Rugby Association of Rwizikuru
| Most recent season or competition: 2022-23 Rwizikuran Rugby Association Season | |
| File:Logo of the Rwizikuran Rugby Association.png | |
| Formerly | Rugby Association of Riziland (1922-1947) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby |
| Founded | April 7, 1922 |
| Inaugural season | 1923-24 |
| Director | Board of Directors |
| President | Zvarevashe Muzenda |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Country | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru |
| Most recent champion(s) | Port Fitzhubert Lions (2023) |
| Most titles | Port Fitzhubert Lions (28 Royal Purcell Cups) |
| TV partner(s) | Rwizikuran Information Service |
| Domestic cup(s) | Royal Purcell Cup |
The Rugby Association of Rwizikuru (Rwizi: Mubatanidzwa weRugby yeRwizikuru), commonly shortened to the RAR, is both the governing body for rugby in Rwizikuru and the premier league for rugby in Rwizikuru. Established as the Rizilander Football Association in 1922, it adopted its current name in 1947 after Rwizikuru's independence from Estmere.
The Rugby Association of Rwizikuru is comprised of eleven member teams from across Rwizikuru, of which the three most prominent teams in the league are the Munzwa Elephants, the Port Fitzhubert Lions, and Southsiders RFC.
History
Origins and early years
.jpg)
As varungu began to immigrate into the Colony of Riziland from the 1870s onward, they would bring in rugby with them, with the earliest recorded rugby match in present-day Rwizikuru taking place on 9 July, 1891 in Port Fitzhubert between two amateur sides comprised entirely of varungu.
However, matches were few and far between, in part due to the small size of the Estmerish population in Rwizikuru: the second match only took place in 1897, and the first match between settlements only took place in 1905, with the match being between Crogan and Port Fizhubert. However, as the number of varungu increased, proposals began to be put forth for the establishment of a rugby association to both "organise the sport" and to "preserve its exclusivity" among the varungu population.
The earliest attempt was made by Noah Purcell in 1914, who created the Manathean Football Association, with the stated intentions of "governing football in the province of Manathea" and "ensuring that the best and brightest players in Manathea may compete without fear of being replaced by a less qualified player." The Manathean Football Association planned to organise its first season for 1916-17, but the Great Collapse caused Purcell's efforts to be scuttled.
It was only in the aftermath of the 1921 Port Fitzhubert riots that another attempt at organising a rugby association was made: Winston Holderman, with the endorsement of Noah Purcell, would create the Rizilander Football Association, with the goal of governing and organising rugby competitions in the Colony of Riziland "for the benefit of the white population." Although economic conditions in Riziland remained poor, it received enough support from the colonial government to hold its first season in 1923-24 with six teams: three from Crogan, two from Port Fitzhubert, and one from D'Onston. At the end of the season, the first ever Purcell Cup was awarded to Southsiders RFC.
During the 1920s, Southsiders RFC and RFC Port Fitzhubert were the two dominant teams in the Rizilander Football Association. However, after the 1927 Purcell Cup, play was suspended for the duration of the Great War, as most of those who competed in the rugby league either enlisted or were drafted to fight in the Estmerish or colonial militaries.
Notable players during the pre-Great War period included Edwin Belsey, Godrick Miller, Duncan Simpson, and Jonas Yemmer.
Post-Great War
In the aftermath of the Great War, the Rizilander Football Association resumed play in 1936. Originally playing with the same six teams for the 1936-37 and 1937-38 seasons, the Rizilander Football Association expanded the number of teams to nine in 1938, with Rusere getting a team due to the Football Association expecting the city to receive an influx of immigrants from Estmere as a result of the New Longwoodshire Settlement Scheme, and Sainte-Germaine receiving two teams due to the high number of Chennois living in the city "who were incredibly fond of rugby."
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a heated question was whether or not non-varungu should be allowed to play in the Football Association of Riziland, with Winston Holderman insisting that allowing non-varungu to enter the association would "degrade the quality of play and make Rizi men a laughingstock on the field." However, in 1940, the Rizilander Football Association permitted Mirites and Freemen to play in matches organised by it, with the first Bahian player, Adonijah Bailey, playing for Rusere RFC. The following year, a club was established in Munzwa, raising the number of clubs to ten.
Due to increasing pressure from both the Movement for the Advancement of Bahians in Riziland and the Rwizikuran National Movement for the Rizilander Football Association to admit indigenous Bahian players, it ended the colour barrier in 1944, with the first native Bahian player who was not a Mirite or a Freeman, Joseph Chinodya, playing for RFC Munzwa that year.
Upon Rwizikuru's independence from Estmere in 1946, the Rizilander Football Association changed its name to the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru. However, Winston Holderman continued to lead the rugby association until his retirement in 1951, during which time the number of Bahian players in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru increased substantially, although rugby continued to be a "white man's sport," due to efforts by Holderman and the Rugby Association to bring in the "best of the best players into the league."
Notable players during this time, excluding Adonijah Bailey and Joseph Chinodya, were Henri Bassot, Geoffrey Brenchley, Hubert Chevalier, and Boyd Nyambuya.
League in transition
Following Winston Holderman's retirement in 1951, he was succeeded as chairman of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru by Lester Spencer. By the time Spencer took over as chairman, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru was transitioning away from "a league that was dominated by white men to being dominated by indigenous Bahians," as many varungu who previously competed in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru emigrated away from Rwizikuru in search of better opportunities.
In 1953, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru revoked the membership of Donston RFC in favour of a team based in Port Graham, with Spencer justifying the decision due to Donston's "small population making it impractical for a rugby club to ever sustain itself on the national stage," while Port Graham "was easily the largest major centre without a rugby club."
Following the election of Vudzijena Nhema as President of Rwizikuru, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru would face increasing pressure from the Rwizikuran government to nativise the league: in 1955, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru admitted three more clubs: one based in Mohubedu, one in Chekumabvazuva, and one in Ichambu. This brought the number of teams up from ten to thirteen teams. The following year, the first Bahian was appointed to the board of directors when Joseph Chinodya became the representative of RFC Munzea.
In 1957, the Rwizikuran government forced Lester Spencer and most of the board of directors to resign, with the government citing the failure of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru's board to "reflect the desires of the Rwizikuran nation." This led to Joseph Chinodya becoming the first Bahian to lead the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru, with the board of directors being "almost entirely Bahian," with only two varungu remaining on the board of directors.
Under Chinodya's tenure as Chairman, he renamed the Purcell Cup to the People's Cup in 1958, with Chinodya arguing that Purcell "did very little to establish rugby [in Rwizikuru] compared to the Bahians in the missionary schools who learnt how to play the sport but were unjustly kept out by the racist attitudes that colonial society had." In 1960, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru revoked the association of two of the three clubs based in Crogan, in favour of one club each in Rutendo and Vongai, with Chinodya saying that "Crogan lacks the population needed to support three clubs."
However, the 1963 and 1964 coups d'etat forced the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru to cancel the rest of the 1963-64 season, marking the first suspension of rugby since the Great War. Later in 1964, Joseph Chinodya was ousted by the board of directors under unclear circumstances, with Thomas Mnangagwa succeeding Chinodya as Chairman of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru.
Mnangagwa would rename the People's Cup back to the Purcell Cup at the start of the 1964-65 season, with Mnangagwa saying that the Purcell Cup was more commonly used than the People's Cup "that was imposed from the top down through government intervention." Furthermore, Mnangagwa oversaw improved training programs, seeing it as a way to "challenge the narrative that rugby has been in decline since Spencer."
These efforts were interrupted by the outbreak of the Mabifian-Rwizikuran War in October 1968, forcing the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru to cancel the 1968-69 season due to many players in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru enlisting in the Royal Rwizikuran Armed Forces. After Garambura obtained its independence in April 1969, the two Sainte-Germaine clubs would withdraw from the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru to create the TBD, reducing the number of teams from thirteen to eleven.
Notable players during this period included Elias Carne, Augustin Chapuis, Edgar Kyagumbo, Munaki Majange, Tamuka Muzanenhamo, and Daniel Tchiroto.
Mbangwa era
In 1970, Thomas Mnangagwa retired as Chairman of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru, citing his declining health. He was succeeded by Oldname Mbangwa as Chairman of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru.
One of the first things Oldname Mbangwa did was to "secure royal support for the maintenance of the Rugby Association," leading to the Purcell Cup being renamed to the Royal Purcell Cup at the end of the 1969-70 season and to increased government funding of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru. However, Mbangwa sought to continue Mnangagwa's efforts to improve the quality of play, with Mbangwa saying in 1971 that he wanted Rwizikuru to be "the best rugby nation on the subcontinent."
During the early 1970s, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru was once again dominated by the Port Fitzhubert teams, with the Southsiders RFC winning the 1970, 1973, and 1975 Royal Purcell Cups, and the Port Fitzhubert Lions winning the 1971, 1972, and 1974 Royal Purcell Cups. However, the outbreak of the Nativity War in December 1974 meant that the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons were both cancelled.
After the Nativity War ended in late 1976, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru would resume play in 1977, with the Munzwa Elephants dominating the league in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with only the 1979 Royal Purcell Cup not being won by Munzwa.
By the late 1970s, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru was accused of shamateurism: although like all other rugby associations, players were not supposed to receive any financial entitlements, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru would pay for team expenses to encourage poorer rugby players to play, and would often gift players "a small sum of money" on a monthly basis, with players reporting that they "found the value of ten Estmerish shillings in their boots after each match." Mbangwa strongly denied allegations that he was paying his players, and argued that compared to the Euclean rugby unions, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru "followed not just the letter of the rules, but the spirit of the rules."
However, after rugby was declared an open game by the International Rugby Football Board in 1979, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru would very quickly become a professional league in time for the 1979-80 season, with Mbangwa instituting a flat wage of 52,500,000 shillings (approximately 10ſ- Estmerish, or 1,629,402ſ31 adjusted for redenomination and inflation, and or €54.14 adjusted for inflation) a month for all players. After the conclusion of the 1980 Royal Purcell Cup, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru would allow for bonuses to be provided to players by individual clubs. This benefitted the major teams, such as the Munzwa Elephants and Southsiders RFC who would dominate the 1980s. In 1983, following the redenomination, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru updated their monthly salary to 525 new shillings (then 5ſ25 Estmerish, today 508,958ſ03 or €19.62 adjusted for inflation).
In 1985, Mbanga would authorise the creation of the Women's Rugby Association of Rwizikuru to oversee the women's national team and competitions involving women: while the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru would continue to govern the rules of rugby, Mbanga's decision was to "ensure that female rugby players can be able to compete on the same level as the men."
Following the 1988 loan from the Global Institute of Fiscal Affairs, the King was forced to cut funding to the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru. This, combined with increased transparency revealed "discrepancies" between the income that the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru was bringing in compared to its spending, forced Oldname Mbangwa to resign as Chairman in 1991.
Notable players included Reason Bohannon, Max Chikwava, Les Mpfareleli, Tsungirirai Mtawarira, Takwana Nkala, and Wolfgar Shamuyarira.
Contemporary era
In 1991, Oldname Mbanga was succeeded as Chairman of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru by Edzai Dabengwa. Dabengwa's main priority was to "clean up the Rugby Association," saying in 1992 that "the work ahead is to create a clean rugby union, free from corruption and free from debt." These anti-corruption measures included implementing a code of conduct that was binding on officials and players and establishing a five-year term for all members of the board of directors, renewable only once, while money-saving efforts included freezing the minimum wage for players at 525 shillings and reducing funding for training programs, leading to a long-term decline in the quality of Rwizikuran rugby players, although Rwizikuru would make it to the quarter-finals in the 1993 and 2001 Rugby World Cups.
These efforts would help reduce the debt burden that the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru faced, and by 1996, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru was making more money than it lost. During the rest of the decade, Dabengwa would relax restrictions on sponsoring clubs, seeing sponsors as "a way to help benefit rugby" in Rwizikuru through their investment into the sport. In 1998, Dabengwa was able to once again receive funding from the Rwizikuran monarchy, enabling wage rises from 525 shillings to 15,000 shillings (€2.11, adjusted for inflation 111,352ſ23 or €3.83) per month for the 1999-2000 season onward.
In 2001, Edzai Dabengwa retired from his position as Chairman and was succeeded as Chairman of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru by Allan Mutambara. As Chairman, Mutambara began to invest in training facilities, with the hope of improving Rwizikuru's position in the Rugby World Cup, with Mutambara saying in early 2002 that "if Rwizikuru does not make it to the semi-finals in the 2005 World Cup, I will see this as a personal failure." His focus on improving the men's national rugby team led to Mutambara neglecting the seasonal competitions and the member clubs, which led to proposals to split the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru.
While the quality of play improved from Dabengwa's tenure, the failure of Rwizikuru to advance into the quarter-finals led to Mutambara choosing to not run for a second term in 2006. Mutambara's successor, James Mkondo, focused more on the clubs and the seasonal competition than Mutambara, with Mkondo saying that "if the clubs do not do well, we will not stand a chance in the Rugby World Cup." Under Mkondo's tenure, the base monthly wage rose significantly, as Mkondo sought to balance making Rwizikuru "a rugby powerhouse on the continent" and avoiding "financial catastrophe," although the average wage of players on the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru was still "significantly less than rugby players in Euclea and the Asterias." Mkondo's focus on the clubs led to his re-election in 2011 as Chairman of the Rugby Association: following Rwizikuru's qualification to the 2013 Rugby World Cup, Mkondo saw it as confirmation that his strategy "was a sound strategy for Rwizikuru."
In 2016, James Mkondo was succeeded as Chairman of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru by Zvarevashe Muzenda. Muzenda largely continued Mkondo's policies as Chairman, saying that he has "no desire to break what works." In 2019, Muzenda permitted video referee to be used in all rugby events in Rwizikuru, with a three-year transition period for all clubs in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru to install video refereeing systems before it became mandatory from the 2021-22 season onward, citing "decreasing costs for implementation of video refereeing technologies."
Notable players include Comeback Chinodya, Ken Dulini, Mutupo Kombayi, Blessing Mumbengegwi, Nkwenyane Mohato, Nyasha Ndlovu, Anesu Nhiwatiw, Izzy Shumba, and Jim Ullyet.
Governance
The Rugby Association of Rwizikuru is governed by a thirteen-member board of directors (Rwizi: bhodhi revatungamiriri). The board of directors is comprised of eleven members who represent the eleven clubs in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru, one representative representing the players that is elected by all of the players, and one representative who represents the Women's Rugby Association of Rwizikuru.
The board of directors elects a Chairman (Rwizi: sachigaro) from its ranks, with the current Chairman of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru being Zvarevashe Muzenda, who was first elected in 2016 and was re-elected in 2021.
As the governing body of rugby in Rwizikuru, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru oversees the Rwizikuran national men's rugby team, implements the rules of rugby into Rwizikuran leagues, and organises regular competitions between its member teams. The headquarters of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru is located in Port Fitzhubert.
Members
As of 2018, there are eleven rugby clubs (Rwizi: makirabhu erugby) who are members of the Rwizikuran Rugby Association. All member clubs in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru maintain do not get relegated, although they may lose membership due to financial reasons or due to the municipality that they are based in declining to a population smaller than 150,000 people.
Former members
The Rugby Association of Rwizikuru contained five clubs that were formerly members of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru, but have since lost their membership, either because their membership was revoked, or because they withdrew from the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru.
The first club to lose its status was Donston RFC, a founding member of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru, when it lost its membership in 1953 due to Donston's population not being large enough to sustain the club. In 1960, two more founding members of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru, Crogan Farmers RFC and Crogan Boy's School RFC lost their memberships, as Crogan lacked the population necessary to support three clubs. In all of three of those cases, they were replaced by rugby clubs in other urban centres.
Finally, two more clubs lost their membership in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru, with Sainte-Germaine RFC A and Sainte-Germaine RFC B withdrawing from the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru in 1969 following the Garamburan War of Independence, as they both represented Sainte-Germaine (present-day Mambiza). Unlike the clubs whose status was revoked, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru never replaced the two clubs with any club in Rwizikuru.
Season structure
Regular season
The Rugby Association of Rwizikuru regulates the length of the rugby season (Rwizi: mwaka weRugby) in Rwizikuru, with all rugby clubs, whether members of the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru or not, playing between the last Friday of October and the last Friday of March.
Since the 1970-71 season, teams in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru play each other twice in a double round-robin system: once at home and once away, for a total of 22 games per season. All matches are scheduled to fall on Friday evenings, with the exception of Nativity and Good Friday, when the matches are held on the following Wednesday.
Royal Purcell Cup
The Royal Purcell Cup (Rwizi: Mukombe waMambo naPurcell), known as the Purcell Cup (Rwizi: Mukombe wePurcell) from its establishment until 1957, and again from 1965 to 1970, and known as the People's Cup (Rwizi: Mukombe weVanhu) from 1958 until 1964, and commonly shortened to the Royal Cup (Rwizi: Mukombe waMambo) is the post-season tournament.
Initially just a single game between the two best teams in the Rugby Association of Riziland, with the match being held on the second Saturday of April, the Purcell Cup's format was reformed in 1938, with the four best teams in the previous season being eligible to compete in the Purcell Cup. This led to a new format where the first-ranked team faced the fourth-ranked team and the second-ranked team faced the third-ranked team. The losers of these semi-finals, held on the first Friday of April, would face each other in a third-place match on the second Friday of April, while the winners would face each other in the final on the second Saturday of April. The format has remained unchanged since then.
The team with the most appearances in the Royal Purcell Cup are the Port Fitzhubert Lions, with 84 appearances, followed by Southsiders RFC with 83 appearances and the Munzwa Elephants with 64 appearances, while the team with the most victories in the Royal Purcell Cup are the Port Fitzhubert Lions, with 28 victories, followed by Southsiders RFC with 27 victories and the Munzwa Elephants with 17 victories.
Off-season
Following the Royal Purcell Cup, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru enters its off-season (Rwizi: off-mwaka) between mid-April and late October. Traditionally, the clubs have little sporting activity during the off-season, although from September to late October, friendly matches are held between clubs in order to warm up and prepare their teams before the regular season.
During the off-season, the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru has a transfer window spanning from May to August, during which time new players may join from either the academies or transfer from another team, either within the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru or from another rugby union. This has been criticised by the smaller clubs as only benefitting the major clubs, but there is opposition towards reforming it, both because most other rugby unions have a similar transfer window structure, and because of the dominance of the three major clubs in the Rugby Association of Rwizikuru.