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...

 in Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

, and its predecessor state, Nyasaland

Nyasaland

Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....

, is a minor sport, albeit one with a long history.

Rugby in Malawi has frequently been haphazard, for example, Blantyre

Blantyre, Malawi

Blantyre or Mandala is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, the largest city with an estimated 732,518 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe...

 RFC once undertook a tour to Mauritius. Writing back to approve the tour, the Mauritian secretary added, "Please bring your own ball. We have lost ours."

Governing body

Although the Nyasaland Union (as it was then) was founded in 1922. Malawi has not joined the IRB.

History

As with many African and Asian countries, rugby has been linked to the fortunes of British colonialism. Rugby was introduced by the British, and declined on independence. It also suffered from the problems of racial segregation. This meant that it did not achieve the popularity it should have done amongst native black Malawians and is still dominated by whites and ex-pats mainly in and around Blantyre

Blantyre, Malawi

Blantyre or Mandala is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, the largest city with an estimated 732,518 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe...

.

A regular competition was held against Beira

Beira, Mozambique

Beira is the second largest city in Mozambique. It lies in the central region of the country in Sofala Province, where the Pungue River meets the Indian Ocean. Beira had a population of 412,588 in 1997, which grew to an estimated 546,000 in 2006...

 in the Woury Cup during the period. Many of the competitions were against other British colonies in that part of Africa.

World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 saw many players called away to the British Forces, and greatly depleted its resources.

However, the game was still played to a large degree in the period between the end of the war, and Malawi's independence. The Leslie Sevens were played for many years after 1948, and the Grainger Cup from 1946, was the league for Malawian clubs.

There were tours in the '80s and '90s to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

National team

The Nyasaland national rugby union team

Nyasaland national rugby union team

The Nyasaland national rugby union team formerly represented Nyasaland, now Malawi, in the sport of rugby union.Nyasaland played a series of matches in the 1930s against Rhodesia starting in 1934. Many of the competitions were against teams from other British colonies in that part of Africa.The...

is now defunct, and there has not yet been a replacement Malawian team. It played some games in the 1930s.

External links

• SA top rugby team to visit Malawi
• "Islam and Rugby" on the Rugby Readers review
• Tribute to the late Jake Muwamba (a Nyasaland rugby player)