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In the end we beat Pernik in a hard-fought match that left us all with souvenirs of our trip. And while the bruises will fade, my memory of
Bulgaria will not. On a national level they may be miles away from rugby recognition, but far from the spotlight and in among the old towns there are thousands
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In fact, since the end of the Second World War, the East
European (and world communist) sports system was dominated by clubs of the security forces (often in Eastern Europe bearing the Soviet name Dinamo) and the armed forces. Most sports heroes, therefore, have officially been soldiers or police
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officers, guardians of public order and role models for a disciplined, obedient and patriotic citizenry. So to many people, élite sport was identified with paramilitary coercion.
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Bulgarian rugby has not traditionally enjoyed a high reputation. For example, in 1988, an anonymous French rugby official joked that "one of the
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Rugby union like many other sports, was long to be connected in the public mind with the less savoury aspects of
Communism:
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rankings, Bulgaria has a long rugby tradition, and many of the country's clubs were formed as far back as the 1960s.
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Although rugby was well organised in
Bulgaria during the 1960s, the first international was not until 1976, when
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However, in more recent times, the spirit of
Bulgarian rugby has been applauded by none other than
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Although
Bulgaria's women have not yet played test match rugby, they have been playing
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137:(IRB) as of 8 October 2007. There are 3,026 Bulgarian rugby players.
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is a minor but growing sport. Bulgaria is ranked 90th worldwide by the
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The
Cambridge Encyclopedia of Russia and the former Soviet Union
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ed. Brown, Archie; Kaser, Michael & Smith, Gerald S.
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638:in Starmer-Smith, Nigel & Robertson, Ian (eds)
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31:
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385:Divi Ihtimanski Kotki "Wild Cats of Ihtiman" (
1116:
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8:
416:Vulchedrumski Tigri "Tigers of Vulchedrum" (
218:of Bulgarians who absolutely love our sport.
157:Bulgarian rugby is centred on the capital,
145:Rugby union in Bulgaria is governed by the
1123:
1109:
1101:
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705:
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497:Bulgaria Women's national rugby 7s team
1138:affiliated nations not present in the
556:"International Rugby Board - BULGARIA"
28:
7:
25:
18:History of rugby union in Bulgaria
598:Official Bulgaria Playing Numbers
503:Murphy`s Misfits Rugby Club Sofia
513:Information on Rugby in Bulgaria
491:Bulgaria national rugby U18 team
1171:Arab states of the Persian Gulf
485:Bulgaria national rugby 7s team
1:
640:The Whitbread Rugby World '89
523:"Rugby Europe" Bulgaria page
479:Bulgaria national rugby team
149:, which was formed in 1962.
1583:St Vincent & Grenadines
580:Official IRB World Rankings
531:Archives du Rugby: Bulgarie
518:"World Rugby" Bulgaria page
374:Other clubs include :
247:Bulgaria as a national side
1728:
665:Cambridge University Press
615:The Complete Book of Rugby
508:Bulgarian Rugby Federation
475:Сайтът за Ръгби в България
378:Chimik "Chemical Worker" (
256:The main clubs are :
231:international sevens rugby
147:Bulgarian Rugby Federation
50:Bulgarian Rugby Federation
179:nightmares... is to have
135:International Rugby Board
101:
235:(Current playing record)
1712:Rugby union in Bulgaria
302:National Sports Academy
187:refereed by a Soviet."
112:IRB Sevens World Series
32:Rugby union in Bulgaria
1226:British Virgin Islands
1211:Bosnia and Herzegovina
777:Bosnia and Herzegovina
728:Rugby union in Europe
617:(Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997
108:Rugby World Cup Sevens
1662:Former states without
1623:Trinidad & Tobago
642:(Lennard Books, 1988
451:Orlite "The Eagles" (
224:
96:National competitions
1664:World Cup experience
1149:World Cup experience
613:Bath, Richard (ed.)
499:Fixtures and Results
493:Fixtures and Results
487:Fixtures and Results
481:Fixtures and Results
280:"The Steamrollers" (
116:European Nations Cup
1013:States with limited
689:article, April 2007
1147:Third tier without
585:2006-11-03 at the
78:Registered players
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671:, England, 1994;
473:RugbyBulgaria.com
274:social rugby team
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16:(Redirected from
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1508:Papua New Guinea
1322:French Polynesia
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562:on 2011-10-01
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1686:West Germany
1676:East Germany
1282:Cook Islands
1235:
1042:Transnistria
781:
684:
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636:Soviet Rugby
635:
634:Thau, Chris
630:
614:
593:
575:
564:. Retrieved
560:the original
550:
458:Chorni RFC (
432:Stara Zagora
420:/Valchedram)
373:
272:expatriates'
255:
244:
233:since 2003.
228:
216:
207:rugby great
202:
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144:
124:
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68:First played
26:
1598:Switzerland
1568:South Korea
1523:Philippines
1483:Netherlands
1136:World Rugby
1132:Rugby union
1080:Isle of Man
1015:recognition
972:Switzerland
907:Netherlands
528:(in French)
126:Rugby union
1691:Yugoslavia
1638:Uzbekistan
1443:Mauritania
1423:Madagascar
1413:Luxembourg
1393:Kyrgyzstan
1383:Kazakhstan
1287:Costa Rica
1186:Azerbaijan
942:San Marino
902:Montenegro
882:Luxembourg
862:Kazakhstan
762:Azerbaijan
663:(2nd Ed.,
566:2011-09-25
542:References
453:Svilengrad
418:Vulchedrum
399:Sportist (
380:Kostinbrod
354:Berkovitsa
278:Valyatzite
181:Yugoslavia
1648:Venezuela
1588:Swaziland
1578:St Lucia
1573:Sri Lanka
1548:Singapore
1448:Mauritius
1408:Lithuania
1353:Hong Kong
1070:Gibraltar
877:Lithuania
669:Cambridge
444:Spartak (
316:Lokomotiv
245:Although
1706:Category
1608:Thailand
1603:Tanzania
1558:Slovenia
1553:Slovakia
1513:Paraguay
1503:Pakistan
1468:Mongolia
1428:Malaysia
1324:(Tahiti)
1277:Colombia
1273:(Taiwan)
1251:Cameroon
1246:Cambodia
1236:Bulgaria
1216:Botswana
1196:Barbados
1090:Svalbard
1075:Guernsey
1022:Abkhazia
997:Scotland
957:Slovenia
952:Slovakia
927:Portugal
782:Bulgaria
583:Archived
427:, Sofia)
425:Nadezhda
409:Pastra (
392:Granit (
185:Bulgaria
183:playing
168:lost to
166:Bulgaria
130:Bulgaria
61:Bulgaria
40:Bulgaria
1643:Vanuatu
1633:Ukraine
1618:Tunisia
1538:Senegal
1488:Nigeria
1473:Morocco
1458:Moldova
1373:Jamaica
1358:Hungary
1328:Germany
1317:Finland
1312:Ecuador
1307:Denmark
1292:Croatia
1241:Burundi
1206:Bermuda
1201:Belgium
1191:Bahamas
1181:Austria
1176:Armenia
1166:Andorra
1156:Algeria
992:England
982:Ukraine
932:Romania
892:Moldova
847:Ireland
842:Iceland
837:Hungary
827:Germany
822:Georgia
812:Finland
807:Estonia
802:Denmark
787:Croatia
772:Belgium
767:Belarus
757:Austria
752:Armenia
747:Andorra
742:Albania
679:), p493
650:), p 47
460:Breznik
439:Bourgas
437:Botev (
430:Beroe (
411:Petarch
387:Ihtiman
366:Gabrovo
290:Mercury
205:England
153:History
37:Country
1653:Zambia
1628:Uganda
1593:Sweden
1543:Serbia
1533:Rwanda
1528:Poland
1498:Norway
1463:Monaco
1453:Mexico
1403:Latvia
1378:Jordan
1368:Israel
1348:Guyana
1338:Greece
1297:Cyprus
1231:Brunei
1221:Brazil
1085:Jersey
1027:Kosovo
977:Turkey
967:Sweden
947:Serbia
937:Russia
922:Poland
917:Norway
897:Monaco
867:Latvia
852:Israel
832:Greece
817:France
792:Cyprus
675:
646:
621:
446:Pleven
394:Godech
362:Yantra
330:Levski
282:Pernik
1478:Nauru
1438:Malta
1418:Macau
1388:Kenya
1363:India
1333:Ghana
1266:China
1261:Chile
1060:Åland
1002:Wales
962:Spain
887:Malta
857:Italy
625:) p64
401:Svoge
344:Varna
340:Varna
334:Sofia
320:Sofia
306:Sofia
294:Sofia
270:- an
265:Sofia
241:Teams
159:Sofia
87:Clubs
82:3026
72:1950s
1681:USSR
1613:Togo
1518:Peru
1493:Niue
1433:Mali
1398:Laos
1343:Guam
673:ISBN
644:ISBN
619:ISBN
177:FIRA
1134:in
251:IRB
128:in
1708::
667:,
604:^
368:)
356:)
322:)
308:)
296:)
284:)
267:)
237:.
211::
172:.
161:.
90:36
1124:e
1117:t
1110:v
720:e
713:t
706:v
569:.
462:)
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448:)
441:)
434:)
413:)
403:)
396:)
389:)
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364:(
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20:)
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