Rugby heads towards its debut next month in Conference League

Gibraltar plays an international friendly at Chiswick this coming weekend against recently promoted Malta, ahead of Gibraltar’s debut in the Rugby Europe Conference League.
This weekend’s match, which has received considerable publicity on Gibraltar Rugby’s social media, comes as Gibraltar prepares for its October 17 encounter against Cyprus. This will be the senior international team’s debut in Rugby Europe competitions, as well as its first official full competitive home match.
October 17 will mark what will be a historic day for the sport after a decade and a half of battling to obtain membership of Rugby Europe, with the prospect of entering World Rugby following what will essentially be a two-year probationary period, during which the sport must prove itself capable of meeting the demands set by the world governing body.
The Gibraltar rugby season started in earnest over the past few weeks. However, it is with some surprise that, while the association has promoted its fixtures for September and launched its new logo, it has yet to make public the fixture schedule for the Conference League. This was published in early September by this newspaper, sourced from Rugby Europe.
Search for a mention of Gibraltar Rugby’s debut match in the Rugby Europe Conference League in October and you will find it hard to find, unless, of course, you go into the Rugby Europe website, carry out a Google search or read our newspaper, where it has already featured in early September.
Gibraltar will play Cyprus on the Rock on October 17, according to Rugby Europe’s fixture lists, with a 4pm kick-off. The match is expected to be played at Europa Sports Stadium, with Lathbury unable to host international rugby matches due to its dimensions. However, one of the key issues arising is already the controversy over the pitch markings.
Scheduled to be played five days before Lincoln Red Imps host Twente on October 22 in the league phase of the Conference League, the pitch-marking dilemma will once again rear its head.
This newspaper understands that rugby officials have been informed of the requirement for pitch markings for such an international match and advised that the match cannot be rescheduled without a hefty sanction being imposed, with the subsequent consequences of seeing their debut marred.
With just weeks to go before Gibraltar’s debut, there is nothing to indicate that there will be a problem on the day. However, with rugby sharing facilities with football and fixture congestion a reality, the concerns within Gibraltar Rugby continue to be real following the incident during the Sweden international friendly, which was organised prior to Gibraltar’s entry into Rugby Europe.
This weekend, Gibraltar Rugby will, however, have few problems with their match being played in Chiswick against Malta.
The match will serve as preparation for what will be Gibraltar’s first full season in Rugby Europe, with the fixture lists for the Trophy and Conference already known.
Gibraltar will play Cyprus in its first encounter, with the schedule published by Rugby Europe seeing Gibraltar host Cyprus on October 17.
Gibraltar will then have to wait until January 16 for its next match, which will see another home encounter, this time against Andorra. The January fixture at present shows no clashes with either international football matches or Conference League matches.
Gibraltar will then head to Israel for an April 3 away match, although no venue had been confirmed at the time of publishing. The recent global political situation, alongside Britain’s stance over the Gaza conflict, already adds another layer of concerns into the mix which Gibraltar Rugby will need to navigate through.
The realities of membership in Rugby Europe are emerging all too real from the start, with the sport now needing to show that it is ready for the challenge.
Whilst Gibraltar Rugby will this weekend celebrate another big moment as it faces Malta, it will be October 17 where it will be looking to make history with its international competitive debut, in front of its own home fans.