Rugby union in Singapore
| Rugby union in Singapore | |
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National Stadium, Singapore (capacity 55,000)
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| Country | Singapore |
| Governing body | Singapore Rugby Union |
| National team | Singapore |
| First played | Late 19th century |
| Registered players | 9,400 |
| Clubs | 13 |
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International competitions
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Rugby union is a significant sport that is growing in popularity in Singapore. Singapore is currently ranked 59th in the world and 6th in Asia. As of February 2015, there over 12,000 registered players, with more than 2,000 women playing the sport. There are also 15 formally organised clubs with 4 registered Women's sides.
Club Rugby in Singapore is played in three divisions – the Premiership, the Championship, and the Conference. School Rugby is also hotly contested over three age groups – the C division (under 14), the B division (under 17) and the A division (under 19). There are also a few schools that have a primary-school-level rugby programme where they contest in the under-12 competition.
The governing body of rugby union in Singapore is the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU), which was founded in 1966. It joined the International Rugby Football Board (now World Rugby) in 1988.
Like some other places, Singaporean rugby's colonial inheritance has proven a hindrance. The game is still dominated by white expatriates from Commonwealth countries, such as the Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom – there are at least twenty such expat clubs. There has been some take up amongst other groups, and there has been a long-standing effort to involve the local community, including by Aussies Peter Randall and Andrew Blades in the mid 1990s, but the progress has only been gradual.
Rugby union was introduced to the British colony of Singapore in the late 19th century. It has had a steady presence since the beginning of the 20th century, when the Malaya Cup between Singapore Civilians team and states of Malaya was then established, which is one of the oldest rugby competitions in the world.
However, unlike the other colonial city state of Asia, Hong Kong, rugby has not been quite so successful in Singapore. The tragic events of the Second World War and the Japanese occupation of Singapore also disrupted its growth. Between 1945 and 1991, a regiment of New Zealanders was based in Singapore, and during those years they dominated the game to the extent that when they left, the Singaporean rugby scene almost fell apart.
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