Polski Związek Rugby

Polish Rugby Union

Polski Związek Rugby
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	9th September 1957
WR affiliation	March 1988
FIRA–AER affiliation	23rd September 1957
President	Jan Kozłowski
Men's coach	Tomasz Putra
Sevens coach	Krzysztof Folc
Website	www.pzrugby.pl

Polish Rugby Union (Polish: Polski Związek Rugby), abbreviated to PZR, is the only legal Polish representative of Polish rugby union and rugby sevens for both men and women's rugby and all age groups. Poland does have an amateur rugby league national team, however there are no teams playing this form of rugby in Poland and therefore there is no governing body for rugby league.

History

Main article: Rugby union in Poland

The Polish Rugby Union (Polski Związek Rugby) was founded in 1957, although rugby had already existed in Poland since the 1920s, when in 1921, Louis Amblard, a Frenchman, set up the very first Polish rugby club called "The White Eagles". The first match was in 1922, and the first club international in 1924 against a Romanian side. There was, however, an earlier Polish Rugby Union set up in the early 1920s, but disbanded in 1928, as the sport failed to gain much popularity and historical disruptions such as World War II and Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact halted development, which why it was not until the 1950s that the sport re-emerged. Poland's first ever rugby season was in 1956 between September and December. There was no national league but only 5 regional divisions which were meant to determine who shall play in the top flight which was to be established later on. PZR joined the IRFB in 1988. The official supplier of equipment to the PRU is O'Brien sport.

International

Main article: Poland national rugby union team

The PZR governs currently several senior Polish rugby teams. The most notable is the Poland national rugby union team, however there is also a Poland women's national rugby union team. There are also both men's and women's rugby sevens national teams.

Domestic League Structure

The PZR governs the 3 domestic national divisions. The second division was relaunched in 2009 using some of the major teams providing 2nd XVs, along with some newly formed sides. The top division has 8 teams while the second division has 6 teams. Prior to that in 2008/2009 there were 10 teams in the top division and only 4 in the second. This led to some very uneven contests between the top teams and those at the bottom of the league. There are now also regional leagues in which some smaller clubs have entered teams and second teams from some of the top clubs which compete nationally.

The current league system has been in place since 2011/2012.

Tier	DIvision
1	Ekstraliga (8 clubs)
2	I liga (6 clubs)
3	II liga (6 clubs)

Non-XV Rugby

See also: Poland national rugby union team (sevens)

Polish rugby development, has tended to concentrate on rugby sevens as a means of introducing the sport to people. The PRU organises regular one day sevens tournaments over the spring/summer with teams travelling from all over the country. There are teams forming all over the country, but there is a shortage of quality coaching and basic equipment. Despite this rugby sevens is making good headway, and the national team regularly competes in tournaments.

Rugby tens also has some popularity, however rugby league is almost unheard of and therefore is very rarely played.

Regional Bodies

The PZR is divided into 6 regional governing bodies, each with their own president:

• Pomerania: Pomorski Okręgowy Związek Rugby - Przemysław Szablewski
• Warmia-Masuria: Warszawsko-Mazowiecki Okręgowy Związek Rugby - Jerzy Raczko
• Greater Poland: Wielkopolski Okręgowy Związek Rugby - Roman Augustyniak
• Lubelian: Lubelski Okręgowy Związek Rugby - Wiesław Piotrowicz
• Silesia: Śląski Okręgowy Związek Rugby - Teresa Jarczyk
• Lesser Poland: Małopolski Okręgowy Związek Rugby - Dariusz Grzyb