This page is also available in: Français (French)

Algeria in Avignon – On September 10th and 11th, Algeria flies away for the South of France. French-Algerian players, evolving in France, settled down in Avignon for the weekend for a training camp. This gathering was the opportunity for the quite new Algerian Rugby Union to detect the best elements and potentially select them to represent their country of origin in the future. It was also an opportunity for these players to ask for help and for advice as for their career plan. The Algerian Federation is indeed able to guide them, and it previously successfully did so with players such as Malik Hamadache (Top14) or Said Hireche (Top14). The good press coverage of the event also helped to motivate Algerian local players to improve their standards to be part of the future of Algerian rugby !

Players were hosted in the lovely city of Avignon, not far from Marseille or Montpellier. Practice sessions took place close by at Graveson on Saturday from 8am to 8 pm and on Sunday from 9:30 am to 11 am.

This training course for the U16 and U18 was the first of its kind to be organized by the Union which is focusing on the development of rugby. The choice of date was strategic as the championship will start on September 17th.

Besides this gathering, rugby is growing in Algeria.

Clubs are being created throughout the country. For now we count more than 18 clubs and we expect more than 25 clubs before the end of the year.

Today, the assessment is rather positive. Algeria is the biggest country of Africa and matches between clubs will be starting soon! The weak points for now seem to be the development of the women’s game which is currently lagging behind. However, there are many solutions being tried out to afford women an opportunity to play. The difference of technical levels is also a problem, three regions particularly stand out : Alger, Oran and M’Sila. While they are clearly ahead, other regions are still at initiation level.

To every problem, there is a solution and the Algerians remain confident for the future of rugby in the country. The objectives are plentiful, the participation to the Tri Nations 2016, the Africa Cup 1C in 2017, the Youth African Games in Alger in 2018 and the Mediterranean Games in Oran in 2021.