Hungary national rugby union team
The Hungary national rugby union team is governed by the Hungarian Rugby Union. They have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup, although they have entered qualifiers for all the tournaments from the 1995 edition onwards. They compete annually in the European Nations Cup, currently in Division 2C.
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| Union | Hungarian Rugby Union | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Gareth Lloyd | ||
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| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 64 (as of 23 November 2020) | ||
| First international | |||
 Hungary 3 – 7 East Germany  (1990) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Hungary 56 – 8 Bosnia and Herz.  (24 September 2005) Hungary 53 – 5 Estonia  (1 October 2016) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Czech Republic 64 – 0 Hungary (12 October 2019) | |||
The national side is ranked 68th in the world (as of 29 July 2019).[1]
History
Hungary played their first official match against East Germany in Érd in 1990, losing 3–7, but they played a number of unofficial matches prior to this, mainly against a likewise unofficial Austrian team, including a match in Győr on 1 May 1983.[2]
Hungary first entered the qualifiers for the 1995 World Cup in 1993, being at the wrong end of an 8–67 scoreline against Israel. Things went better in the 1999 qualifying rounds, where they beat Lithuania and Luxembourg, but lost to Andorra and Sweden.
In the 2003 qualifiers, they won against Andorra and Bulgaria, but lost to Bosnia, Yugoslavia (as Serbia was then still known), and Switzerland. The 2007 qualifying was their worst performance to date, losing all four matches played, including a 9–63 thumping by Spain.
Current squad
Squad to 2014 European Nations Cup - Division 2D.[3]
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Strip
The badge on the shirt derives from the Csodaszarvas, a mythological stag that led the ancient Hungarian people to the Pannonian Basin.
In the Austria match of 1983, they played in presumably white jerseys with either a black or dark green hoop, black shorts, and either black or dark green socks with white tops. After the MRgSz was established, the team reverted to the flag colors of red, white, and green, with the current strip consisting of red shirts and shorts and green socks.
Grounds
Hungary plays at various football stadiums, since there are currently no rugby-specific venues in the country. Venues that have been used include the Széktói Stadion, Kecskemét and Dunaferr Arena, Dunaújváros.
Record
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andorra | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25% |
 Armenia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Austria | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 63.64% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75% |
 Bulgaria | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Croatia | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0% |
 Cyprus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Denmark | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
| East Germany | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Israel | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.3% |
 Latvia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
 Lithuania | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33.33% |
 Luxembourg | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Malta | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Moldova | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
 Monaco | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Norway | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Serbia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
 Slovenia | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40% |
 Spain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Ukraine | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Total | 71 | 29 | 42 | 0 | 40.85% |
References
- https://www.world.rugby/rankings/mru?lang=en
- Team photo vs Austria in 1983 Included in the photo are current MRgSz Honorary President Lajos Vida-Szűcs and current national team manager and president of Esztergomi Vitézek András Neuzer.
- http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/matches/match=13794/index.html Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Magyar Rögbi Szövetség
- Hungary at RugbyData.com – Statistics and results
- Hungary's rugbyhistory in photos and scanned documents from the beginnings in 1968. A continuously expanding archive in chronological order. It is mostly in Hungarian, still easy to follow the relevant events – including the national side games.
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