The first international matches were played in the 1800s between nations from the British Isles. Since then a number of international tournaments have been developed in other regions.
The World Cup
The Rugby World Cup began in 1987 with 16 invited teams. Since then the competition has been held every four years and increased in 1999 to 20 teams, with teams selected for the event through a series of regional preliminaries. The cup itself is divided up into a series of pools with the two top teams from each pool going through to a series of playoffs, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a grand final.
While there was initially some opposition to the idea of a rugby world cup, the first tournament in 1987 was sufficiently successful to silence most critics, and the subsequent tournaments have been increasingly successful. It is now the third largest sporting event in the world behind the Olympic Games and the Soccer World Cup.
The World Cup Winners:
- 1987 New Zealand
- 1991 Australia
- 1995 South Africa
- 1999 Australia
- 2003 England
- 2007 South Africa
The Six Nations’ Championship
One of the oldest tournaments in the world, and formerly known as the Five Nations’ Championship, it was first played between England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland in 1882-83. The tournament is played annually and in 2000 Italy will be included, with the name changed to the Six Nation’s Championship.
Up until 1993 the championship could be shared, but since then measures such as points difference have been used to break any ties.
Outright Wins in the Six Nations
- England 25 (10 shared)
- Wales 24 (11)
- France 16 (8)
- Scotland 14 (8)
- Ireland 11 (8)
- Italy 0 (0)
England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland has each played 107 matches, while France has played 77 and relative new comer Italy has played nine.
The Pacific Nations Cup
An annual competition that developed from the old Pacific Rim competition. It features teams from Japan, Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa and recently has also included teams from New Zealand (Junior All Blacks) Australia (Australia A) and the New Zealand Maori team.
Tri Nations
The Southern Hemisphere nations of Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, wanting a competition of their own similar to the Six Nations, formed the SANZAR organisation, and the first Tri Nations Competition, an annual event, was held in 1996.
Bledisloe Cup and Mandela Cup
The Bledisloe Cup is an annual competition played between Australia and New Zealand. Since 1996 the Bledisloe cup has been held in conjunction with the Tri Nations, sometimes with an extra game between the two nations. The Mandela Cup competition began in 2000 and is contested by Australia and South Africa.
