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UK 'unreserved' support for Gibraltar's international sports: first football, now rugby

Wednesday, November 27th 2013 - 10:12 UTC
Full article 22 comments

Britain’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Maria Miller, has pledged her ‘unreserved’ support Gibraltar’s international sporting ambitions. The backing for Gibraltar comes as the Gibraltar Rugby Football Union (GRFU) goes through the process of FIRA/AER (European Rugby Federation) membership after being previously rejected and blocked by Spain last July despite meeting the necessary criteria. Read full article

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  • Anglotino

    Step by step Gibraltar is slowly taking on more and more characteristics of a state.

    That is how you play the game and its the reason that Spain continuously bashes its head against the wall with infantile actions such as those recently.

    Gibraltar has been British for 300 years now but no one has helped to reinforce a truly Gibraltarian identity more than Spain in the past 50 years. Argentina does the same with the Falklands.

    You would think they would eventually realise that their actions are having the exact opposite effect than those they intend. But no, they keep repeating the same mistakes again and again and again.

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 10:26 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Be serious

    Would be great to watch Gibraltar thrash the Pumas.

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 10:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • aussie sunshine

    good luck to them but I hope they don´t go down 6-0 or 7-0 as they have done recently. At that rate they will be thrown out of the league before they started!!!

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 11:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • screenname

    ...and I can't see there being any provision to keep the rugby sides apart, as we have seen in football.

    #Madrid livid

    Chuckle Chuckle

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 12:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Anglotino

    Poor Aussie Sunshine! They may win, they may lose, but they are at least playing the game.

    No matter how much Spain tried to prevent it…. and ultimately FAILED!

    Just in case you missed it, SPAIN FAILED!

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 12:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Briton

    Cricket next .

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 12:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • reality check

    Spain. Not exactly what I would call a giant of the Rugby world.

    Last world cup 1999.

    P 3. L 3. F 18. A 122.

    Their best record is against Belgium and Germany.

    Even the RAF team have beaten them.

    Based on that, I would be willing to bet Gibraltar could give them a decent game.

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 01:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • malicious bloke

    Maybe right. Similar microstates (like Andorra) have disproportionately good rugby teams compared to their size. Maybe due to disillusionment with their football teams' inability to compete with bigger nations.

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 02:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Rufus

    @7 Hell, England Counties (a representitive side selected from the county championship, where players from the top two divisions are ineligible to play) put fifty points on them last year.

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 04:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • aussie sunshine

    *5 SPAIN HAS WON ALL THE LEGAL HURDLES THROWN AT IT BY PICARDO ..AND THERE IS MORE TO COME....

    even the opposition party in Gibraltar has said that they are losing the diplomatic war of words against Spain...

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 05:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • reality check

    Should have no problem getting the concrete blocks removed from their Conservation Zone then, should they?

    WOULD NOT HOLD MY BREATH IF I WERE YOU!

    Nov 27th, 2013 - 06:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • aussie sunshine

    *11 don´t worry those blocks will come out not by pulling shifty tricks like the British government has done with the diplomatic bag (childish act) but with the law on its side....

    Nov 28th, 2013 - 01:31 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Anglotino

    So it was diplomatic bag?

    Wish the Spanish would get their story straight. If so then the UK had the law on its side!

    Nov 28th, 2013 - 02:45 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Diddles

    Aussiec Sunshine, I guess you wouldn't be a Latino or a Spaniard by any chance? Perhaps a left wing ratbag to boot.

    Judging from your past silly comments on the Falkland Islands, I think you should follow your silly convictios and up stumps and go home to your former gloroius homeland.

    If you haven't noticed “fake” Aussie, Australia is still a very close friend to Britain, even more so under the current conservative Liberal Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. As a 5th generation Aussie myself, with I imagine far more fair dinkum deeper ancestral roots to this nation than yourself, I find your comments insulting to a fellow decent Commonwealth nation.

    Spain is in the deep economic poo poo, like good old Argentina, and for this reason its government is playing a game of distraction by playing the Gibralter card, as Argentina tries to play the Falkland card.

    As to recognition by the international cricket authorities, Gibralter has been an associate member of the ICC for many years and regularly pays in European competitions and has also played in a ICC trophy events in the past.

    Nov 28th, 2013 - 06:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Anglotino

    Seems everyone can spot Aussie Sunshine's fakeness!

    Nov 28th, 2013 - 11:40 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • malen

    Isnt that you dont mix politics with sports???
    Have been told by britons here in the case of an argie advertisment, I remember, very creative adv as we are.

    Nov 28th, 2013 - 11:45 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • aussie sunshine

    *15 hahaha!! That´s the only arguements you have if I am an aussie or not??!!
    hahaha silly wankers!!
    *14 who cares a shit if you are fifth or tenth generation aussie !! and if you find my comments insulting ..DON´T READ THEM.

    Nov 28th, 2013 - 12:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Anglotino

    Aussie Sunshine
    God knows how anyone can find you insulting!

    Hilarious yes!
    Simplistic yes!
    Uneducated yes!

    But not insulting…. oh guess we can add another one now…
    Deluded yes!

    Malen
    “Isnt that you dont mix politics with sports???”

    You just told off Spain! Good one. LOL

    Nov 28th, 2013 - 09:10 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • malen

    international sports organizations should not recoignize or give admittance to this kind of territories, its not their job, their responsability, these kind of territories, for their specific singularities, have their own sports games.

    Nov 28th, 2013 - 10:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Anglotino

    malen

    As per usual you have no idea what you are talking about.

    International sports organisations can admit whomever they wish as long as it is according to their rules.

    That is exactly THEIR job! What their job is NOT, is to adjudicate on false sovereignty claims.

    Nov 29th, 2013 - 03:00 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • aussie sunshine

    HAVE THEY WON ANY MATCHES YET!! JUST ASKING! :)

    Nov 29th, 2013 - 12:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Anglotino

    Asking or YELLING?

    Can you only compete if you win?

    Seems a little impossible IMHO - every sports league would eventually whittle down to having just have one team who sits around playing with itself (in both senses).

    Seems you need a team to lose to make sport worth watching.

    Nov 29th, 2013 - 09:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0

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