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Rugby union in the Isle of Man
The 1888 British Isles side including Manx player A.P. Penketh
Country	Isle of Man
Governing body	Rugby Football Union
National team(s)	Isle of Man
First played	late 19th century
Clubs	6

Rugby union in the Isle of Man is a popular sport. It has no national competitive side of its own, and is not affiliated to the IRB in its own right. For this reason, it has no IRB ranking.

Governing body

Rugby Union is played in the Isle of Man under the auspices of the Cheshire Rugby Football Union which is affiliated to the (English) Rugby Football Union. The sport is organised and operated by a Manx Executive Committee which is a sub-committee of Cheshire RFU.The Isle of Man is politically neither part of the UK nor of England, but Manx rugby has a relationship with English rugby.

History

Due to its proximity to England, and the major rugby nations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Manx rugby is amongst the oldest in the world, dating back to the mid 19th century. King William's College, the island's best known private school took the game up early and it is still one of the school's main sports, and a number of other Manx schools also play, such as Castle Rushen High School, Ramsey Grammar School. The Manx Government also funds a full-time rugby development officer.

An early club was Mona RFC, which is now defunct.

There are a number of rugby union clubs within the island that contest the domestic competitions the Manx Shield and the Manx Cup. Reigning Shield Champions are Douglas Rugby Club with the Manx Cup yet to be decided. Other clubs include Castletown Rugby Club, Ramsey Rugby Club, Southern Nomads Rugby Club, Vagabonds Rugby Club and Western Vikings R.U.F.C

There is also a London Manx RFC side.

Ramsey Rugby Club, Douglas Rugby Club and Vagabonds Rugby Club all had teams participating in the English Clubs Championship until 2020. At levels 8 & 9 of the structure there were insufficient teams to run a worthwhile league system. Ramsey & Vagabonds were therefore back in domestic competition only. Douglas and Vagabonds Ladies fell victims to the COVID-19 pandemic and are in a similar position.

Like many small islands, the Isle of Man has a population problem. The main sport is association football, and the national population is under 80,000.

As yet, the Isle of Man has fielded a national team only on a sporadic basis.

Notable players connected with the Isle of Man

The following are notable Manx rugby union players, or people with a connection to the island.

• G.A.M. Isherwood, British Lions player, attended Ramsey Grammar School, but was born and spent most of his life in England... for which he was strangely never selected.
• A.P. Penketh, of Douglas RC, who took part in the first 1888 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia
• Doug Davies, 24 caps for Scotland, died in Peel.
• Neil Bennett, played for England, born in Ramsey.
• Douglas Bader, better known as a flying ace, spent the first two years of his life in the IOM.
• Bevan Rodd, England player, born in Scotland, who grew up in the Isle of Man

Broadcast media

The Isle of Man has no television of its own, but does have its own radio station. However, British and Irish television can both be received on the island, and often include extensive rugby coverage - such as the Rugby World Cup and Six Nations Championship

Teams

• Castletown R.U.F.C.
• Douglas R.U.F.C.
• Ramsey R.U.F.C.
• Southern Nomads R.U.F.C.
• Vagabonds R.U.F.C.
• Western Vikings R.U.F.C.

References

1. Isle of Man Government website Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
2. "International Baccalaureate - King William's College". Archived from the original on 15 December 2008.
3. "A boost for Manx rugby - Isle of Man Government -". Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.
4. http://www.isle-of-man.com/cgi-bin/interests/genealogy/bulletin/index.pl?noframes;read=500947
5. "Herts Rugby - London ManxRFC". Archived from the original on 29 January 2005.
6. "Regional Rugby to fully restart in October".
7. Sporting Honours : Old Alleynians from the 1910 yearbook Page 245/395 Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
8. Griffiths, John (1990). British Lions. Swindon: Crowood Press. ISBN 1852235411
9. "Douglas S. Davies". ESPNscrum.

External links

• Manx Rugby Football Union
• Manx Rugby (Commonwealth Games)
• BBC's Manx sports page
• Dave Christian (10 April 2008). "Manx rugby's league season comes to a close". IOM Today. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010.
• http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-171460343.html
• Sale Sharks To Stage Rugby Camps For Manx Children
• RFU launch Manx learning courses
• Western Vikings RUFC

• Rugby union in the Isle of Man
• Sport in the Isle of Man