List of international rugby union teams

The following is a list of international rugby union teams:

Multinational teams

Combination sides

Invitation sides

Other invitational sides past and present include:

National teams – tier classification

The sport's international governing body, World Rugby (formerly the International Rugby Board), organises its member unions into three tiers.[1] All Tier 1 and 2 nations have competed in the Rugby World Cup (RWC).

Tier 1

Nation Rank Range
(Best–Worst)
Competition
 New Zealand 1–3 Rugby Championship
 South Africa 1–6 Rugby Championship
 England 1–8 Six Nations
 Australia 2–6 Rugby Championship
 France 2–9 Six Nations
 Ireland 2–9 Six Nations
 Wales 2–10 Six Nations
 Argentina 3–12 Rugby Championship
 Scotland 6–12 Six Nations
 Italy 8–15 Six Nations

Tier 2

Pacific countries European countries Atlantic countries African countries

Development (Tier 3)

Development One :

Development Two:

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:[2]

High performance

All countries previously in Tiers 1 and 2.

Development One

These are countries earmarked for increased developmental funding and include

Targeted

Again, the IRB did not release a list of unions in this category, but named several as being in this band:

Developmental

This is the location for all remaining unions.

Other teams

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 War and Franco's crackdown put an end to it, and in the case of East and West Germany, reunification led to their amalgamation into a single German side.

* For more information on these teams see above.

Women's rugby

Defunct women's national sides

Invitation sides

Notes and references

  1. "IRB Strategic Plan" (PDF). International Rugby Board. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF 0.3 MB) on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  2. "IRB announces increased funding for the game" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 25 January 2008. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
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