Former Stars to Help Out Croatia Rugby

Two past Rugby World Cup winners and a former All Black will lend their expertise to help the Croatia side prepare for their upcoming internationals…

England stars Dan Luger and Will Greenwood, who were both members of the country’s 2003 World Cup winning side, and New Zealand legend Zinzan Brooke will help out the Croatia national team in the UK this week.

Croatia will arrive this week on a tour organised by the father of Dan Luger. Darko Luger, who is Croatian, is connected to Croatian rugby and the tour was organised to to help his homeland develop their players.

Dan Luger

Croatia play at Southend on Saturday, April 19, then take on a Wasps development side at their Marlow base on April 22 (7pm) before facing Marlow on April 25 (7pm).

Zinzan Brooke, who has lived in the UK since retiring from the game, will be leading a training session for the Croatian next Sunday before Luger and Greenwood pass on some of their Grand Slam and World Cup winning skills on the following Wednesday.

Zinzan Brooke – All Black legend

“The Croatian team are here on tour to prepare for their next international game against Denmark. They’re being hosted by Marlow and staying in that area,” Darko Luger told ESPN.

“Rugby in Croatia arrived in the 1960s and has been developed gradually since then. They’ve had some success – especially in Sevens when they went close to knocking New Zealand out in Hong Kong a couple of years ago. There are lots of Kiwis, Aussies and South Africans of Croatian origin who play the game, but the game there is still in its infancy. They need more structure and more support.”

Croatia are ranked 36th in the world currently and play in Division 3 of the European Cup of Nations.