Rugby union in Israel
| Rugby union in Israel | |
|---|---|
Lithuania playing Israel
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| Country | Israel |
| Governing body | Israel Rugby Union |
| National team | Israel |
| First played | 1920s, 1930s |
| Registered players | 1400 |
| Clubs | 10 (formally organised) |
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National competitions
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Rugby union in Israel was brought to the country by British soldiers during the British Mandate for Palestine. The Israel Rugby Union was founded in 1971, and joined the IRB in 1988. For political reasons it is also part of FIRA-AER, the European rugby body, rather than the Asian Rugby Football Union.
Rugby union was brought to the country by British soldiers during the Mandate era. Around the same time, there was an influx of Jews from various parts of the British Commonwealth and the Francophonie who tried to establish the game. In the 1950s, Leo Camron, a former player for Natal, organised teams amongst the various immigrants, and within the IDF.
Post-War rugby found a new advocate in South African Leo Camron. A graduate of Natal University, Camron was a former artillery captain of the South African Army who had served in the North African campaigns of WWII, and went to Palestine to join Machal and fight in the Israeli War of Independence. In South Africa, Camron had also played for the Natal rugby team. In 1951, succeeded in obtaining an appointment in the sports department of the IDF.
In 1952, Camron organised independent Israel's first rugby match, between a group of South Africans, and a team of parachutists in the IDF. The South Africans won 18-6. The match ball was somewhat unusual, being a shoe wrapped in a towel. The game proved fairly popular in the IDF, thanks partly to its emphasis on aggression and team tactics. Camron soon organised other games, mainly between soldiers, and immigrants from the British Commonwealth. Camron made an attempt to get the IDF to adopt the game, but was unsuccessful due to institutional bureaucracy. This was a bitter blow to his campaign, and led to him taking a more passive role in Israeli rugby, until his death in 2007.
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Wikipedia