List of international rugby union teams
Encyclopedia
Combination sides
- The British and Irish LionsBritish and Irish LionsThe British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
, perhaps the most famous multi-national rugby team.- .
- Established in 1950, East AfricaEast Africa rugby union teamEstablished in 1950, The East Africa rugby union team is a multi-national rugby union team drawing players from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, though the vast majority of these came from Kenya which has traditionally been the strongest rugby playing nation in this part of the world...
has conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982 and has played against incoming international, representative and club touring sides including twice against the British LionsBritish and Irish LionsThe British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
; perhaps the only example of representative (as opposed to invitational) multinational teams playing against each other. They have also played against the Baa Baa'sBarbarian F.C.The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
.- (formerly TanganyikaTanganyikaTanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
)
- A similar development in 2004 has been of a Pacific IslandersPacific Islanders rugby union teamThe Pacific Islanders rugby union team is an international rugby union team, started in 2004, that represents Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. While Niue and the Cook Islands are not members of the Pacific Tri-Nations competition, they did supply players to the squad for the Pacific Islanders' tour in 2004...
XV.
- The South American JaguarsSouth American JaguarsThe South American Jaguars was an international rugby union team consisting of South American players that played during the early 1980s against the South African Springboks. South Africa invited South America to tour there as a way of counteracting its sporting isolation which was due to the...
were a combination team who played during the early 1980s.
- The African LeopardsAfrican LeopardsThe African Leopards are an African rugby union representative team, organised by the Confederation of African Rugby . The side will play an important role in promoting rugby in Africa...
are a development side drawn from across Africa, they have played representational rugby union against South African students.
- Arabian Gulf rugby union teamArabian Gulf rugby union teamThe Arabian Gulf rugby union team was a combined team of players from Arab states of Persian Gulf — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that represented the Arabian Peninsula area in international rugby union competitions...
combined various teams from the Arabian peninsula and competed in World Cup qualification. The Arabian Gulf Rugby Union has now been dismantled and responsibility for the game devolved to each of the member nations, but this does not mean that the team may not be revived in future.
- There is also a West Indies side. This side first toured when the Caribbean Rugby Union sent a side (managed by Gavin Clark) to tour England in 1976. Their last tour was also to England in October and November 2000, playing against:
Date Opponent Venue Kickoff 2000-10-25 Royal Navy Royal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Blackheath F.C., London LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
19:30 2000-10-29 Hampshire HampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
14:30 2000-11-01 Royal Air Force Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Barking RFC Barking RFCBarking RFC is an English rugby union team currently playing in National League 1.- Park Modern Old Boys:The club was founded in 1930, under the name of Park Modern Old Boys. In 1926 the Park Modern School in Barking was founded and the headmaster decided that the school would play rugby, despite...
, North LondonNorth LondonNorth London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
2000-11-05 Birkenhead Park Birkenhead ParkBirkenhead Park is a public park in the centre of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847...
Birkenhead 2000-11-07 Gloucester GloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
CombinationGloucester GloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
- The Commonwealth of Independent StatesCIS (rugby)CIS was a rugby union side that played matches during 1991 and 1992. The side consisted of members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The team played four matches, losing all four fixtures...
also played during the early 1990s.
- World XVWorld XVA World XV is a rugby union team, typically composed of invited players from various countries. Various World XVs have been arranged from time to time, often to take part in celebration and testimonial games, usually against national teams; recent World XV games have generally not been considered...
sides have also been fielded eight times between 1977 and 2008.
Invitation sides
- The Barbarian Football ClubBarbarian F.C.The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
is probably the most famous invitation side. It has spawned New Zealand BarbariansNew Zealand BarbariansThe New Zealand Barbarians, nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", are an invitational rugby union team which have been a major part of New Zealand rugby since they were founded in 1937. They are based on the concept of Barbarian F.C...
, South African BarbariansSouth African BarbariansSouth African Barbarians is an invitational rugby union club formed in 1960 by Frank Mellish, the former 1951-2 Springbok selector and manager together with former Natal chairman, Harry Stacey, styled along the lines of Barbarian F.C...
, and French BarbariansFrench BarbariansThe Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians , are an invitational rugby union team that is based in France. The team is based on the Barbarians and was founded by Jean-Claude Skrela after he played for and adored the Barbarians in the later days of his career...
. - Scorpions RFCScorpions RFCThe Scorpions RFC is an invitation rugby team in East Africa that was established upon principles that have many parallels with the Barbarian F.C. in terms of values, playing style, selection policy and the lack of a home ground...
are an East African equivalent (founded in 1959) existing and playing under a similar ethos to the Barbarians.
Other invitational sides past and present include:
- President's Overseas XVPresident's Overseas XVThe President's Overseas XV was a 1971 rugby union squad, chosen to celebrate the centenary of the English Rugby Football Union, the oldest national rugby organisation in existence....
, selected for the hundredth anniversary of the RFU - Overseas Unions rugby union teamOverseas Unions rugby union teamThe Overseas Unions rugby union team was set up to commemorate the centenary of the International Rugby Football Board , which would shortly afterwards become the IRB or International Rugby Board...
- Rest of the World XVRest of the World XVThe Rest of the World XV was a rugby union team selected to play one match against the British Lions, and was set up to commemorate the centenary of the International Rugby Football Board , which would shortly afterwards become the IRB or International Rugby Board...
- Four Home Unions XV
- Rest of Europe XV
- In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
a Northern hemisphere side took on a Southern hemisphere side in the IRB Rugby Aid MatchIRB Rugby Aid MatchThe IRB Rugby Aid Match was a rugby union football match played on 5 March 2005 under the auspices of the International Rugby Board to raise money for the United Nations World Food Programme to support its work aiding victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami....
:- Northern Hemisphere XV
- Southern Hemisphere XV
National teams - tier classification
The sport's international governing body, the International Rugby BoardInternational Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
, organises its member unions into three tiers. All Tier 1 and 2 nations have competed in the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
(RWC). Tier 3 nations with RWC experience are shown in bold.
Tier 1
| Northern Hemisphere countries | Southern Hemisphere countries |
|---|---|
| ("Les Tricolores" or "Les Bleus") ("Gli Azzurri") ("Dragons") | ("Wallabies") ("All Blacks") ("Springboks") ("Los Pumas") |
- The Northern Hemisphere countries participate in the Six Nations ChampionshipSix Nations ChampionshipThe Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
. - The Southern Hemisphere countries participate in the Tri Nations with Argentina entering from 2012.
Tier 2
| ("The Canucks") ("The Flying Fijians") ("The Cherry Blossoms" and more recently "Brave Blossoms") ("The Oaks") (Manu Samoa) (Ikale Tahi) ("The Eagles") |
Tier 3
The remaining unions are all classified in "Tier 3".Tier 3 with RWC experience:
Tier 3 with no RWC experience:
National teams - band classification
Starting in 2008, in addition to the existing tier system, the IRB introduced a four-band system of classification in which unions and, by extension, teams are classified based on "their development status and record on the international stage". The new structure is:High performance
All nations previously in Tiers 1 and 2.Targeted
Again, the IRB did not release a list of unions in this category, but named several as being in this band:Defunct national sides
Various national sides have ceased to exist for political reasons. In the case of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, there is more than one successor team. In the case of Catalonia, the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and Franco's crackdown put an end to it, and in the case of East and West Germany, reunification made them back into a single side.
CIS
CIS (rugby)
CIS was a rugby union side that played matches during 1991 and 1992. The side consisted of members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The team played four matches, losing all four fixtures...
- a combination of Kenya
Kenya national rugby union team
The Kenya national rugby union team is the Kenyan national team in Rugby. it is controlled by the Kenya Rugby Football Union.The team participates Confederation of African Rugby tournaments, but has never qualified for the Rugby World Cup....
, Tanzania
Tanzania national rugby union team
The Tanzania national rugby union team represents Tanzania in international rugby union. They are known as the Twigas . Tanzania are a member of the International Rugby Board , and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament. In the 1970s expatriates and Tanzanians regularly played in the...
/Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
and Uganda
Uganda national rugby union team
The Uganda national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Uganda, representing them at rugby union. Rugby union was introduced by the British during colonial rule and Uganda played their first international game against Kenya in 1958...
. It has not played for about a decade but the Rugby Football Union of East Africa
Rugby Football Union of East Africa
The Rugby Football Union of East Africa is an umbrella union for the Kenya Rugby Football Union, Tanzania Rugby Football Union and Uganda Rugby Football Union. It owes its existence to the fact that, prior to independence, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were either a protectorate or mandate of the...
(RFUEA) still exists and there have been recent talks to resurrect the team. - has not played since 1971 and so moribund.
The Arabian Gulf team and its governing union
Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union
The Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union was the governing body for rugby union in the Gulf Cooperation Council member countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. To begin with most matches were played on sand but today almost all matches are played on grass...
are scheduled to be dissolved by the end of 2010, to be replaced by separate unions and national teams in each of its current members.
Women's rugby
New ZealandBlack Ferns
The Black Ferns is New Zealand's national women's rugby union team.- The name :The name comes from the use of the colour black and the silver fern as New Zealand sporting symbols...