The Burundi national rugby union team represents Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

 in international rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

. The nation are a member of the International Rugby Board

International Rugby Board

The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...

 (IRB) and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

 tournament. The Burundi national rugby team played their first international in 2003 - losing to Uganda

Uganda national rugby union team

The Uganda national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Uganda, representing them at rugby union. Rugby union was introduced by the British during colonial rule and Uganda played their first international game against Kenya in 1958...

. They participate annually in the CAR Castel Beer Trophy

CAR Castel Beer Trophy

The African Development Trophy is a rugby union tournament consisting of 16 teams played in the continent of Africa, formerly named the CAR Castel Beer Trophy. It is organised by the Confederation of African Rugby and is also known as the CAR Super 16. The tournament contains the teams in the...

. However, in the 2007 tournament

2007 Castel Beer Trophy

The 2007 CAR Development Trophy is the fourth edition of second level rugby union tournament in Africa. The competition involves sixteen teams that are divided into two zones . Each zone is then divided into two pools of four...

Burundi withdrew for financial reasons.

History

Rugby has been played in Burundi since the 1970s, first among Belgian players who mixed during the 1980s with many French residents. The first officially registered rugby team was the “Intambwe Rugby Club”. The first presidents were Stanislas Mandi and Christian Taupiac. Among the greatest players are Marc Bourgeois, Charles Mugiraneza, “Okume”, Bernard Bordes, Patrice Ndindakumana, Lilian Campan, Louis Riboli, and Simeon Sahabo. The IRC has played international matches against the French, Rwandese and Kenyan teams.

External links

• Burundi on IRB.com
• Burundi on rugbydata.com