Rugby and Turks

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Former Broncos and Warriors winger Denan Kemp is probably the only Rugby player known to have some Turkish background. Although Rugby is perhaps one of the most loved sports among Turkish Australians, nothing beats the love of Soccer; soccer from Turkish homeland. Australian-Turkish kids from age 1 are encouraged to support their parents' (most likely their fathers') favorite soccer team; either Galatasaray, Fenerbahce or Besiktas, very rarely Trabszonspor (unless you have some Black Sea heritage). And then comes the grandparents' team; which is usually a smaller club representing your ancestry. If you are from Denizli or Kayseri, your second team would be Denizlispor or Kayseri respectively.

The first contact of Turks with Rugby took place during WWI thanks to the ANZAC soldiers at Gallipoli.Australian and New Zealand Army soldiers are known to play rugby on Turkish soil. Turks first contact with modern football (soccer) also came around that time (beginning of 20th century, thanks to Galatasaray, found in 1905). Galatasaray's players fought againist ANZACs at Gallipoli while Fenerbahce players beat Invading British and French army teams in Istanbul during the period.

Since that time Turks built a national team that enjoyed 3rd spot in the World Cup (2002),3rd spot in the Confederations Cup (2004), 3rd spot in the European Championship (2006) and Galatasaray won 2 European thropies; UEFA Cup in 1999 and Super Cup in 2000. However things were not as exciting at Rugby level.

There were university teams, playing American style grid-iron in Ankara at Bilkent and Baskent Universities during 1990s however these were perceived as "spoiled rich kids wanting to play an American sport (or bringing the sport with them after a visit to US)". This perceiption did not help either. The university rugby league is still popular among a small fraction of elite universities. According to Today's Zaman, Turkey’s first rugby team, the Istanbul Ottomans was founded in 1999 by Marc Mercier, Dennis Ponds de Vier (both French expats)and Chris Skirrow. Its initial games were against foreign teams until more Turkey-based teams sprung up and the league was born in 2007.

The Ottomans were soon followed by the Girne Pumas (based in Northern Cyprus), Kadiköy Rugby, Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) Rugby -- the reigning champion -– and Bakirköy Rugby, among others. According to Turkish Rugby Federation Secretary-General Metin Ejder, the Rugby Federation is a brand new development, as rugby was governed by the Turkish Federation for Baseball, Softball, American Football and Rugby (TBSF) until this year.

The young federation is not yet affiliated with the International Rugby Board (IRB), although they recently applied to become a member of the Dublin-based organization and expect to receive a response in October. Ejder said the national rugby team was founded in 2009 and recently signed a new coach, Irishman Niall Doherty, who previously led the Greek national team.“We are going to meet in France this October,” he said. “There we are going to gather those who play rugby abroad and make our national team, making selections from the Turkish athletes who play outside of the country. Also, 14 rugby teams participated in the Istanbul Sevens Tournament and there were also many Turks who came to that, too. They told us they wanted to play [so we can also select from them],” he added.

In addition to the new federation, Turkish rugby has in the past few years begun to organize international competitions. The second annual Istanbul Rugby Sevens tournament was held on May 14-15. The Kusadasi Eagles also host an annual rugby tournament open to Turkish and international teams. Things are starting to look up for Turkish rugby, although it has been slow to take root in the country, it is slowly coming together and connecting to the international rugby world.

After the newly created Turkish Rugby Federation becomes a member of the IRB, the nation will be eligible to participate in official international competitions. The team’s goal is to enter the 2016 Olympic Games, while an IRB membership will allow them to enter qualifying for the World Cup. Although Turkey is late in getting into the sport, we may soon see the Turks compete in the Olympics and, in four or eight years, perhaps even the World Cup along side the like of Georgia, Romania and Greece.

Perhaps one day, we will be seeing Aussie rugby players (most likely with Turkish ancestry) play in Turkish league. After all, the country has been a hotspot for Aussie soccer players such as Harry Kewell, Lucas Neill, Mile Jedinak, Bruce Djite, James Troisi, Josip Skoko, Aussie-Turks Ersan Gulum, Tanser Baser and Ufuk Talay for years. We keep dreaming.