Rugby in Espaeria

## Early history and the St James Rugby Championship

It is thought that rugby was first introduced to Espaeria in 1274, in the state of St James. The game became popular over the next centuries but was never made into a professional sport until 1982, when Peregwyn Fortress won the first Espaeria Cup of the professional era. Early versions of the game would regularly have hospital trips for multiple players. The game began to grow around 3 BE, when St James founded the St James Rugby Championship, the first professional rugby competition in Espaeria. The first season was won by the Sharks in a 20-19 win against the Knights in the final. This season was not televised, but large stadiums were constructed throughout St James. The next two seasons were increasingly popular, and sponsorship was gained, with the Sharks being sponsored by St James Motor Yachts, and the Knights being sponsored by Knight Shipping.

The full team list is as follows:

Sharks

Flumdos Knights

Gladiators

Bulls

Northeast Village

New Jamesville

Settlers RFC

St James County

Sailors

Magnapor Moon-eyes

James City

Matthew’s Palace RFC

Beasts

Martyrs

Foresters

The two reserve teams are:

Magnapornstars RFC (Owned by Martin Day)

Unblind Church RFC (Owned by the Unblind Church)

## Espaerian Premiership Rugby

When Espaeria united in 1 E, a new competition was founded, known as Espaerian Premiership Rugby. 14 teams would compete, and, like the St James Rugby Championship, there would be a league structure and at the end of the season there would be playoffs and a final for the top 4. The bottom two teams are relegated at the end of each season.

The current team list is as follows:

Sharks

Knights

MiddleHundon County

Hundon National

Chickens

Eggs

Richard's Rioters

Looting Clan

Otters

Saints

Dragons

Sheep

Darkkeep Counts

Darkkeep Paladins

## Espaeria Cup

As well as Espaerian Premiership Rugby, each state is asked to make a team of their best players at the end of every 4 years. These teams compete in the Espaeria Cup. It follows the same system as the other two competitions, but without relegation. The competition is hosted at different states every time, with the 2022 event being hosted in St James.

Every four years, each state competes in the Espaeria Cup. This competition has pool stages, leading to quarter finals, then semi-finals, then finals. The winning team goes on to play the Great Auks twice in their four year time period as number 1.

## The ERU

The ERU is the committee that controls rugby in Espaeria. Based in St James, the Espaerian Rugby Union is a subsection of the Espaerian Sporting Committee and is responsible for all Espaerian rugby. The ERU is popular by fans for its tough approach to biased refereeing.

## Sponsorship

Throughout all the competitions, there has been high levels of sponsorship. Sponsorship of teams, such as St James Motor Yachts sponsoring the Sharks, has become increasingly popular. Even state teams are sponsored, for example St James is sponsored by SJC (St James Corporation), Naridia is sponsored by NTN, and Westermere is sponsored by McMuhammad’s. Regulation around sponsorship means that some companies have been banned from sponsoring after corruption or crimes are committed by them, such as St James Separatist Corporation. NTN bought broadcasting rights for all three main competitions and often interviews players. The national team is sponsored by the Espaerian Times News Company (ETNC).

## The Great Auks

The national team of Espaeria is known as the Great Auks. It is made up of the best players in Espaeria, who are picked by the head coach. Selection can be made from any team in Espaeria, for example there are 3 players who play in the St James Rugby Championship and not EPR. The team then tours Espaeria once every 4 years, playing the top 3 club teams of each state, as well as each state. The team is made up of a squad of 33 players.

Team as of Espaeria tour of Naridia

Head coach: Rassie Erasmus

First 15:

1  Randy Wango (Knights)

2 Elliot Darwin (Darkkeep Counts)

3 (Darkkeep Paladins)

4 Eben Ezebeth (Sharks)

5 (Otters)

6 Frank Peters (Hundon National)

7 Henry Chase (Sharks)

8 Martin Day (Magnapor RFC)

9 Marty Clipner (Knights)

10 Sir Luke James (Captain) (Sharks)

11 President Joe (MiddleHundon County)

12 Frans Steyn (Sharks)

13 Thomas Jones (Dragons)

14 (Eggs)

15 Gareth Jones (Sheep)

Substitutes

16 Jim McDonald (James City RFC)

17 Ahmed McMuhammad (Saints)

18 Gary Knowles (Otters)

19 Tom Jones (Dragons)

20 Romain Le Roux (Chickens)

21 Ben Forbes (Hundon National)

22 Elliot Katana (Eggs)

23 President Emeritus Matthew (Matthew’s Palace RFC)

Reserves

Rafferty Kitchener (Sharks), Finley Artch (Knights), (Saints), Finn Northwood (Dragons), Morgan Harris (Sheep), Christian Holmes (Chickens), Rhys Wyn Jones (Sheep), Jimmy Baxley (Sharks), Mitchell Webb (Sharks), Jeremy Haywood (MiddleHundon County)

The Great Auks are sponsored by ETNC and are usually based at St James Park, but during tours the team often is based at a grassroots ground. The kit is Blue, Yellow, and White, and is updated every season. At the end of each year the Great Auks play the winners of EPR and the Espaeria Cup.

## Inter-state matches

Some states hold inter-state matches and competitions, such as the 3-State cup, which is played between St James, Palmania, and Hundon. The three states play each other twice and the winner receives the 3-State trophy.

### State teams

Each state has their own team and players are selected not from where they play, but where they are from. For example, President Joe plays for MiddleHundon County, but was born in St Mary’s, and so plays for St Mary’s. State teams are selected every year and they often play each other in friendly matches. State teams must have at least 33 players in them and must have their own facilities for training and home matches.