English clubs are helping Latvia find their feet in international rugby.
London Scottish, Rosslyn Park and Amersham & Chiltern Vets have all visited the Baltic state – currently 59th in the IRB World Rankings – in the past year.
Touring sides a vital for the growth of the rugby in the region, providing opposition for club sides and cash for the governing body. Profits from the trips run by one company, Baltic Adventures, go directly to the Latvian Rugby Federation.
The most recent side to head for the former Soviet state were London Scottish, whose Extra B side visited Riga in May.
Scottish distributed much-needed kit and equipment to teams before defeating Riga Premiership side Remus 1964 49-26 and Valmiera 32-12.
LRF spokesman Maris Zeltins said: "With so few rugby clubs in Latvia, we rely on touring sides to provide credible opposition in order help raise skill levels.”
The tour organisers believe the Latvia will continue to grow in popularity as a rugby destination.
“It’s a good level of rugby for club sides, a completely new destination for teams to tour and it’s excellent value for money,” said Baltic Adventures’ Julian Tall.
“Riga’s the party capital of the Baltic and the people there are very receptive to guys going over there to play.”
The Latvian season runs from May to September but sides who want to sample a more unique form of the game can head for the Baltic early next year.
“Our next project is a Snow Rugby tournament for 10-a-side teams in February,” said Tall.
“We’re hoping to attract five or six teams from the UK to take part and it should be a very social competition.”
