Rugby league in Serbia
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Rugby league is a fledging team sport played in Serbia, which now has over 150 registered players in the nation, 50 of which are juniors. These numbers are rapidly increasing each year. Belgrade and Novi Sad are the two main bases for rugby league in the Serbia and these two regions produce most of the country's players.
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[edit] The National Team
The National Team, which represents Serbia and Montenegro, has competed in the Rugby League Mediterranean Cup in both 2003 and 2004.
In 2005 they also participated in a three-way qualification tournament for the Rugby League European Nations Cup with the Netherlands and Georgia.
On October 28th 2006, Serbia played Greece in Athens in an historic match as it was the first Rugby League match on Greek soil. Greece were at an advantage in this match, as 10 out of their 17 players were Australian-based Greeks. Although Serbia lost the match 44-26, they played well against a team that included much more experienced players. The Serbian players were said it was an honour to play against Salford City Reds player Michael Korkidas. However, this did not stop the Serbian players from being as physical as possible against Korkidas. This match was watch by 150 spectators in Athens.
[edit] Notable achievements
Serbia has wasted no time producing great Rugby League players. Impressive youngsters Dalibor Vukanovic and Soni Radovanovic had stints with English National League Three side Warrington Wizards. The boys were aged 19 and 17 respectively during their stint in England.
Zoran Pesic is arguably Serbia's best export so far. Zoran had a six week stint with National League Two side London Skolars. He was also one of three nominees for the award of Best Emerging Nations Player at the Rugby League International Federation awards in Sydney on November 20th 2006. This award was won by St George Illawarra Dragons' Wes Naiqama, who represented Fiji.
In 2007, some Serbian players have their sights set on breaking into the French Elite League, while others may be headed for Russia or England.
[edit] History
Rugby league was introduced into Serbia in 1953, by then secretary of the Yugoslavian Sport Association, Dragan Marsicevic. The first rugby league match in Serbia was held in Belgrade on Novermber 26, 1953, between French students and Selection Province. The game was part of an attempt by the French Rugby XIII Federation to stimulate interest in the sport in Serbia.
The first rugby league club formed in Serbia was Partizan, on November 1, 1953, followed a couple of months later by Radnicki. The two teams played their first match on April 26, 1954, with Partizan winning 21-11. In 1961, the Yugoslav National Team played their first and only match against a French amateur XIII, with the team going down 13-0.
Rugby league officially returned to Serbia in 2001, with the formation of the Serbian Rugby League Federation. Journalist Slavisa Milenkovic was voted in as president of the new federation. The inaugural Serbian Rugby League Championship was held on November 10, featuring teams from Belgrade, Morava, Novi Sad and Krusevac. Belgrade's Dorcol team won the event.
Dorcol is the 2005 champions.
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Rugby League Playing Nations |
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| Oceania |
American Samoa | Australia | Cook Islands | Fiji | New Caledonia | New Zealand | Niue | Papua New Guinea | Samoa | Tokelau | Tonga |
| Asia | |
| Home Nations | |
| Continental Europe |
Austria | Czech Republic | Estonia | France | Germany | Georgia | Greece | Hungary | Latvia | Moldova | Netherlands | Russia | Serbia |
| Africa | |
| Americas | |
| National Teams based in Australia | |
[edit] References
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