Kadıköy Rugby

Turkey Kadıköy Rugby
Full nameKadıköy Rugby Football Club
NicknameBulls of Kadıköy
Founded2006 (2006)
LocationIstanbul, Turkey
Groundnone
PresidentTurkey Ahmet Eren Kılıç
CoachTurkey Tahsin Oğulhan Kabadayı
Leaguenone
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.kadikoyrugby.com.tr

Kadıköy Rugby was founded by the joint efforts of a group of fellow students from Uskudar Anadolu Lisesi and ex-İstanbul Ottomans rugby player Mert Ataray in early 2006. The establishment of the team quickly drew attention of the lively, hot blooded youth of Kadıköy district and soon settled itself as the future of Turkish rugby. Kadıköy is well known to be symbolized with its bull icon standing in the district square, which was more than suitable to identify the spirit of the team, and the asperity of the rugby sport itself, and quickly became an inspiration to the club's emblem and nickname.

Right after being established, the club registered itself to the Turkish Federation of Rugby, Baseball, Softball and American Football to become the first official rugby club in Turkey.

Today, Kadıköy Rugby is one of the power house in Turkish Rugby. After reaching the final in 2014 and winning the Istanbul 7s tournament, Kadıköy Rugby will be looking to win this season league, launch a Women s team and will be looking to start a Youth section for the season 2015/2016. the primary goal of the club is to encourage rugby nationwide by their campaign to help the founding of new rugby clubs, setting up a national league and to make ground for Turkey national rugby union team as soon as possible.

First squad (2006)

  • Turkey Ali Bayer
  • Turkey Ali Noyan Ayturan
  • Turkey Alper Bilikser
  • Turkey Aydın Şelte
  • Turkey Baran Bektaş
  • Turkey Batuhan Yıldız
  • Turkey Can Ernur
  • Turkey Can Girgin
  • Turkey Can Şenses
  • Turkey Cem Karadeniz
  • Turkey Coşkun Yeşil
  • Turkey Deniz Krom
  • Turkey Doruk Kemal Kaplan
  • Turkey Efe Dinçer
  • Turkey Efecan Kağanoğuzbeyoğlu
  • Turkey Emre Erdin
  • Turkey Emre Konuk
  • Turkey Engin Selimoğulları
  • Turkey Gökhan Köse
  • Turkey İlker Yıldız
  • Turkey Kamer Kuşçu
  • Turkey Kerem Dinçer
  • Turkey Mert Ataray
  • Turkey Mert Can Bayazıtoğlu
  • Turkey Mertcan Yasa
  • Turkey Murat Büyükkaymakçı
  • Turkey Onur Küçük
  • Turkey Özgür Yalçın
  • Turkey Ragıp İlker Dinçer
  • Turkey Rudy M. Celekli
  • Turkey Samet Çakır
  • Turkey Serdar Çam
  • Turkey Umut Turanlı
  • Turkey Yarkın Özbalcı
  • Turkey Yekta Ömer Akyol
  • Turkey Yiğit Özen
  • France Mathias Cazier
  • France Nicolas Negre
  • France Stephane Blanfune
  • France Stephane Rolandez
  • Sri Lanka Mohamed Zameel

2025 Turkish Men's 15s League Champion Squad

  • Turkey Ahmet Tarık Tekin
  • Turkey Berk Erdem
  • Turkey Mustafa Ersoy
  • Turkey Ahmet Eren Kılıç
  • Turkey Oğuzhan Tirendez
  • Turkey Mustafa Efe Avcı
  • Turkey Oğuzhan Kara
  • Turkey Alkım Bayraktar (C)
  • Italy Marco Bernat
  • Turkey Ali Mert Özbalak
  • Turkey Alp Aslan
  • Turkey Mahmut Batuhan Balçın (VC)
  • Turkey Furkan Keskin
  • Turkey Sadettin Çelik
  • Turkey Oğuzhan Demir
  • Turkey Furkan Güney
  • Turkey Mete Sencer Göle
  • Turkey Nurettin Ten
  • Turkey Ege Eryılmaz
  • Turkey Yiğit Ege
  • Turkey Umut Tilkioğlu
  • Turkey Ramazan Tomruk
  • Turkey Burak Özkan

In the 2024 season, Kadıköy Rugby won its first official 15-a-side league championship in club history by defeating Hacettepe Rugby 24-0 in the final of the Turkish 15-a-side Rugby League.[1]

In the 2025 season, Kadıköy Rugby defended its title by winning the men's 15-a-side Rugby League championship once again. The final matches were played at the Esenboğa Sports Complex in Ankara, where Kadıköy Rugby defeated Ottomans Rugby with a decisive score of 45-14. Throughout the 2025 season, the team stood out with its disciplined defense, extensive squad rotation, and contributions from players developed from the youth ranks. In the final match, they maintained their dominance throughout the game to lift the trophy. This success is seen as a result of the club's sustainable development model in recent years, its professional training programs, and its community-supported structure, positioning Kadıköy Rugby as one of the leading clubs in the new era of Turkish rugby.[2]

References

  1. ^ Tahsin Oğulhan Kabadayı
  2. ^ Tahsin Oğulhan Kabadayı