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Croatian Rugby Federation

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Croatian Rugby Federation
Hrvatski ragbijaški savez
SportRugby union
Founded1 April 1962; 63 years ago (1962-04-01)
World Rugby affiliation1992
PresidentCroatia Dragutin Kamenski
Men's coachNew Zealand Milan Yelavich
Websitewww.rugby.hr

The Croatian Rugby Federation (Croatian: Hrvatski ragbijaški savez) is the governing body for rugby union in Croatia.[1]

History

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The Croatian Rugby Federation was founded in 1962 as a domestic governing body in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under the control of the Yugoslavia Rugby Federation.[2] In the 1970s and 1980s, the Croatian Rugby Federation would often host New Zealand touring clubs due to the Croatian diaspora in New Zealand.[3] In 1991, while still part of Yugoslavia, the Croatian Rugby Federation appealed to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and a handful of other countries looking for players with Croatian ancestry though this was unsuccessful.[4] Following Croatian independence in 1992, the Federation became an independent national governing body with them joining the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB).[2] In 1995 with assistance from the Croatian Olympic Committee, the Federation reached out for New Zealand coaches with Croatian ancestry.[4] By 1999, they approached New Zealanders with Croatian grandparents to play for the Croatia national rugby union team for the 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifiers.[4] Due to Croatia failing to qualify, fewer New Zealand based players were approached in favour of domestic growth programme.[4]

In 2016, the Croatian Rugby Federation gained recognition from the European Union for pioneering a campaign against gender based violence in sport.[5] In 2022, the Croatian Rugby Federation appealed to the President of Croatia Zoran Milanović for assistance with growing rugby in Croatia, due to a lack of available rugby pitches and lack of understanding from national institutions leading to clubs mostly renting pitch time from association football clubs.[1]

Teams

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Men

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  • Croatia - the national men's rugby union team.
  • 7s - the national men's rugby union seven-a-side team.

Women

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  • Croatia - women's national rugby union team.
  • 7s - national women's rugby sevens team.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "President Milanović Receives Croatian Rugby Federation Leadership". President of the Republic of Croatia. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Origins and Development of Rugby" (PDF). POLYTECHNIC OF MEĐIMURJE IN ČAKOVEC. Retrieved 1 April 2025 – via Core.ac.
  3. ^ "New Zealand 'Tarara' arrive in Croatia to reconnect with roots through rugby". 23 October 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Sport as a Medium for Multidimensional Social Inclusion: The Role of Rugby in the (Re-)construction of the Identity of New Zealanders of Croatian Origin". ResearchGate. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Gender based violence in sport study 2016" (PDF). European Commission. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
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