Maccabi Haifa Wild Boars (previously known simply as Haifa Rugby or Wild Boars) is one of the eight clubs affiliated to Rugby Israel. Based in Haifa, in the northern part of Israel.
| Union | Rugby Israel | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Wild Boars | ||
| President | Menahem Ben Menahem | ||
| Coach(es) | Yuri Vengerov | ||
| Captain(s) | Shahar Caufman | ||
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The team is part of Maccabi Haifa.
Club history
editThe club was formed by Alan Brazg, a student in the Technion, in the year 1971 and consisted mostly of immigrants from South Africa. The club was one of the first to bring rugby union to Israel, when the Israeli union was formed in 1972.
The team was ranked 3rd in the Israeli League season 2022-2023.
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2021/2022 | 7/8 |
| 2022/2023 | 3/8 |
Maccabi Haifa Women's Rugby
editErez Weiss, a Haifa men’s player, promoted the birth of a women's rugby union team. With his enthusiasm, a team was formed in 2005 which included 7 team members and was coached by Menachem Ben Menachem and Nir Bar Or (2005/2006). Then, Yael Kenan took over as coach (2006/2007). Shaharit Golding was the most recent coach of the team (during the season 2018/2019).
Haifa women's team, also known as Maccabi Haifa Women's Rugby, won the Yizrael 7's tournament in 2007 and came in first place in the rugby tournament of Eilat games 2009. The team was in the top of the Israeli Rugby Union league, being ranked second 4 season in a row in the late 2000's.
Playing Grounds
editMaccabi Haifa Wild Boars' Home pitch is the Curly Krieger Stadium in Neve Sha'anan, Haifa.
Current squad
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Del Mastro | Prop/Hooker |  Italy
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| Asaf Elad | Prop |  Israel
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| Ido Ashkenazy | Prop | Israel
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| Elad Alush | Prop | Israel
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| Antoine Vinciguerra | Hooker/Flanker |  Corsica  France
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| Ziv Melling | Hooker/Flanker | Israel
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| Mohamed Barkeh | Hooker/Flanker | Israel
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| Robert Hanhan | Lock/Prop | Israel
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| Shahar Caufman | Lock | Israel
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Vice-Captain |
| Daniel Goldberg | Lock/Flanker/Prop | Israel France  Spain  Mexico  Venezuela  Canada
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| Boaz Ben Menachem | Flanker/Number 8 | Israel
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| Omri Afek | Flanker/Center/Number 8 | Israel
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| Barkev Barelian | Flanker | Israel  Armenia
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| Ori Wohl | Flanker | Israel
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| Nitai Gor | Number 8 | Israel
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Captain |
| Baheej Bathish | Flanker | Israel Armenia
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| Yura Vengerov | Number Eight |  Russia
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Coach |
| Jacques Cohen | Swiss Knife | France Israel
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| Egor Egorov | Scrum Half/Fly Half | Russia
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Strength and Conditioning Coach |
| Ron Bartal | Scrum Half | Israel
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| Ofir Haytman | Scrum Half | Israel
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| Yoav Golan | Scrum Half | Israel
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| Nemani Buliruarua | Fly Half |  Fiji
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Center Tel Aviv Heat |
| Yochanan Reis | Fly Half | Israel
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| Eduard Gladkov | Full Back/Fly Half | Israel Russia
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| Sailasa Turagaluvu | Center | Fiji
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Lock Tel Aviv Heat |
| Zacharia Kornbluth | Center | Israel  USA
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| Or Beyar | Center/Winger | Israel
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| Gaston Leibovich | Center | Israel Mexico
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| Oded Kasan | Center | Israel
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| Zaza Mgrebishvili | Winger |  Georgia Israel
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| Rotem Ben Eliezer | Winger | Israel
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| Dmitry Kotov | Winger/Full Back |  Kazakhstan Israel
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| Nimrod Ben Menachem | Full Back | Israel
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Team Legends
edit| Name | Nationality | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Menachem Ben Menachem | Israel
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Former Player, President of the club. Former President of the Israel Rugby Union |
| Ziv Melling | Israel
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Player for more than 20 years. National Team caped player |
| Golan Van Meteren | Israel
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Former player in the team who faced more problems with referees than with other league players. Responsible of the rugby initiation course in the Technion. |
| Gilbert Cohen | Israel France
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Former player of the Wild Boars team. Now one of the official referees of the Israeli Rugby Union. |