin Jessen USAPerpignan FR PRO D2
Sep De Backer Dendermonde BEL D1
Julien Massimi Asub Waterloo BEL D1
Cian Cauwenberghs Kituro BEL D1
TWEEDE LIJN
Mathieu Verschelden RC Tricastin FR FED 1
Tuur Moelants Asub Waterloo BEL D1
Julien Penders The Dukes Ned D1
Bertrand Billi Soignies BEL D1
Sydney Mulumba Villefranche de Lauragais FR FED 2
Brieuc Corradi dijon FR FED 1
DERDE LIJN
Gillian Benoy Dendermonde BEL D1
Michael Abrahams Kituro BEL D1
Alec Maloir Narbonne PRO D2
Paul Edouard Van Laer Nice FR FED 1
Esteban Thewissen Stade Toulousain FR TOP 14
Baptiste Lescaboura Kituro BEL D1
Thomas De Molder grasse FR FED 1
Amin Hamzaoui Angoulême PRO D2
Tom Coupé Dendermonde BEL D1
Thomas Vervoort La Seyne Sur Mer FR FED 1
Sven D'hooghe Racing Métro 92 FR TOP 14
Clément Veeckman Hagetmau FR FED 2
SCRUM-HALF
Julien Berger Provence Rugby FR PRO D2
Tom Cocqu Aubenas FR FED 1
FLY-HALF
Kevin Williams Asub Waterloo BEL D1
Sebastien Guns Ottignies BEL D1
Bruno Lancelle Hyeres FR FED 2
Kevin Dams Asub Waterloo BEL D1
CENTER
Florian Piron Chartres FR FED 2
Nathan Bontems Racin Métro 92 FR TOP 14
Guillaume Brébant Frameries BEL D1
Bram Coupé Terhulpen BEL D1
Bjorn Van zyl Terhulpen BEL D1
Jens Torfs USAPerpignan FR PRO D2
Guillaume Piron Colomiers FR PRO D2
Simon Causse Villeurbanne FR FED 1
Florent debatty Soignies BEL D1
Hendrik Brouwers Arras FR FED 2
LAATSTE DRIE
Charles Reynaert Racing Métro 92 FR TOP 14
Ervin Muric Asub Waterloo BEL D1
Loic Lechien Bosvoorde BEL D1
Marc Tchangué USAPerpignan FR PRO D2
Louis Debatty Soignies BEL D1
Dirk Hagedoorn Agde FR FED 1
Tornike Megredlize Soignies BEL D1
Thomas Brouillard Ottignies BEL D1
Thomas Wallraff Bordeaux-Bègles FR PRO D2
Nicolas Meeus Buenos Aires
Alan Williams US cognac FR FED 1

National team

The national team, nicknamed the Black Devils (Zwarte Duivels), has been competing in international tests since 1932.

2006-08 European Nations Cup

The national team competed in competition in the Second Division at the 2010-2012 European Nations Cup winning the division and securing promotion to Division 1A for the next season.

Date City Opponent Results¹ Attendance Type of game
12 February 2011 Brussels Moldova Moldova 20-5 ??? European Nations Cup
12 March 2011 Gdynia, Poland Poland Poland 21-28 ??? European Nations Cup
19 March 2011 Brussels Germany Germany 28-25 ??? European Nations Cup
23 April 2011 Amsterdam Netherlands Netherlands 30-18 ??? European Nations Cup
5 November 2011 Brussels Czech Republic Czech Republic 55-0 ??? European Nations Cup
25 February 2012 Brussels Netherlands Netherlands 58-3 ??? European Nations Cup
10 March 2012 Chisinau Moldova Moldova 17-16 ??? European Nations Cup
17 March 2012 Heusenstamm Germany Germany 30-29 ??? European Nations Cup
7 April 2012 Brussels Poland Poland 20-13 ??? European Nations Cup

¹ Results from Belgian view

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rugby union in Belgium.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.irb.com/unions/union=11000039/index.html
  2. ↑ Official IRB World Rankings
  3. 1 2 Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1) p63
  4. ↑ Official FBRB Structure
  5. ↑ Official IRB statistics for Belgium
  6. ↑ "John Raphael". Scrum.com.
  7. ↑ "1910 South Africa & Argentina". British and Irish Lions website.
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