Rugby League Club Vitez, from the Bosnian city of that name, has staged the first-ever rugby league tournament in the country  with an U16s international 9s. Joining the hosts, Partizan and Red Star - both from Belgrade, Serbia - and the White Rabbits of Banja Luka took part,  Partizan beatng Vitez 20-0 in the final.

Jovan Vujosevic, Rugby League European Federation Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe, said: “This was a huge step for rugby league in Bosnia Herzegovina. I had a meeting with the Vitez management in September and we agreed to work on this tournament and participation of the Bosnia Herzegovina national team at the forthcoming Balkans Championship. It was really well organized and all the teams were very happy. Club Vitez president Zeljko Ljubanic did a fantastic job.”

Vitez is a city in central Bosnia Herzegovina with a Croat majority population. Rugby Club Vitez was started in 1997 after the civil war, and this year decided to switch from rugby union to rugby league.