A “7th Nation” on the horizon?

Barcelona (CNA).- With the recent decision made by FC Barcelona and USAP Perpignan to play a Heineken Cup quarter-match on April 9^th in Barcelona, it is clear that rugby is gaining more and more adepts in Catalonia. 2011 is the centenary year of the first match ever played in Catalan rugby history and the sport seems to be on a winning streak. However, Barcelona City Hall’s prohibition of the traditional post-match “Third Half” and constant disagreements with local clubs may jeopardise the future of rugby in the city.

Step by step, rugby is starting to claim its own place on the competitive Catalan sports landscape. Today, there are more than 50 rugby clubs throughout Catalonia, and university teams keep getting stronger all the time. Even though the sport is still semi-professional in Catalonia, everything indicates that it will grow bigger and bigger in the years to come as interest in this sport has grown since the recognition of Rugby sevens and Rugby Union as Olympic sports. Catalan rugby is working hard to one day compete against the other Six Nations, just as Italy did in 2000.

One giant step has been made recently when FC Barcelona and USAP Perpignan presidents, Sandro Rosell and Paul Gozé agreed that Barça would support the Heineken Cup quarter-final match between USAP Perpignan and Toulon on April 9^th to be held in Barcelona’s Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium.  

This is the fifth time that USAP Perpignan has made it to the quarter-final and as this year Catalonia commemorates the centenary of the first match ever played here, the Olympic Stadium seemed the best way to pay tribute to what is still considered a minority sport in Spain.

Traditional “Third Half”, banned in Barcelona

Rugby is the only sport divided into three halves. Two 40-minute match halves and a social third half. The “Third Half” is the embodiment of all rugby traditions and is a tradition as old as the game itself. After a match, both teams put their differences aside, sing songs, comment on the match and share food and the odd beer.

The controversy began when the Barcelona City Hall expressed its concern that such a tradition did not represent any kind of sporting values. Furthermore, it prevented the CNPN Poblenou-Enginyers Rugby Team from celebrating a ‘third half’ after the match against Valencia RC Tecnidex on January 15^th. In a written statement, the Head of the Legal Services Department declared it was “not permitted to eat or drink inside public spaces” and in order to enforce the decision the police patrolled the field nearby.

This was the last straw for the six rugby clubs of the city. Outraged by the government’s “disregard for rugby and its tradition in the city” as CN-Poblenou trainer Gabriel Benet put it, representatives of all the clubs in Barcelona (CN Poblenou-Enginyers, FC Barcelona, Gotics Club, Club Esportiu Universitari, Barcelona Universitari Club, and Quimic Equip de Rugby) handed in a joint manifesto to the City Hall with several complaints. Among them, the main complaint was that there are only four rugby fields in Barcelona for six clubs. Furthermore, these clubs close at 10pm, do not open at weekends and are not subsidised. Therefore, clubs do not have enough money to replant the grass leading to the fields’ current shabby look. ‘We want to generate wealth to pay for our expenses’ Benet said ‘but if, for example, we want to use publicity banners, we have to pay a municipal canon’.

This struggle between Government and clubs jeopardises the future of an emerging sport like Catalan rugby. International newspapers like the Italian ‘La Repubblica’ have criticised this attitude towards the sport, and several rugby players from all over the world are coming to Barcelona to defend rugby against the decisions of the City Hall.

Promoting Rugby

One example of this resistance was the arrival of New Zealand’s rugby legend Jonah Lomu to Barcelona for the third edition of the Global Sports Forum held earlier this month. The former All Blacks player defended the importance of rugby in his life, as it showed him “real life values”, before comparing FC Barcelona to the All Blacks, both of which for him are ‘more than a team’.

Lomu, who used to be known as “The Speed” in his competition years, also gave a rugby master class for kids in Barcelona’s Polo Club. Surrounded by youngsters, he showed them how a proper ‘Haka’ is done (traditional Maori dance, performed before a rugby match), and emphasised the importance of ‘keeping the sport going’ in Catalonia. He also commented on his intention of moving to Barcelona to promote rugby in the city.

Rugby and the city

Rugby and Barcelona are not as far apart from each other as it may seem. The history of this sport in Barcelona is quite complex and goes back almost one hundred years. It was on May 21^st 1911 that the first match in Catalan history took place. It was not however the first in the Iberian Peninsula, as archives reveal a previous match between two freight ships from Liverpool and Gloucester in A Coruña, Galicia, on March of the same year. This first match paired RCD Espanyol Football Club against the Club Patrie, formed by French immigrants in Barcelona. This first encounter, held in Parc d’Sport Velòdrom, finished in a 0-7 defeat for the Catalan team.

In spite of the result, the match was quite successful, and interest was generated in the sport. Several years later, in April 1923, the official Espanyol Rugby Club was created. The first club in Spanish rugby history they wore the same kit as the football team. In order to celebrate the new-born club, another match against the Frenchmen was held. But even the thrill of a new team was no match for the Club Patrie’s skills. The match resulted 0-28, in favour of the French. There are rumours that a third match was held on June 5^th, that ended in a draw. Rugby, by this time, was quite popular in the city and could easily fill admittedly smaller stadiums. But then the Civil War came along, and Rugby had to go ‘underground’ once again.

To commemorate these events, next May 21^st, exactly one hundred years after the first match in Catalonia, Espanyol Rugby Club will face the Club Patrie for the fourth time. Maybe on this occasion, Catalan rugby will be able to show what it is capable of, and maybe one day it will have the honour of competing against the other six nations.