Test rugby has a new team after years of campaigning ends in 'landmark win'

At Rugby Europe’s 107th General Assembly in Alicante, the Gibraltar Rugby Football Union (GRFU) has been accepted as the 49th member of Rugby Europe. Meanwhile, Greece have also had their membership reinstated after a lengthy absence.

The GRFU has campaigned for inclusion ever since its first friendly match as a national team against Belgium U23s in 2011, but to no avail. Consistently, they have found themselves, metaphorically and physically, between a rock and a hard place due to a number of factors.

But this time around support had come from high places, with Italian legend Sergio Parisse among those to lend their voice to the cause, and now Gibraltar will finally be able to play in official Test matches and access all the other benefits that membership of Rugby Europe brings.

Having won the two-thirds majority vote needed to become members, Gibraltar will now be eligible to receive funding, training and education support and play in recognised Rugby Europe tournaments. Up until now, Gibraltarian national teams have played friendlies. This year the senior men’s team travelled to Finland and Denmark and also hosted Jamaica, while the senior women’s team took on the Met Police, with travel and all other associated costs met by the Union themselves.

Gribraltar, population circa 40,000, is a British Overseas Territory, and as such, all Gibraltarians hold a British passport. However, the eligibility for the national team is works in the same way as the Home Nations, with players having to meet  World Rugby’s Regulation 8 criteria.

“It’s been 15 years plus of working towards the decision. There’s been lots and lots of people who have put an awful lot of work and effort into this result. It is also worth noting that Rugby Europe themselves, from a senior leadership team and board level, have been incredibly supportive in the last six to 12 months to help us understand where we were and what we needed to do,” said GRFU Head of Marketing, Stuart Porro.

“Although it hasn’t always been the easiest of rides, we have been working hard and aggressively to make sure we not only wanted to be members of Rugby Europe, but also be a quite a big contributor to Rugby Europe. We are not expecting this to be a one-way transaction, we are very much expecting to put into the Rugby Europe pot in terms of being active members.

“We have a very strong rugby community in Gibraltar; we are very eager to grow the game in Gibraltar. Domestically, our game is in a good place, but this will turbo-charge it.”

The Gibraltar Rugby Men’s Championship is a four-team competition, and has also included Spanish teams on occasions, while there are numerous Vets teams and a Barbarians team. And the Gibraltar 7s is a well-established event in the rugby calendar.

“The main thing is those eight, 10, 15, 16 and 18-year-old boys and girls that are training and playing at the moment can see a pathway in front of them,” added Porro.

“It makes a huge difference. We were four-fifths of a way to being a fully functioning international union anyway; the only thing we were missing was this.”

Honorary President Stephen Payas said: “We are absolutely delighted with the decision made by our European colleagues to welcome Gibraltar into the International game.

“Today is a landmark win for Gibraltar Rugby, and for Gibraltar as a whole.”

“It’s aspirational, it’s transformational, and it opens a new chapter — not just for the sport, but for the opportunities it will create for our community, our clubs, and our future generations of players.”