Rugby union in the Seychelles

Rugby union in the Seychelles is a minor but growing sport.

The governing body is a member of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) but not of the International Rugby Board.

Rugby was first introduced to the Seychelles when it was a British colony. The first games were probably played by British sailors, and for a long while, expatriates and whites dominated the game in the colony.

The national ground comprises an area flattened from a massive landslide caused by a heavy rain from a cyclone.

The Seychelles are a founder member of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR), which was launched officially in January 1986, in Tunis, Tunisia.

In 1981, Colonel Mike Hoare, an anti-Communist warlord from the Congo, attempted to stage a coup d'état, against Communist president France-Albert René, to try and reinstate James Mancham. Hoare got together a group of white mercenaries, and dubbed them "Ye Ancient Order of Froth Blowers" (AOFB) after a posh English social club of the 1930s. The mercenaries were to be disguised as South African rugby players taking a holiday. In order for the plan to work, he disguised the mercenaries as a rugby club, and hid AK-47s in the bottom of their luggage, as he explained in his book The Seychelles Affair:

We were a Johannesburg beer-drinking club. We met formally once a week in our favourite pub in Braamfontein. We played Rugby. Once a year we organised a holiday for our members. We obtained special charter rates. Last year we went to Mauritius. In the best traditions of the original AOFB we collected toys for underprivileged kids and distributed them to orphanages... I made sure the toys were as bulky as possible and weighed little. Rugger footballs were ideal. These were packed in the special baggage above the false bottom to compensate for the weight of the weapon.

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