Rugby Europe General Secretary ‘Impressed’

(as published in print edition of Tuesday 9th September 2025)

by Stuart Green

‘I would be happy to hold high profile, international tournaments here in Gibraltar’ says the General Secretary of Rugby Europe 

In recent weeks, the officials of the Gibraltar Rugby Football Union have appeared in French courts where they have successfully challenged various barriers which were being placed in the way of the GRFU’s application for membership of Rugby Europe. The headquarters of Rugby Europe is in Paris.
As a result of this legal outcome, the General Secretary of Rugby Europe, Pavel Mysak, has paid a fact-finding visit to the Rock. 
‘And I have been really impressed with everything I’ve seen,’ said Pavel whose report will now be forwarded to the December meeting of Rugby Europe’s General Assembly. 
Rugby Europe is the governing body responsible for the promotion, development, administration and management of international competitions for the 48 member unions across Europe. At the top level are the ‘Six Nations’ of England, Scotland, France, Wales, Ireland and Italy, all of whom have hundreds of thousands of registered players whilst at the other extreme, small states such as San Marino, Kosovo, Monaco and Andorra may just have a few hundred members.  In recent years most member states have reported a significant growth in the number of women playing the game. 
‘There is still a massive potential for more interest in the women’s game,’ says Pavel. ‘As an example of this interest, in my city of Prague, the final of the Women’s World Cup on 20 September will be shown live on huge screens in the city centre.’ 
As Rugby Europe’s General Secretary, Pavel has an office at the organisation’s headquarters in Paris but this is only a part-time job for him. His main employment is as the Chief Executive Officer of the Czech Rugby Union which has around 5000 players and 1000 other officials such as referees, coaches and administrators. 
But, as a boy, Pavel had never heard of rugby.   
‘It was almost unknown in my part of the Czech Republic where ice hockey was the most popular sport. Then, after leaving university in 2012, I applied for a job at the Czech Rugby Union and, despite never having played rugby, I immediately became interested in the sport.   
‘I got the job without ever having played a game myself!’ 
He joined one of Prague’s seven clubs but an early  hamstring injury brought a premature end to his playing career. 
Which brings us to the question, why was he visiting Gibraltar? 
‘When any new federation applies for membership of Rugby Europe, the General Secretary has to visit the country to check all the documents provided by the local federation, to see the level of rugby activity, to observe the federation’s structure, to discuss the federation’s development plans and to inspect the facilities.
‘This year we have two applications for membership – from Gibraltar and from Greece – and I have already visited Greece and provided a report on that visit to the Rugby Europe’s Board of Directors. Then these two applications will be discussed at the General Assembly in December which will be attended by representatives of every member state.’ During his visit to Gibraltar, Pavel has been able to see many of the sporting venues on the Rock. 
‘I have been really impressed with all the excellent facilities in Gibraltar.  The Czech Rugby Union would be very jealous of everything you have here! The quality of the facilities is really amazing – we don’t have anything like it. In particular, we struggle to get any artificial pitches so we can’t play the whole year round like you can here. 
‘I believe that you are already able to host high profile international tournaments in Gibraltar.  Your administrators have a lot of organisational experience and your Government gives you lots of support.  For instance, in many of our smaller states, the rugby clubs have to pay every time they use the pitches and the changing rooms.  It is quite usual for a club to pay about 20,000 Euros every season just for the maintenance of the pitch.’ 
‘In general, I have been impressed, not only by your excellent facilities but by the quality and the motivation of the rugby administrators, despite some of the problems they have faced.’ 
‘And, of course, I see that, away from all these many administrative issues, you have around 400 men, women and children who just want to get on the pitch and play the game.  And that’s the most important thing.’ 
‘And I am looking forward to bringing a Czech team to Gibraltar and, in return, we would be delighted to host Gibraltar if you ever wish to play in my own country.’ 

Chad Thomson, the GRFU’s Chief Executive Officer said,
‘It’s been a real privilege to host Pavel over the past few days.  The knowledge and experience he shared from his roles as General Secretary of Rugby Europe and CEO of the Czech Rugby Union were invaluable for us as a Union.  His visit gave us a much clearer picture of the Rugby Europe processes we need to work through as we prepare for the General Assembly and of the planning and playing structures we’ll need to implement if the vote on our membership goes our way.  We need to be ready.
‘What really stood out though, was the reminder of just how many opportunities Rugby Europe membership could bring to the whole Gibraltar Rugby community if we are successful.  
‘Exciting times lie ahead!’