Copacabana Receives Brazil's First Permanent Beach Rugby Field

Seeking to "increase the popularity of rugby even further in Brazil," World Rugby and the Brazilian Rugby Federation (CBRu) inaugurated on Wednesday the country's first beach rugby field in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, according to Flávio Dilascio of GLOBO ESPORTE. World Rugby Chair Bernard Lapasset said that the inauguration of the first permanent beach rugby field in Brazil was a "historic moment for the sport." Lapasset: "Copacabana is a fantastic place, one of the most special beaches in the world. From this standpoint, it was perfect for this historic moment. Not to mention that we are one year away from the Olympics, which reinforces even more the promotion of rugby in Brazil." CBRu President Sami Arap "revealed that the governing body plans to use the Copacabana field to develop social projects and rugby activities together with tourists and residents." Arap said, "What we want the most is that the rugby numbers continue to grow. And with quality" (GLOBO ESPORTE, 6/24).