Rugbyfélag Reykjavíkur

Rugbyfélag Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík Raiders) is the first registered and officially recognized rugby team in Iceland, both with the Icelandic sport authority (The National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland) as well as Rugby Europe. The Raiders are situated in Reykjavík and have regular training sessions for both men and women as well as being active in raising rugby development and awareness in Iceland.

Rugbyfélag Reykjavíkur
Nickname(s)Reykjavík Raiders
Founded2010[1]
LocationReykjavík, Iceland
Ground(s)Safamýri, Kaplakriki
PresidentBirnir Orri Pétursson
Team kit

Their development program holds regular presentations in schools as well as hosting open introductory sessions for new players.

The Club fields both a 7s and a 15s team.

History

The club was founded in 2010 and competed for the first time in the Scandinavian Sevens in Copenhagen, Denmark in August of that year. This was the first time an Icelandic rugby team had played anywhere abroad. The Raiders have been regulars in Copenhagen ever since.

Sunday 3rd of July 2011, was an historic date for the development of rugby union in Iceland and a major milestone for the Reykjavík Raiders. This was the date of the first 15s match played by the club and the first ever match played on Icelandic soil. The game was played against the Thunderbird Old boys from Phoenix (Arizona) at the Valur sports complex in Reyjkavik. This was an important step for the Icelandic team that ended with an Icelandic win.

2013 Was an incredibly important year for the development of the Raiders club and rugby in Iceland. The Icelandic Exiles rugby team was created as a touring club for Icelandic and international players for occasions which did not warrant a full Raiders team. The Icelandic Exiles in their first years had players from Iceland, Ireland, Australia, the U.S. and Japan to name a few. The tour started in Canada before traveling by bus to the United States, playing six 15s games on the way before participating in the Vegas HSBC Invitational Rugby Tournament. Members of the Reykjavík Raiders have attended several tournaments since then under as the Exiles with players from all over the world. Also in 2013 The Icelandic National Rugby Team (which in those first several years was made entirely out of Raiders players) played its first official rugby 7s tournament. The FIRA-AER Rugby 7s tournament was held on Saturday the 1st of June in Riga, Latvia. The national team continued its participation in the FIRA-AER Rugby 7s tournament, remaining an active participant (as FIRA-AER became Rugby Europe) until the 2018 tournament in Estonia. After the 2018 tournament, Rugby Europe reshuffled the tournament organization following rugby 7s inauguration as an Olympic sport which resulted in several national teams (Iceland included) being cut from the tournament.

In later years the Reykjavík Raiders have continued to develop and have played regular international games both abroad and in Iceland. They are currently one of only three rugby clubs in Reykjavík.

During the Covid pandemic the club was not allowed to train for almost two years and as a result suffered a loss in registered members. Furthermore several key players and organizers moved abroad during this period which delayed the resurgence of the club. Since autumn of 2021 the Raiders have been fully active and developing in numbers and ambition, achieving full 15s team numbers in 2023 during which the Raiders played three matches against visiting international teams in Iceland.[2] Winning two out of three.[3][4]

Current squad

Current Squad (2024)
PlayerPositionHeightWeightDate of BirthCapsNationality
Alexandre PaumierProp1.85 m (6ft 5 in)105 kg (242 lb)01.06.19974 Luxembourg
André VenturaProp1.80 m (5ft 11 in)100 kg (286 lb)22.11.19940 Portugal
Florin-Robertino AlexaProp1.82 m (5ft 11 1⁄2 in)103 kg (227 lb)27.01.19795 Romania
Kristján WalesHooker1.80 m (5ft 11 in)110 kg (225 lb)16.04.19976 Iceland
Daníel ÁrnasonHooker1.79 m (5ft 10 1⁄2 in)99 kg (218 lb)28.01.20010 Iceland
Höskuldur SylvainHooker1.70 m (5ft 7 in)98 kg (216 lb)20.09.198521 Iceland
Birnir PéturssonLock1.95 m (6ft 5 in)118 kg (260 lb)25.06.198546 Iceland
Þorkell GuðnasonLock1.95 m (6ft 5 in)135 kg (297 lb)21.03.198721 Iceland
Orri ViðarssonLock1.98 m (6ft 6 in)118 kg (266 lb)01.03.199418 Iceland
Michael NestorLock1.95 m (6ft 5 in)100 kg (220 lb)20.05.19962 Ireland
Thomas CloganLoose Forward1.94 m (6ft 4 1⁄2 in)110 kg (242 lb)15.02.19875 USA
Björn LermLoose Forward1.88 m (6ft 2 in)95 kg (242 lb)07.07.19962 South Africa
Henning SørensenLoose Forward1.88 m (6ft 2 in)97 kg (213 lb)26.04.197916 Denmark
Radosław JasińskiLoose Forward1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)103 kg (227 lb)22.10.19883 Poland
Sean WalesLoose Forward1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)90 kg (200 lb)06.05.20042 Uganda
Antoine CordierScrum-half1.80 m (5ft 11 in )83 kg (182 lb)14.12.19856 France
Christopher LongScrum-half1.73 m (5ft 8 in)76 kg (167 lb)18.12.19941 Scotland
Romain LasseurFly-half1.72 m (5ft 8 ¾ in)78 kg (171 lb)11.04.19934 France
Phillip Kendrick (C)Fly-half1.73 m (5ft 8 in)108 kg (242 lb)13.05.198118 Wales
Heiðar HeiðarsonCentre1.81 m (5ft 11 1⁄2 in)93 kg (205 lb)19.09.197324 Iceland
Martin NizonCentre1.83 m (6ft)80 kg (176 lb)29.10.20020 France
Ágúst ÁgústssonCentre1.80 m (5ft 11 in)88 kg (194 lb)16.11.20014 Iceland
Ruairi HanlonCentre1.79 m (5ft 10 1⁄2 in)80 kg (99 lb)21.09.20050 Ireland
Thejus VenkateshWing1.75 m (5ft 9 in)75 kg (165 lb)14.05.19955 India
Áki Jarl LárusonWing1.77 m (5ft 9 1⁄2 in)87 kg (191 lb)25.11.19854 Iceland
Sebastían SigurðarsonWing1.85 m (6ft 1 in)82 kg (181 lb)17.03.20010 Iceland
Egill HelgasonFull-back1.90 m (6ft 3 in)80 kg (176 lb)04.04.20013 Iceland
Guillaume JansonFull-back1.84 m (6ft ¼ in)84 kg (185 lb)01.07.19912 France
Staff
NamePosition
Birnir PéturssonClub President
Phillip KendrickHead Coach
Kristján WalesStrength and Conditioning Coach
Cécile DargentolleAssistant Coach (Backline)
Thomas CloganeAssistant Coach (Forwards)
Didier RoulinLogistics Manager
Fearghus OmaitiuTeam Physiotherapist
Höskuldur DutilhEvent Manager
Tómas Gunnar TómassonDisciplinary Advisor

References

  1. Iceland comes in from the cold
  2. Fréttir, Innlendar. "Hressilegt Rugby í rigningunni". MBL. MBL. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. Ástvaldsson, Jóhann Páll. "Íslendingum fjölgar í Rugby-félagi Reykjavíkur". RUV. RUV. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  4. "Lögðu frönsku sjóliðana að velli". MBL. MBL. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
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