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 | |
|---|---|
| Country | Great Britain and Ireland |
| Governing body | Rugby 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[lower-alpha 1] |
| First played | 1823, 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:
- Rugby union in Anguilla
- Rugby union in the Cayman Islands
- Rugby union in Gibraltar
- Rugby union in the British Virgin Islands
However areas where the sport is similar between the Home Nations will be discussed in this article.
National team
Men's
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
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
The Home Nations run individual competition across four league systems:
Tournaments hosted
- XV
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
- Sevens
| Competition | Year | Home Nations who Hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Rugby World Cup Sevens | 1993 |  Scotland |
| 1997 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} British Hong Kong | |
| Rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games | 2002 |  England |
| 2014 | Scotland | |
| 2022 | England |
Rugby Sevens
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
- Great Britain
- Home nations
- England national rugby sevens team
- England women's national rugby sevens team
- Scotland national rugby sevens team
- Scotland women's national rugby sevens team
- Wales national rugby sevens team
- Wales women's national rugby sevens team
- Ireland national rugby sevens team
- Ireland women's national rugby sevens team
Notes
- England national rugby union team, England women's national rugby union team, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland women's national rugby union team, Wales national rugby union team, Wales women's national rugby union team, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland women's national rugby union team.
- Wales were the only official hosts however matches were played across England, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as France.
- Wales's Millennium Stadium was also used as a venue.
References
- 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.
- Gatward, Matt (8 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Team GB crushed by Canada to miss out on bronze in inaugural Olympics Rugby Sevens". The Independent.