Polski Związek Rugby

Rugby union in Poland is a minor but growing sport. The Polish Rugby Union (Polski Związek Rugby) was founded in 1957, and joined the IRFB in 1988. The official supplier of equipment to the PRU is O'Brien sport. An earlier Polish Rugby Union was set up in the early 1920s, but was disbanded in 1928.

Polish rugby had something of a boom in the late 1970s, when they beat both Italy and Spain, and also held Romania to a 37-21 win in 1977.

Because of high Polish emigration, particularly to France, and English speaking nations, the Polish team actually has a fairly large pool of potential players. In addition, a number of Poles returning from jobs in the British Isles and France, have carried the game back with them.

In the 1990s, there were at least fifty Poles playing in the French first and second divisions. Notable amongst these was Gregor Kacala, the 18 stone open side flanker, who helped Brive win the 1996 European Cup. Mariusz Pudzianowski, better known as a Polish strongman, is one of the most famous Polish rugby players. He played with Budowlani Łódź but retired after one season.

The standard of domestic rugby is relatively low in Poland. Most national players play in lower division teams in France (even in second/third teams) while some national players play in the domestic league. The main teams are based in the three main cities of Gdansk, in Warsaw and Łódź (the latter, being current national champions). In Poland, because rugby union is viewed as a "power sport", flamboyance is not encouraged. The lack of foreign coaches stifles development, which is reflected by the national team's performances in the European Nations Cup against nations with less financial muscle and a smaller player pool such as the Czech Republic and the Ukraine, as well as matches against Kazakhstan, and Morocco).

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There are currently two divisions in Poland. 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 is now also a regional league played in the centre of Poland (around Lodz and Warsaw) in which some smaller clubs have entered teams and second teams from some of the top clubs nationally compete.

Polish rugby development, however, 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 is making good headway.

Rugby tens also has some popularity.

The Poland national rugby union team represent Poland at the international level of rugby union. They are governed by Polski Związek Rugby (PZR) and have been participating in international rugby since 1958. Poland have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup. They play in red and white.

Polish Rugby Union: