Croatian Rugby Federation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Croatian Rugby Federation (Croatian: Hrvatski ragbijaški savez) is the governing body for rugby union in Croatia.[1]
| Hrvatski ragbijaški savez | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Founded | 1 April 1962 |
| World Rugby affiliation | 1992 |
| President |  Dragutin Kamenski |
| Men's coach |  Milan Yelavich |
| Website | www |
History
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]