Rugby Around the World
There are numerous leagues around the world and nothing beats the experience and atmosphere of a top flight European game -where many of the world’s greatest stars ply their trade- or watching one of the emerging nations give their all against highly favoured opponents.
We have accommodation in many of the major rugby cities and countries around the globe and if you are planning a trip then we whole-heartedly recommend catching a game in one of these parts of the world.
ARGENTINA:
Argentina is one of the great emerging nations on the world Rugby scene. With the Union team already gaining plaudits from coaches, teams and pundits around the world the League side (formed in 2005) is hoping to emulate their great success.
Where to stay…
Cheap Buenos Aires Hotels
AUSTRALIA:
One of the truly great Rugby nations –along with New Zealand and Great Britain- The Australian national rugby league team have been ever present since the inception of the sport in 1908. They are the most successful team in Rugby League World Cup history, winning 9 out of 13 tournaments. The team is more commonly known as the Kangaroos, a nickname that came about originally during the team’s tours of England and France.
The National Rugby League competition (NRL) is the easily the worlds strongest, comprising of 15 teams from Australia, and one from New Zealand; The Warriors. Easily the most anticipated spectacle in Rugby League is the State of Origin Series, which is an annual best of 3 games event involving 2 states – Queensland and NSW. These matches are always incredibly intense with the majority going down to the wire since it began in 1980.
Where to stay…
Cheap Brisbane Hotels, Melbourne Hotels, Perth Hotels, Cheap Sydney Hotels
CANADA:
The Canada rugby league team has been participating in international competition since 1987, however, rugby league remains a largely unknown discipline in Canada and the word rugby is usually used without qualification in and refers to rugby union. Canada has also participated in the World Sevens (1995, 1996) and Emerging Nations World Cup (2000) competitions.
Recently a new organization called Rugby League in Canada has been founded with the aim of resuscitating and improving the national team to a similar level of that of the Rugby Union side.
Where to stay…
Cheap Toronto Hotels, Quebec Hotels, Cheap Vancouver Hotel, Toronto Airport Hotels
ENGLAND:
The 2003 Rugby Union World Champions are traditionally one of the main rugby nations with a proud history in both League and Union disciplines.
GB was one of the Worlds strongest teams in rugby league -though usually playing second fiddle to Australia- and England should follow suit now that the nations have been split. The old GB team won the Rugby League World Cup on three occasions (54, 60 & 72) and the newly formed England team will hope to add to those victories in the near future. In the domestic RFL league the Bradford Bulls, Leeds Rhinos, St Helens and Wigan Warriors are often in the title race and provide some of the most interesting rivalries and matches.
Where to stay…
Cheap London Hotels, Manchester Hotels, Cheap Newcastle Hotels, Heathrow Airport Hotels
FRANCE:
France has taken part in all twelve Rugby League World Cups with the first actually taking place in France in 1954. The Tricolores –as they are more commonly known- have never won the title but finished runners-up in 54 & 68. These are often considered the glory years of French rugby league.
One of the most entertaining domestic tournaments is The Lord Derby Cup (Trophée Lord Derby) which is a premier knock-out competition open to all French rugby league sides. It was first contested in 1934 and won by US Lyon Villeurbanne and has been one of the most competitive tournaments ever since due to the great potential for major upsets.
Where to stay…
Cheap Paris Hotels, Nice Hotels, Paris Eurostar Hotels
IRELAND:
Ireland are classified an affiliate nation of the Rugby League International Federation. Since Ireland began competing in international Rugby League in 1995, it has participated in the Emerging Nations Tournament, Super League World Nines, World Cup, European Nations Cup and Victory Cup.
A new league format has been introduced to Irish Rugby League for 2008 with two national divisions now operating, the Carnegie League –featuring 6 teams including the Dublin City Exiles and Treaty City Titans- and the Emerald Rugby National Conference – featuring 5 teams all fighting for promotion.
Where to stay…
Cheap Dublin Hotels
ITALY:
Italy is another of the fast emerging rugby nations along with Argentina; once again this is being driven largely by the team’s success in Rugby Union. The team are currently ranked just outside the European top 10 and are hoping to qualify for the World Cup in the near future.
Where to stay…
Cheap Rome Hotels, Milan Hotels, Coliseum Hotels Rome, Vatican City Hotels
NEW ZEALAND:
The Kiwi’s and the All Blacks (league & union respectively) both hail from New Zealand and are among the most feared and respected teams in the world of Rugby. The 2008 World Champions have a selection pool of over 22,000 registered rugby league players for international duty, on the domestic side of things however New Zealand loses a lot of its players at an early age to Australia, where they are lured by larger wages and the opportunity to turn pro. It is extremely difficult to make it professionally as a Rugby player in New Zealand due to them only having the one team in the Australian NRL – The New Zealand Warriors.
Things are beginning to change on a domestic level with the launch of The NZRL Bartercard Premiership. This is a new competition (formed in 2008) and is seen as the big tournament to win. The Premiership is a six-team rugby league competition which replaces the now-defunct Bartercard Cup and is regarded as the highest level of rugby league in New Zealand. The inaugural representative season started in August 2008 with games broadcast on Māori Television. In the first Grand Final Auckland took the title defeating the Canterbury Bulls 38-18.
Where to stay…
Cheap Auckland Hotels, Christchurch Hotels, Cheap Wellington Hotels
SCOTLAND:
The Scotland Bravehearts rugby league team represents Scotland in international rugby league tournaments. Since the break up of the Great Britain team Scotland are not yet regarded as a test nation but are currently ranked just outside of the Worlds top 10 and hope to improve upon that and raise their status.
On a domestic level the Scottish Rugby League Season was re-developed in 2006 and now contains 7 teams located in Fife, Paisley, Moray, Edinburgh, Easterhouse, Carluke and Jordanhill who will vie for the annual league title.
Where to stay…
Cheap Edinburgh Hotels, Cheap Glasgow Hotels
WALES:
The Welsh Dragons date back to 1907 - making them the third oldest national side after England and New Zealand - and are currently ranked 10th in the World. Despite playing many matches against some of the best teams in the world and having three Welsh players entered into the Rugby League Hall Of Fame Wales are not currently regarded as a test nation.
Domestically, Welsh rugby league is now largely integrated with English competitions and competes with the British RFL system providing a much higher standard of competition.
Where to stay…
Cheap Cardiff Hotels
SOUTH AFRICA:
South Africa is home to both the South African Rugby Union and the Springboks; the countries national team and current IRB World Cup champions. The team is currently ranked 3rd in the World, behind NZ and AUS. The Springboks first international game was against Scotland in 1906. The SARU is an umbrella term covering The Springboks, The Vodacom Super 14, The Absa Currie Cup, amongst others which the Provincial Teams compete in. SA also takes part in the Tri-Nations tournament against Australia and New Zealand which was first contested in 1996. New Zealand has dominated this tournament from the beginning, but SA did win the cup in 1998 and 2004.
Following soccer, Rugby is the most popular sport in SA, with a 10 million strong following. The SARU are committed to “instilling national pride in people from all walks of life.”
Where to stay… Cheap South Africa Hotels, Cheap Durban Hotels, Cheap Johannesburg Hotels,
Cheap Cape Town Hotels
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