Rugby union in Tunisia

Rugby union in Tunisia is a significant sport. They are currently ranked 35th in the world, with 15,057 registered players (3,941 female), and 72 clubs.

The Fédération Tunisienne de Rugby was founded in 1972, and affiliated to the IRFB in 1988.

Like rugby union in Morocco, and many of the other North African countries, Tunisian rugby is a legacy of French colonialism after the First World War. Like many other Maghrebi nations, Tunisian rugby tended to look to Europe for inspiration, rather than to the rest of Africa.

This has proven a mixed blessing, as Tunisian players have the prospect of "promotion" to French professionalism, but also potentially weaken the Tunisian system, and national team.

Tunisian rugby also suffers from two other problems - the climate, and the fact that Tunisia does not tend to produce "big men".

The Tunisian game made huge strides during the 80s and 90s, thanks to the intelligent leadership and direction of Dr Bouraoui Regaya. In 1989, they entered a national team into the Hong Kong Sevens for the first time.

Tunisia's traditional rivals are Morocco, but they tend to be beaten by them. This is partly because Tunisia has around half the number of registered players that Morocco does.

Tunisia is a founder member of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR), which was launched officially in January 1986, in Tunis. Rugby officials from Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Kenya, the Seychelles and Madagascar attended.