Ep 39 -Video
Carl: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to another episode of Rugby through the Leagues podcast. This week we are joined by Gino, who is the Albanian rugby chairman, another niche part of rugby Europe as well. It's amazing to have this great guest on to talk about one of our briefly touched on moments when they, uh, they played against the Greek r- uh, Federation a few months ago when our little love affair with the, the Greek nation began.
Carl: Gino, really appreciate your time, mate. Thank you so much for coming on, and can't wait to hear about all the good things and the exciting future that Albanian rugby have got as well.
Xhino: Firstly, thank you, Carl, for having me. Yeah, it's, it's an exciting time, suffice it to say. And yeah, I appreciate it. We all appreciate that this opportunity.
Xhino: As y- I'm sure you're aware, you just mentioned it, rugby is not very much well-known in Albania, but we're trying. Uh, baby steps.
Carl: Albania rugby. Yeah. Uh, it's, it's ... We're not, y- you're not currently [00:01:00] part of Rugby Europe. You're obviously part of ... Is that cor- you're part, part of the worl- the World Rugby member as well.
Carl: Obviously, that's, that's the main underw- With, with it being baby steps, et cetera, how long has the Albanian Federation sort of been, been going, for those that aren't aware? How long has rugby been official, and how long has it potentially been under the radar in, uh, in, in, uh, Albania?
Xhino: Rugby started in 2010, 2011, uh, with a group of students from a local school here, Mariglen Neza, Kristo Culafi, to name a few, Erlanda Bazi, just, I just wanna mention them.
Xhino: They were fascinated with rugby just by YouTube videos, and then they started building from that. Then we started the first team in Tirana back in 2012. From then on, we started playing union against Kosovo and Montenegro, and yeah, uh, we start- we started just as a group of young men, young boys, students, basically, just doing something for fun.
Xhino: Whereas the federation, the official federation, [00:02:00] uh, has been official since 2024, recognized by our Olympic Committee and our Ministry of Sports. But we've been trying, we've been self-funded. Uh, a lot of the boys, myself, this sport is expensive. But it is what it is. It's for the love of the game.
Carl: You just said there, Tirana, you've got a, you've got a team there.
Carl: Is, is that probably the most established club within Alba- Albania? Is that, is that sort of the flagship, and is, is there much more of a gathering? Is there much more of a domestic scene?
Xhino: I think, actually, that is the most es- established club in Albania. It's the oldest club. It's the oldest running club.
Xhino: Uh, we've been basically through thick and thin with that, uh, club. We've traveled everywhere, at least... Well, well everywhere, at least in the region, in Serbia, in Montenegro, in Greece. Everywhere we've gone, we've hosted, we've hosted so many teams, especially from the UK, funnily enough, and from Italy. We've hosted the Gentlemen of [00:03:00] Albion, uh, all sorts of teams.
Xhino: And actually, after September, we're hosting Nottingham Police Force. They're coming in- Oh, wow ... uh, in October, and they're staying for a few days, so that's gonna be something.
Carl: Nice.
Xhino: And we're hosting the European Parliament Rugby Team- Yeah ... in September.
Carl: I'm sure a few people might wa- fancy being Albanian to try and c- take, have a, have a pot shot at a few of those parliament members.
Carl: Yeah, yeah. But that's a- Yeah,
Xhino: but ...
Carl: that's a ti-
Xhino: But it is, but it is what it is, but it's rugby at the end of the day, and people love this kind of s-
Carl: That's it. A lot of people that haven't been to Albania, it, it's becoming a bit more of a popular destination- Yeah ... holiday destination. A lot more people have uncovered the beauty of Albania.
Carl: It's, it's, it's somewhere I haven't visited, sadly, yet, but it's, it's high on my list of places to come.
Xhino: Yeah.
Carl: How was, obviously, Albania, how does that fit so well together with, with rugby? Obviously, those touring teams come across. Is there a lot of- A lot of surprise and [00:04:00] amazement when people turn up. They think, "Oh, right, hold on, we're going to Albania on tour."
Carl: Yeah. Like, there's ... And then when they come and they think, "Right, I need to come back again," how, how, how does that tie in perfectly so well with the, with the game that we all love as well?
Xhino: The one thing that we've noticed over the years, especially with UK teams and Italian teams, and actually we had a Spanish team a few years ago when we did the beach rugby tournament.
Xhino: And, um- Yeah ... what we noticed with the UK team is they, one, they didn't expect the, our level of rugby, which rightfully so was that good, and secondly, and secondly, uh, we are a nation, we are a people that are known for our hospitality basically. So whenever there's a guest, be that for rugby or not, but especially for rugby for us, we treat them in the utmost respect.
Xhino: We pick them up from the airport. We take them everywhere we can. Uh, after the match, there's obviously the third part, we go on a drinking contest with the best players, and we show them around town. So it's not just about- Awesome ... we really wanna show [00:05:00] that we are a people that can offer so much more, not just on the field, but off the field as well, 'cause rugby's not just about the field.
Xhino: The game is fun. You win sometimes, you lose sometimes, but it's over. There's more to it.
Carl: 100% agree. And that hospitality goes so much further, especially on tour, especially with rugby, because they're the bits that everyone remembers. Nobody ... There's ... Uh, unless it's a final, unless it's a league game, nobody really remembers the tour scorelines, 'cause usually the party after clears everyone's memory- Yeah
Carl: of whatever happened on the pitch. So as long as you've got a good party afterwards, that's the, that's the crucial part. And so what's, what's the go-to drink of Albania? A lot of places, like obviously Poland have got the vodka, they've got all these other magical ... What's the one that you- Raki. That ... Raki?
Carl: Yeah. Is that, that's what comes out, out of the, out of the sort of the cupboard and- Yeah ... drink it dry as it is ...
Xhino: basically a lot of, a lo- a lot of teams that come here, they try it. It's a bit potent-
Carl: Yeah ...
Xhino: for them. It-
Carl: Yeah ...
Xhino: suffice it to say, but it's good.
Carl: That's gonna get pretty [00:06:00] tasty on a, on a rugby tour, that's for sure.
Carl: The international scene. Yeah. As we, as we've obviously discussed with, with Greece- Yeah ... uh, when I had Eleni on as well, she was explaining obviously that Rugby Europe require a domestic league, et cetera, et cetera, all of these other moving parts that before you get recognized for, for membership. Is that on the cards for Albania rugby, or is that a 5, 10, 15-year plan?
Carl: It's a case of growing where you are currently, that solid Tirana base, those players of availability, getting those exposure through World Rugby games, ex- The, the rugby Euro progression is, is a long term vision for you guys, or is it something that you're able to accelerate at some point sooner?
Xhino: Well, uh, we've actually, uh, divided the, uh, our objectives into different, in- into different pieces.
Xhino: So we've gone through the educational system. A few years back, we did a pilot project in the local [00:07:00] prison system for the youth, the rehabilitation center in Kavaja, it's a town near, near Tirana, and we're using that as a blueprint to introduce it to schools, which we already have. We have 50 students at the local French school where they play touch rugby now.
Xhino: Yeah. They've been playing for two years. A few weeks ago, they went to Paris for a local tournament, and they actually did very well. I was surprised how well they did. And now touch rugby, and next year rugby sevens, will be officially part of the curriculum at the French school. That's one part. The second part where you
Xhino: uh, domestic league. So there's another town near us where ... Durrës, where we have one of our boys, one of our Tirana boys who, uh, played in, in Italy for nine years. Funny thing, he was at a detention center, to say the least, and he learned rugby there. He played rugby weekly. He got his education from rugby, and he's the best man to do it, to, to grow, uh
Xhino: to basically make a team in Durrës and have a proper [00:08:00] competition in Albania. And then the international scene. So, uh, we have ... I'm not sure if you're aware, we have an ex-international French rugby player as our forwards coach, David Datou. I got to know him at, uh, Bourg-en-Bresse, and we got talking, and he's a great guy, and now he's part of our team.
Xhino: That's one aspect. Uh, and speaking of France, Tirana is twinned with a team in Lyon, which we're going to tour in August. Another, another project is, uh ... So we have ... So as you know, our, our flag, it's a two-headed eagle, a black eagle. Now, we contacted, uh, through a friend of mine, Nisa, Nisa Rugby, which have just been promoted to Pro D2, and they have the black eagle as well, and we have a project with them to take our best players, our young players, to them, to their camps.
Xhino: sort them out, see how good they are, how well. If, if they're good, they can stay. If not, they come back with a review. You do this, you do that. Rugby in Albania, for in order to be successful, 'cause we've tried this [00:09:00] with Tirana, you have to give an, individuals an opportunity to grow in life. What I mean is, it's all good and gravy to say, "I'm gonna play for my local team," and that's fine.
Xhino: But we are a poor nation. That's, it pains me to say it, but it's the truth. You have to provide opportunities for people. Opportunities, what I mean is that perhaps if you're good enough, and if you're serious enough about this sport, then you can go and play in an- in another country.
Carl: E- even if it improves one life.
Carl: Exactly. That's what we, we all do this. We, I, I coach under 14s, under 16s, under 18s, and I, I, I don't do it to make money, I just do it because if I can help change one player's aspect of life as well as... 'Cause it's not just coaching them on the pitch. You sort of give them a guidance off the pitch, because not all of them have got a dad, not of all of them have got a, a full family circuit.
Carl: They've, sometimes they just need another voice from a different bit and [00:10:00] just to see the successes and the highs and the lows and help those players become something different or make a d- different decision that they might have done if they hadn't had that guidance, that's worth every second of sacrifice and e- e- and effort that you put into it.
Carl: It's 100% amazing. So how did such deep-rooted connections with France come through?
Xhino: Yeah, it's recently, 'cause, um... So, a, a cousin of mine used, used to play for Paris Saintz- Saint-Germain, for the football club And I asked him, "Could you please help us to get into contact with the French?" And he said, "Sure, uh, ask football guys, not the rugby guys."
Xhino: I got into contact with Pas- Pascal Babé, and the rest is history, basically. It's one thing led to another
Carl: Crazy, isn't it? It's, it's, it's not what you know, it's who you know sometimes. So obviously a lot of, a lot of cut, other cut, uh, players, i- within Rugby Europe, models, et cetera, et [00:11:00] cetera, have all go across into France to sort of get that option to become pro.
Carl: Uh, and obviously Spain have now become pro effectively back i- internally with their centralized contracts, and a lot of people are able to use the France systems to do that. And obviously by the sounds of it, you've got a lot of French playe- uh, players coming through at the, the, the school and the, the French connection there as well.
Carl: Does that make that whole system a lot easier to tie together? Yeah, it does
Xhino: You can
Carl: get players to go here from there and ...
Xhino: Because the children at the school, they're re- they're relatively young still, but one of our players- Yeah ... he teaches there now. Twice a week he teaches rugby full-time. So that's three hours a week he teaches rugby to 50 students, 48, sorry.
Xhino: Most of them are girls. And that's another thing, I have to mention the great work that Silvio, our coach, Silvio Cella, has been doing, a captain of Tirana as well, a national team player. Uh, so, uh, so the [00:12:00] under-18 team that we have for Tirana Is mostly girls, and that's thanks to his work. Yeah, i- it does make it easier, and next year we'll have, we'll have another coach, a professional coach, to teach the proper way to tackle.
Xhino: Most of my boys are w- are level two coaches, but it's... I really want to show the parents of the school that rugby's really safe to do so. And we're in talks with the university in Tirana to introduce rugby there, and I'm trying to push the British school in Tirana to basically ooze in rugby there so they can have a little bit of a British and French thing rivalry going on.
Carl: Mate, I love, I love that. I lo- and so many, so many people bang on that we've gotta change the game by getting into schools again and making the game accessible to kids. Everyone talks about it, but not many people can do it because schools don't have the, the coaches, the te- the PE teachers, they don't have the [00:13:00] facilities, they don't have the, the...
Carl: 'Cause they've had to sell their pitches, they've had to move all these other bits to, to cover costings. It's just amazing to hear that you're getting that buy-in from the schools and it's changing the future of potentially so many children. Yeah. And, like, it's just been absorbed and ac- accepted and hopefully that, the, the British school as well will add it, the universities will add it.
Carl: And then once you've sort of solved Tirana, and obviously you're adding Durres as s- as well, is that, is there many more sort of schools and setups around Albania as well to... Is it, right, we'll make this work, then it ripples out? Is it, is, is it co- we've got a s- concrete base and then we'll build out from that?
Carl: Is that the vision?
Xhino: Yeah. Uh, we have another city up north which is very sports friendly, suffice to say. It's, um, so for example, the women's football team in Shkodra are doing exceptionally well, and I've spoken to a few individuals there to really introduce rugby as well, [00:14:00] as they are, as I believe, there's certain cities in, in Albania that can really make rugby their own.
Xhino: That's the whole point. So you do, we make rugby union our own, and then we'll see what we can do from there. In terms of the national team for the games, we've got a game coming up some time after September with Bosnia, and then next year-
Carl: Oh, wow ...
Xhino: 2027, we have a game, uh, planned with Serbia Which will
Xhino: Given the history, given the history and everything else, I think it will go absolutely fine. You know, rugby isn't like other sports. Not, I'm not insulting other sports, by the way. Each sport is great on its own. But we're really trying to push away from that kind of Balkan mentality. And of course, and of course, and of course, we have to go back to Athens, to our great friends, and play them again, because they weren't too happy with the result, but it is what it is.
Xhino: It's a sport.
Carl: It was the, it was the first, first one [00:15:00] back, effectively, wasn't it? Yeah. So, like, results, the results happen. It's just everything else, it's all step by step. It's the game. As long as we're playing the game and people are seeing the game-
Xhino: Yeah ...
Carl: the rest of it will all come out in the wash. And, and obviously Greece have got a big projection plan.
Carl: They're obviously trying to grow. They've got ... They're in the 7s tournament. They've managed to get back into Rugby Europe as well, so they're on that path. And when I spoke to Eleni, she's, she's obviously more than happy with everything that you guys helped her with, with the, with the, with the game, putting the facility on, et cetera, et cetera.
Carl: The result was the result. It was ... Nobody likes losing, do they? So, when I, I watched it on the YouTube, and I was just ama- it just, it just amazed me. The pouring rain, and just, just everything about grassroots rugby was epitomized in that one YouTube stream. And I was like, "This was the perfection of grassroots rugby and how we see the game growing."
Carl: 'Cause you ca- you just made use of the space. The weather was [00:16:00] torrential, and the players just got on with it, and then that was an international game done. World rugby, we move on, and that's another game under the belt, and another one that people get to see. It was just, I loved it. It was absolutely brilliant.
Xhino: Yeah.
Carl: Um, so it was amazing to see. And I, I wasn't aware of Albanian rugby. I wasn't aware of Greek rugby at a point, and that's now put two amazing nations on our radar that we wanna help try and further shine that spotlight on. So if, if there's an opportunity of any of us being able to come to either of those games that you've got lined up, then I'm sure- Yeah, please
Carl: I can try and talk my wife into- Please do come ... to let me, let, let me head to Albania at some point.
Xhino: Yeah, please do come. I mean, uh, uh, everyone is welcome here. Anyone is welcome. We, we're speaking to a lot of teams, and not just in Europe Speaking to teams in New Zealand, Argentina, and it's just about growing the game, but growing it properly, slowly, [00:17:00] and so it can benefit anyone that, that really wants to play the sport.
Xhino: This summer, hopefully, with our Les Deux Aigles, uh, project with Nisa, which means the two eagles, as I said, we both share the same eagle, we're gonna send one of our boys or girls to their camp, and I'm really happy that they went to the second division of professional, uh, rugby in France. I watched, actually, I watched their final in Nar- against Narbonne.
Xhino: Outstanding piece of rugby. I don't know how Narbonne, you know... But it is what it is. Uh, so yeah, I'm really looking forward to that. I, I really hope that we see this game, because I, I see the way football has grown in Albania, and I'm not, uh, and I'm well aware that football here is basically a religion.
Carl: It's everywhere. Yeah. It is everywhere. That's the difference between rugby and football. I think you've hit that absolutely perfect because rugby is a passion for anyone that plays it, and anyone that's been p- involved in the game. But [00:18:00] football's got that religious aspect to it, and that, I think that's the difference between the two sports, and that's where that religious element differs between obviously the game that we both love.
Carl: So, sorry to jump in on that, but- No, no, no, absolutely ... I think you
Xhino: hit
Carl: that perfectly.
Xhino: You're right. You're right. And that's, and that's the thing, but there's no reason why we can't learn from football, and that's why I try to look at how did they do that? Obviously, we have nowhere near the budget, and none, neither will we ever have.
Xhino: But there's no reason not to learn on how they do things properly. And people in this country love football, and we try to use that to our advantage.
Carl: As you've said, man, everyone, everyone in rugby always has to talk about funding. So is there much, i- is, if any, is there any government funding you guys get?
Carl: Do you get anything from the counts? Is it solely-
Xhino: Self-funded ...
Carl: self-funded?
Xhino: Self-funded and a-
Carl: Wow ...
Xhino: few good Samaritans.
Carl: Wow. That's, to, to, to get from what, in 12 years to [00:19:00] 12, 14 years from when you sort of said that it sort of started to having a
Xhino: fully fledged- Started in 2012, 2011- Yeah ... 2013 Tirano Rugby Club was officially established.
Xhino: So it's actually a bit more than that. It's like 14 years. Yeah. And-
Carl: Yeah ...
Xhino: it's always been self-funded. Uh, some people who could afford more gave more, and, but that's about it really. We've had some sponsors, yeah, but it helps, but it doesn't really, really help. As I said, what I want, what I wanted to, uh, what I want rugby to become is, uh, self-sufficient.
Xhino: So rug- rugby- Yeah ... provides opportunities, like jobs, careers for different individuals. Then you can really see the growth. Then you can really pull individuals in that don't wanna play. Not everyone wants to play it, but that doesn't mean that someone can't become a coach or a referee.
Carl: As you build that domestic scene, you need those referees, you need those physios, you need those coaches, you need those youth systems.
Carl: So it becomes its own ecosystem.
Xhino: Yeah.
Carl: And [00:20:00] by the sounds of it,
Carl: it's so, so fledgling as a, as an international scene for yourself, as you said, for the last couple of years, two, three years as, as a, as a, as a fledgling international side to have- Being backed with such a, an established club side. There's probably so many sleepless nights now when you figure, like, how, how we gonna get this?
Carl: How, how's this gonna... But what i- if you had to p- if you had to sit there and put a target on it, what would be your 5-, your 10- and your 15-year milestone? At what, at, at what of those steps would you class this as that's, that's on track, that's a success, we've overachieved? How, how do you see those 5, 10, 15 years for Albania rugby?
Xhino: So I think, uh, as I said, Rugby Europe, uh, is our primary target, and given our international team, with the boys that play for us, that represent us, both from Tirana [00:21:00] Rugby Club, and a lot of our players come from Italy, Albanians, some from France, from the UK, the United States. We've got a very, very solid international team.
Carl: Yeah.
Xhino: Very solid for the f- not, not just for the region, but in general. I'm not saying that we're tier two, I'm not jumping here. But, uh, that's... I w- I wish after that, I wanna establish a women's team, both locally and internationally, at least at sevens. We introduce it with sevens. There's plenty of women these days that play a lot of football in Albania.
Xhino: The, the whole, the whole mentality is changing. Uh, the wrestling team did really well. Again, we look at other sports, how they did it, and that's one. And for me, more importantly than anything, it needs to be in schools. If we can get rugby in schools, that's the most important, 'cause a lot of kids, they still look at the rugby ball and say American football.
Xhino: Which [00:22:00] kudos to American football and their marketing team. They really know how to do it. H- how can you play one sport in one country, well, we're in one country, and everyone knows about it, yet rugby A lot of people still don't know about, but that's another topic for another day. But if we can get into a few schools, not just in Tirana, in other cities, then that's the real success.
Carl: I agree. I think, as you said, if you can add that Durrës team as well, and then pick out another... Get... Even if you can get to sort of four, four cities around Albania, you've effectively got a four, four team league, and then that's, that's how that sort of develops out, doesn't it? And I can't wait. Yeah I can't wait.
Carl: Sounds amazing.
Xhino: It is. It's very hard, so many different reasons, which I cannot explain, but it's worth it in the end.
Carl: So women's, women's rugby then, obviously, to make su- 'cause obviously that's, that's on the boom of the back of the World Cup, the English, Eng- English World Cup we, that we had as well.
Carl: There's a massive pace gathering from [00:23:00] that, and there's a different audience to women's rugby everywhere you go. It's more of that family feel. Do you think that will tie in more with your, the schools project? Because obviously the, the, the kids be able to attach more to a, a, to a, potentially to women's rugby, and then that'll obviously, that creates that further pathway.
Carl: How far away are you from getting to the point that you've got a women's set up ready to go and it's be- We already
Xhino: got the under 18s, as, as I mentioned before. We already got a f- a few girls that are very, very good players, if I ... If I may add Yeah And I'm not just talking about they're good for girls.
Xhino: They're, no, they're good, they're good players
Carl: Players
Xhino: Full stop. Yeah. They play against boys. We've gone to Kosovo, they've done really well against the boys there, which are bigger and stronger given the age. We're still working on that, so we can really increase the number. And now with the French school and with the schools that are coming next year, that's good.
Xhino: Ah, speaking of schools, next year we're doing the Balkan Cup. That's what we're calling it. And there are a lot of French schools [00:24:00] in, around the region, so in Greece, in Montenegro, and Ma- Northern Macedonia, and in Serbia. And we're basically gonna gather them up, and they're gonna play rugby against them, or each other.
Xhino: So that's gonna be a very interest- So to have five or six schools To play rugby in Albania and call it the Balkan Cup is, is a huge success for us. Huge, huge su- success. Amazing. And that's what we wanna do. And, uh- We wanna build from the, uh, the schools are our main target.
Carl: Yeah, that's... I, I think that's amazing to hear.
Carl: And, as you said, to try and... You, you, you, by the sounds of it, you realize what you've got in front of you as well. A lot of, a lot of nations also try to build something that's not there. You've, you've managed to get that access to the, to the schools, to the, to the, uh, prisons, et cetera, et cetera, and you're able to build that connection and that second opportunity, or give that first opportunity to someone and even with all those projects, there is [00:25:00] still no external funding.
Carl: No- none of the, none of the government's got anything to, to sort... Or is that because they, it isn't a proven concept? Is that something that's completely off the table, or is that something that you can say, "Well, we've proved this concept now"?
Xhino: I would say because that's hence why we did the, the prison project, the Rugby for Change it's called, actually, and World Rugby made an article about.
Carl: Brilliant.
Xhino: And because I wanted to prove to the government, to the ministry, that- We can actually do things.
Carl: Yeah.
Xhino: As it is with all things w- related to the government, it takes time, there is a lot of bureaucracy, and it is what it is. It's gonna take some time. I'd really want... Of course, with funding it would make a world of difference, but even if you have good funding, you still need a good project, you still need a good product.
Xhino: And that's, and that's m- has been my idea since day one. I look at rugby, despite the passion, despite the love, it needs to be a very much a sellable product. You have to sell this to people. You and I love it, it's easy, [00:26:00] but not everyone does.
Carl: Oh, I completely agree. And that's h- and that is the difference between the product that we've got now and the product that we need in the future.
Carl: It's not, it's not just at the level we're at. And that's why we, we wanna showcase all of these different bits, 'cause there are, there are concepts, there are projects out there that will change how people view the game, and how we can, uh, um, showcase the game as well. And sounds like you guys are leading the fight that nobody...
Carl: Everyone else talks about, but actually not many people can actually replicate.
Xhino: I re- I really hope so we do that. I really want, uh, obsessed with it, that things can get done properly, rugby grows in a healthy manner. We've made a lot of mistakes, uh, in the past, and that's, and that's... It is what it is, and we learn from them, and hopefully we won't repeat them again.
Xhino: And yeah, that's, that's our main thing. We're... And not everyone takes us seriously, and which is fine, you have to prove yourself in life for people [00:27:00] to take you seriously. But we really love this game just as much as the rugby nations, like the UK, and France, New Zealand, Australia. And we're looking everywhere.
Xhino: We're looking at what previous nations and federations have made mistakes and what they've done right. Nations our sizes that not got a very strong rugby background. But yeah, that's how you, that, that's how you learn. That's how you learn. But I looked at a lot of articles, especially regarding grassroots sports.
Xhino: And that's the main, main, main thing. Grassroot opportunities for young people
Carl: I completely agree. I think a lot of, of, as a, as a sport as well, we've potentially gotta look towards the likes of gymnastics. But gymnastics, like in a lot of places, is one of the biggest, quickest growing sports at youth level.
Carl: They've got waiting lists for people to join them, and they've somehow managed to capture that, that sign up, that obsession, but they... [00:28:00] It's not commercialized. So we're at the other end of the scale with the game that we love. Rugby's got a core base. It's got that steady sign up, but we're not at that commercial element.
Carl: And it's a, it's all a one big puzzle. When, when one person solves it, we'll, we'll hopefully all come out the other side of it more than happy, and we've got the game that we all love. You guys have also got a rugby league team as well. I know as a, as a union podcast, et cetera, but I got sort of s- Shown into, into the rugby league world.
Carl: Obviously I- I'm from the south of England, I'm not really, I'm not league orientated due to my geographical sense. But rugby league exposed myself and, uh, my under 16s team to a whole different level of game. Yeah. Like the fitness, the tackling, everything like that. Does, does all of your players play both codes?
Xhino: There are players who wanna, uh, who play both codes actually. Uh, there is a team that plays, uh, league [00:29:00] in, in Albania. Funnily enough, we used to be very close together as in, as a group, but like all things in life, personal ambition and other nasty things got in the way. A sense of entitlement, suffice say.
Xhino: So, but in terms of rugby league, the NRL is one thing, as I said, if you remember the product thing. You look at the NRL, how they do things, especially on grassroots. I'm not talking about the championship. I mean the league- Yeah ... it's, uh, it's, it's a great league and that's it. But how they do things, especially in, um, in grassroots, it's astounding how they recruit players.
Xhino: That is something to be learned from. Of course, again, rugby there, whether it's rugby league or union and Australian football is part of the c- culture, the oval sports are part of the culture. Here, it's not. But you learn, you learn. You look at how things are done there and you try and imitate to a certain [00:30:00] extent or adapting to the culture here.
Xhino: And if not, you save it for another time.
Carl: So what would you... W- where would you rank rugby in, in your level of sports in Albania? 'Cause obviously, obviously football's probably gotta be top. Like over, um, over in Spain, rugby's maybe the fifth or sixth sport that everyone pl- that would, would play. It might even be lower.
Carl: I'd... Like, and you go, you go across to England and it's probably dropped probably to you got football, cricket, you probably... rugby may be third now. Like, where's... Where, where, where does rugby sit in the tiers of, uh, Albania sports?
Xhino: It's very niche. It's very, still- Yeah ... very niche. It's grown since our, uh, we won our first match, our biggest win was against Kosovo, 88-nil, and then the same year we played, uh, Greece and we won again.
Xhino: And since then- Mm ... it's grown. A lot of people shown more interest. But it's still a niche sport. It's still... A, a lot of people know about Tirana Rugby [00:31:00] Club, but we're still growing. It's still very much not a lot of people know about it. But with good international games, uh, good performances against strong teams, it will grow.
Xhino: That's the thing, international games, especially when Albania is playing, and that's why we, we are doing the Serbia game, 'cause it does create a buzz.
Carl: Yeah, that's a, that's a, that's a golden ticket to try and get people interested. Yeah Even if it's just for the, for the conversation, that's for sure. At least, um, it gets, hopefully gets more bums on seats and that.
Carl: Do you get much exposure on TV, in newspapers, things like that? Is there mu- For international games, yeah, especially against Greece, we got, like, I
Xhino: f- I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of- views and clicks for the, for the win. It was people from all over the world- Wow ... Albanians from the diaspora looked at it.
Xhino: And I imagine the game with Serbia and some other nations it will be even more, because people are interested.
Carl: Yeah.
Xhino: They're interested, they [00:32:00] like rugby. I see a lot of people when they view it, they like the tenacity of it and, and everything. But it's, uh, it's one thing to like it, but it's another thing to stay.
Xhino: So that's, that's- Yeah, it's another thing to
Carl: pl- is it, to play it as well So that's another- Like, you can, you can get, you can get them to stay, and you can get them to watch it. It's getting them to play it, and that's where the schools conversation comes back in, 'cause that's the ones that we need.
Xhino: But we, we will get there.
Xhino: I, I honestly believe that we will get there. With these games, uh, with Tirana and the national team coming up, the Nottingham p- uh, Police Force are not just coming here for a match, they're coming here to learn about Albania. They're coming in to stay a few days, not just a weekend. The EU parliamentary team is very important to us to show the government that rugby's here, so this is how things work in this side of the world, basically.
Carl: Sounds like you've got everything planned, it's just now it's the execution and stuff like that. So [00:33:00] for those that don't know how to get hold of yourselves in Albania or how to, to make contact, just give us a, a little brief overview of where people can go and find, find the pages of Tirana or obviously Albania.
Carl: And for those that want to come and have a game or come and see the, the amazing country that you guys have, where- wherever they gotta go. Where, where do they reach out? So,
Xhino: uh, they can contact us on Tirana Rugby Club, uh, on, uh, social media and on Instagram. And the Albanian Rugby Federation, again, on social media, Instagram, they can contact us any time.
Xhino: And we're open to host anyone. We host, we honest- uh, as I said, we pick them up from the airport, we take them to the accommodation, to their hotels, and we bring them to the field. We always rent a really good football field, so it's very clean, very tight. The one that we played against Greece, uh, changing room.
Xhino: So, uh, people have fun. We really want, a- [00:34:00] above all else, people to see us as people firstly, us as a culture.
Carl: Yeah.
Xhino: And then see the rugby that we play, have a laugh afterwards, and they will always remember that we have such a great time in Albania.
Carl: As I said, obviously if I can, uh, find out some dates and try and get one in the diary, I will 100% do one for the channel to make sure that I can come over and showcase it with you.
Carl: 'Cause I'm, uh, I'm just as enthused when I found out about Greek rugby. Like, I can't, I can't wait to showcase these little gems and the, the countries that are amazingly changing the face of rugby in a, in a different way as well. Yeah. Like, you guys have gone for the, for the angle for- For the, for the schools, everyone talks about it, but you guys are, are living the dream by the sounds of it, and that sounds like it's gonna get better and better every time.
Xhino: It is, it is a dream, but sometimes it's, it's hard though. Honestly, it's hard. It's hard finding the field for the students, 'cause we have to rent a field for the kids.
Carl: Yeah.
Xhino: Uh, we have to sort out [00:35:00] the transport. We have to take them back, and, and it's hard. But the kids did really well. I'm so happy about that, Carl.
Xhino: They went to Paris.
Carl: Yeah.
Xhino: There were a lot of teams and they ... I think they were, like ... I don't know, they did really, really well, and I was so impressed. I didn't think they would do that well. They're good kids, they're good players, but I thought, "You know, you're going to, you're going to France." You expect
Xhino: Yeah. But it's good. It's good.
Carl: It makes it worthwhile. That, and that's probably stories and a memory that they will take through all of their life as well. And that, all that coordination, all those sleepless nights making sure that happened, is worth it every, every second, I'm sure.
Xhino: Everything about this sport is worth it, even the bad bits.
Carl: I agree. I, I agree. There's, there is, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and these little stories, they, they make all of it worthwhile. Um, I think that's probably the best, best note to end this on. Everyone, really appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. For those that want to make sure you go and follow more about Albania [00:36:00] rugby, go and reach out, go join the, the, the Instagram and follow Tirana as well.
Carl: Reach out. Go get a tour booked. Go over there and see it for yourself. Don't just listen to what we've talked about. Go and actually experience it, 'cause i- 100% will be on my list to, to get out there, and I can't wait to, to be able to showcase that on the channel as well. Make sure you follow u- us along on YouTube, Instagram, everywhere as well, to make sure you keep sh- sharing the, the pod and all the other streams that we do with Rugby TTL, and to help us be able to showcase beautiful countries and amazing rugby stories like this as well.
Carl: Thank you so much. Really appreciate your time, and we'll catch you soon