Rugby union in Ivory Coast
Rugby union in Côte d'Ivoire is essentially amateur, with some degree of semi-professionalization in its top flight league and the national rugby union team.
The sport is popular among school children, but the rugby union playing population in Côte d'Ivoire is still relatively small with only 10 clubs and around 11,000 registered senior players.
Governing body
Rugby union in Côte d'Ivoire is administered by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Rugby. It was founded in 1961 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1988.[1]
History
As with many other minor rugby nations, the sport is mainly played in and around the capital Abidjan.[1]
As a former French colony, the country has tended to come under the French sphere of influence, and many top players, including Max Brito played in France.[1] Although the origins of Ivorian rugby go back to the 1960s and earlier, real growth came about when the paid French official Jean-Franc,ois Turon managed to get the game adopted by Abidjan University at the turn of the 1980s, but it is Franc,ois Dali who is seen as the father of Ivorian rugby, and his son was the national captain during the 1990s.[1]
The Cote d'Ivoire national rugby union team is a relatively recent creation. It was not even in existence when the first (invitation only) Rugby World Cup was played in 1987. They played their first international in 1990 against Zimbabwe.[1] However, its success has been seen by many as a positive sign that black Africa was emerging as a force in world rugby.[1]
National team
The Côte d'Ivoire national rugby union team, nicknamed "Les éléphants," French for "The elephants", is a third tier rugby union side representing Côte d'Ivoire.
With a small player base, and starved of strong competition, the team has deteriorated in recent years. Recent defeats to Morocco mean they are ranked below the North African side. Their record in the World Cup has been poor, and they haven't managed a win. Their record defeat, 89-0 against Scotland in the 1995 tournament, led to some questioning the presence of the minor teams at the tournament. The Tonga match in the 1995 World Cup also saw a major tragedy, as Max Brito suffered a cervical spine injury that left him a quadriplegic.