Governing body

Rugby union is played in the Falkland Islands under the auspices of the (English) Rugby Football Union

Rugby Football Union

The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...

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History

Rugby was first introduced to the Falkland Islands in the 19th Century, and is always of the 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...

 variety. Due to the low population of the islands (under 4,000), the islands do not have a proper league system, and games are played on an informal basis. Many teams are from the British military, and occasionally games would be played against visiting ships in past times.

In 1939, a group called the "Tabaris Highlanders" arrived on the islands for a brief two months. They were from the Anglo-Argentine community, and were supposed to defend the islands from a German attack during 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...

, and were enrolled into the FIDF

Falkland Islands Defence Force

The Falkland Islands Defence Force is the locally maintained volunteer defence unit in the Falkland Islands. The FIDF works alongside the military units supplied by the United Kingdom to ensure the security of the islands.-History:...

. Many of this group were rugby players, including Cpl

Corporal

Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....

 Thomas Dawson Sanderson, who was president of a rugby club.
Falkland Islands rugby is relatively isolated geographically and is not integrated into South America, or the Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby

Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby

The Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby is the governing body for rugby union within South America. It was created on the 14 of October of 1989 in Montevideo, for initiative of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.The Confederation currently has nine member nations and is responsible for...

, which is the continental rugby body. Rugby union is popular in Argentina

Rugby union in Argentina

Rugby union is a popular team sport played in Argentina. The first rugby match played in the country dates back to 1873, as the game was introduced by the British...

, but political and historical reasons have prevented any contact in recent times.

Broadcasting

The Falklands are able to receive some coverage of rugby including the Six Nations Championship

Six Nations Championship

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

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See also

• Sport in the Falkland Islands
  Sport in the Falkland Islands
  Sport in the Falkland Islands is restricted by the islands' low population, and generally scattered population. Nonetheless, it has been able to send teams to the Commonwealth Games, and the Island Games....
  
  
• Falkland Islands national football team
  Falkland Islands national football team
  The Falkland Islands official football team is a representative football team of the Falkland Islands, organised by the Falkland Islands Football League. The Falkland Islands Football League is not a member of FIFA and therefore the team is not eligible to play in official competitions such as the...
  
  
• Falkland Islands cricket team
  Falkland Islands cricket team
  The Falkland Islands cricket team is the team that represents the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands in international cricket matches. They played their first international against Chile in February 2004, and gained affiliate membership of the International Cricket Council on 29...
  
  
• Falkland Islands at the Commonwealth Games
  Falkland Islands at the Commonwealth Games
  The Falkland Islands has competed in seven editions of the Commonwealth Games. Their first appearance was in 1982, just months after the Falklands War...
  
  

External links

• El rugby une, "Un grupo de 34 rugbiers argentinos, entre ellos los ex Pumas Sansot, Branca y Garretón, dio clínicas a chicos y jugó con 8 kelpers y 4 militares ingleses."