Rugby Europe is the new administrative body for rugby union in Europe. After FIRA-AER General assembly in Split on June 21st ... all members agreed to this new name and brand for rugby in Europe. FIRA-AER was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organize and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of the International Rugby Board (the world governing body of rugby union). The predecessor to FIRA–AER was the Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur (FIRA). FIRA was formed in 1934 to promote, develop, organise and administer the game of rugby union in Europe outside the authority of the International Rugby Football Board (as the International Rugby Board was then called), and quickly came to spread outside the continent. FIRA agreed to come under the auspices of the IRB in the 1990s, changed its name and returned to being a European body. read more