Rugby union in the British Isles

Rugby union is a popular sport in the British Isles (Great Britain and Ireland), including England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The game was arguably invented in 1823 by William Webb Ellis, and in 1871 the English Rugby Football Union was the first national rugby football union to be founded. It is organised separately in each of these countries, and also on an all-Ireland basis.

Rugby union in the British Isles
CountryGreat Britain and Ireland
Governing bodyRugby Football Union (England)
Scottish Rugby Union (Scotland)
Welsh Rugby Union (Wales)
Irish Rugby Football Union (Ireland)
National team(s)British & Irish Lions
British and Irish Lionesses
Teams of the Home Nations[a]
First played1823, Rugby
National competitions
Club competitions

Rugby union in the British Isles is discussed in the following articles, corresponding to the separate organisations governing the sport:

And also in the Crown Dependencies:

And also in various British Overseas Territories:

However areas where the sport is similar between the Home Nations will be discussed in this article.

National team

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Men's

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British & Irish Lions vs Māori All Blacks during the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand

Unlike in rugby league, no combined British and Irish national rugby union team has ever competed in a major tournament such as the Rugby World Cup. Instead, the British & Irish Lions go on tours to the traditional Southern Hemisphere nations of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, currently occurring on a four-year cycle; the first was an 1888 tour to New Zealand and Australia. The team also plays in select one-off matches as preparation for the tour test series.

In major competition the Home Nations represent themselves as:

Women's

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There is also a unified Great Britain women's national rugby union team; however, in most cases, women's rugby also sees the Home Nations represented individually by:

Domestic competitions

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The Home Nations run individual competition across four league systems:

Stadiums

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The four national rugby union stadiums within the British Isles.

Each national team has their own national stadium:

Tournaments hosted

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XV
Competition Year Home Nations who Hosted
Rugby union at the Summer Olympics 1908   England
  Scotland
  Wales
  Ireland
Rugby World Cup (M) 1991   England
  Scotland
  Wales
  Ireland
Rugby World Cup (W) 1991   Wales
1994   Scotland
Rugby World Cup (M) 1999   Wales[b]
Rugby World Cup (W) 2010   England
Rugby World Cup (M) 2015   England[c]
Rugby World Cup (W) 2017   Ireland
2025   England
Sevens
Competition Year Home Nations who Hosted
Rugby World Cup Sevens 1993   Scotland
1997   British Hong Kong
Rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games 2002   England
2014   Scotland
2022   England

Rugby Sevens

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Rugby Sevens is a version of Rugby Union played with seven players per side instead of the usual fifteen. The home nations field individual national teams however the, what could be considered the United Kingdom's greatest achievement in the sport came in the 2016 Summer Olympics, as two united Great Britain teams competed in the inaugural edition of the sport's tournament at the Summer Olympics. The Great Britain teams were formed only ten weeks prior to the games and saw the men's team reach the final achieving a runners up place,[1] and the women's team achieved fourth.[2]

National teams

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Great Britain
Home nations

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Schofield, Daniel; Hurrey, Adam; Bennetts, Julain (12 August 2016). "Rugby Sevens final: Team GB thrashed 43-7 as Fiji win their first ever Olympic medal". The Telegraph.
  2. ^ Gatward, Matt (8 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Team GB crushed by Canada to miss out on bronze in inaugural Olympics Rugby Sevens". The Independent.