Bulgarian rugby is centred on the capital,
Sofia.[4]
Although rugby was well organised in Bulgaria during the 1960s, the first international was not until 1976, when
Bulgaria lost to
Czechoslovakia.[4]
Bulgarian rugby has not traditionally enjoyed a high reputation. For example, in 1988, an anonymous French rugby official joked that "one of the
FIRA nightmares... is to have
Yugoslavia playing
Bulgaria refereed by a Soviet."[5]
Rugby union like many other sports, was long to be connected in the public mind with the less savoury aspects of Communism:
"In fact, since the end of the Second World War, the East European (and world communist) sports system was dominated by clubs of the security forces (often in Eastern Europe bearing the Soviet name Dinamo) and the armed forces. Most sports heroes, therefore, have officially been soldiers or police officers, guardians of public order and role models for a disciplined, obedient and patriotic citizenry. So to many people, élite sport was identified with paramilitary coercion."[6]
However, in more recent times, the spirit of Bulgarian rugby has been applauded by none other than
England rugby great
Will Greenwood:
"In the end we beat Pernik in a hard-fought match that left us all with souvenirs of our trip. And while the bruises will fade, my memory of Bulgaria will not. On a national level they may be miles away from rugby recognition, but far from the spotlight and in among the old towns there are thousands of Bulgarians who absolutely love our sport."[7]
Although
Bulgaria as a national side are low in the
IRB rankings, Bulgaria has a long rugby tradition, and many of the country's clubs were formed as far back as the 1960s.