Coach(es) Raul Vesga | Location Colombia | |
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Union Colombian Rugby Federation | ||
The Colombia national rugby union team represents Colombia in the sport of rugby union. The team is classified as a tier three nation by the International Rugby Board (IRB). They have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have participated in qualifying tournaments. Colombia made their debut against Ireland in 1996.
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History
Colombia attempted to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, participating in the Americas qualifying tournaments during November 2001. They contested matches in the Round 1 (South) group, against nations including Brazil, Venezuela and Peru in Round 1.
Colombia was involved in qualifying for the World Cup (France 2007) in 2004 when they contested Round 1b (CONSUR 2nd division). They finished fourth in the final standings which knocked them out of contention, though their fixtures against Peru and Venezuela were close, losing 15-10 and 27-31 respectively.
Rugby has little support by the government or media, as football (soccer) has a stronger tradition in the country. The Colombian rugby team is called Los Tucanes.
The team has competed in the B Division of the South American Rugby Championship since its second edition in 2001. It won the competition in 2009, and again, three times in a row in 2014, 2015 and 2016. However, there is no direct promotion to the A Division; to win promotion it must beat the lowest-place team in the A Division in a playoff.
World Cup record
Current Squad
The following squad was selected to play the 2015 South American Rugby Championship repechage against Brazil.
Head Coach: Raul Vesga