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The Mauritius national rugby union team represents Mauritius in international rugby union. Mauritius are a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB), and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup.
[edit] History
Rugby was introduced to Mauritius by the British Army during colonial times (1810-1968). The first club in Mauritius was the Dodo Club, founded in 1928 by a group of Franco-Mauritian rugby players. With the founding of many more clubs, rugby was regularly played at a senior level from 1928 to 1975. However when Mauritius became independent in 1968, rugby becan to struggle as funding from Britain and France was cut. But thanks to a highly successful development program in the late 20th Century, rugby was reborn in the island nation. Mauritius began to participate in Sevens tournaments with Réunion, Madagascar and other island nations in the Indian Ocean. This tournament runs to this day. Sevens success helped the Mauritius 15-a-side team, so finally, in 2005 the Mauritius national rugby team played their first ever international against Tanzania, winning 20 points to 10. They also won subsequent matches against Rwanda, Burundi and Burkina Faso. Their fantastic start to international rugby has caused tremendous growth of the sport in Mauritius, with thousands of people flocking to see them play. They participate in the south section of the CAR Castel Beer Trophy, which they surprisingly won in 2005. However in both the 2006 and 2007 editions, the side's hopes were dashed in the group stage by Botswana, who went on to win in 2007.
[edit] World Cup History
Mauritius have never participated in Rugby World Cup qualifiers, as they are unranked by the IRB, however they may participate in the qualifiers for the 2011 tournament, which would allow them also to participate in their first ever Africa Cup in 2008.
[edit] External links
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National rugby union teams |
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Third tier with
World Cup experience |
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Third tier without
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Defunct
(without World Cup experience) |
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Mauritius 20-10 
Tanzania
Burkina Faso
Botswana 31 - 11 
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