Foro Rugby El Salvador

A new central European club competition designed to fill the gap between Rugby Europe’s Super Cup and the domestic leagues of the five countries involved will launch in Frankfurt next month.

Ascent Rugby will involve seven teams

Germany SC Frankfurt 1880
Germany Adler XV
Netherland The Dukes
Netherland RC Eemland)
Chequia RC Tatra Smíchov)
Poland (Pogo Siedlce)
Belgium (Boitsfort Rugby Club).

SC Frankfurt 1880, one of the oldest clubs in Europe, will host the first festival-style event, which will see six teams compete at one location on a single day (August 22), with the second taking place a week later at Den Bosch in the Netherlands, hosted by The Dukes.

Ascent Rugby is the brainchild of four Germans – Rugby Bundesliga boss Niko Colic, Henry Blunck and former German internationals Timo Vollenkemper and Felix Lammers.

Explaining the motivation behind the initiative, Blunck said: “SC Frankfurt were dominating rugby in Germany and they were desperately looking for new challenges, and after listening to them carefully and trying to understand their needs, we identified there were more clubs like them in neighbouring countries.

“What is being offered by Rugby Europe (the Super Cup) is too far away for them at the moment, so they needed something in between that and their domestic leagues, to enable players to play at a higher level.”

Ascent Rugby has a long-term vision to play more festivals and increase the number of participating clubs, as well as potentially expanding its borders, with organisers of another league said to be interested in potentially setting up a satellite series.

Que buena iniciativa, están los países que han caído en el olvido después de no clasificar al Mundial. Sigo creyendo que parte de nuestro futuro va en que los equipos de Rugby Europe suban el nivel y atraigan más espectadores, sponsors… Desgraciadamente, desde la RFER no van por esa línea.

Tampoco es que saque esto de pobres a nadie. Es un formato de festivales casi de pretemporada, sin apoyo de las federaciones, ni mucho menos World Rugby. De hecho me consta que a alguna de las federaciones cuyos clubes están implicados todo esto les ha pillado a contrapié.

Lo aplaudo porque siempre digo que no todo pueden ser exigencias a la federación y bienvenida sea la iniciativa privada, pero no nos engañemos, no es una plataforma para aspirar a tener un día una liga profesional o subir el nivel de las selecciones.