History

Rugby Football had always been discussed in great depth snd with considerable passion in the bars of Limassol, but had not been easy to participate in either as a player or spectator.

This all changed dramatically late in 2003 during a discussion fuelled by the Rugby World Cup. The outcome was to form a team in Limassol similar to the already up and running in Paphos.

Information went out initially by “word of mouth” for anyone wishing to train and play or purely to support. What took everyone by surprise was the scale and enthusiasm of the response – Limassol Crusaders RFC was born and has kept on growing. The first squad was made up of a mixture of older (ex!) players, young enthusiast and some very intrigued locals.

Training commenced on a dark night behind the goal at one of the local soccer clubs and them moved to training on Limassol beach before a pitch was secured in the hills above Limassol.

February 2004 brought our first competitive fixture against Paphos in borrowed kit and white balls flown in from the UK by friends traveling home. Although we were soundly beaten enthusiasm did not diminish.

Since then the Crusaders have gone from strength to strength, playing in island league. We have hosted several touring teams from the UK, Holland, Palestine and are keen to welcome trams from anywhere in the rugby world. In 2009 the 1st XV toured to Cairo and the junior team went to Athens. In 2012 the crusaders headed off to Rome on a very successful tour and in 2015 joined the Warsaw Rugby tournament winning the “Best Touring Side” and “Heineken Cup” Trophies.
Since then the club has made of touring a tradition repeating every year.

Several Limassol players have gone on to play for Cyprus National team.