Starting in 2008, in addition to the existing tier system, the IRB introduced a four-band system of classification in which unions are classified based on "their development status and record on the international stage". The new structure is:[1]
Established in 1950, East Africa conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982 and played against incoming international, representative and club touring sides including twice against the British Lions; perhaps the only example of representative (as opposed to invitational) multinational teams playing against each other. They also played against the Barbarians.
The African Leopards are a development side drawn from across Africa, they have played representative rugby union against South African students.
The Arabian Gulf rugby union team combined various teams from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf 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, although the team may be revived in the future.
There was also a West Indies side, which first toured when the Caribbean Rugby Union sent a team (managed by Gavin Clark) to tour England in 1976. Their last tour was also to England in October and November 2000.
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.
Arabian Gulf* – dissolved by the end of 2010 and replaced by separate unions and national teams
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This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information October 2023 The following is a list of international rugby union teams Contents 1 National teams band classification 1 1 High performance 1 2 Development One 1 3 Targeted 1 4 Developmental 1 5 Other teams 2 Multinational teams 3 Defunct national sides 4 Women s rugby 4 1 Defunct women s national sides 4 2 Invitation sides 5 Notes and referencesNational teams band classification editStarting in 2008 in addition to the existing tier system the IRB introduced a four band system of classification in which unions are classified based on their development status and record on the international stage The new structure is 1 High performance edit All countries previously in Tiers 1 and 2 nbsp Argentina nbsp Australia nbsp Canada nbsp England nbsp Fiji nbsp France nbsp Georgia nbsp Ireland nbsp Italy nbsp Japan nbsp Namibia nbsp New Zealand nbsp Romania nbsp Russia nbsp Samoa nbsp Scotland nbsp South Africa nbsp Tonga nbsp United States nbsp Uruguay nbsp Wales Development One edit These are countries earmarked for increased developmental funding and include nbsp Chile nbsp Hong Kong nbsp Kenya nbsp Portugal nbsp Spain nbsp ZimbabweTargeted edit The IRB did not release a list of unions in this category but named several as World Cup hopefuls being in this band nbsp Brazil nbsp Germany nbsp Ivory Coast nbsp Malaysia nbsp Netherlands nbsp Paraguay nbsp South Korea nbsp Sri Lanka nbsp PhilippinesDevelopmental edit Europeancountries North South Americancountries Africancountries Asiancountries Oceaniancountries nbsp Andorra nbsp Austria nbsp Azerbaijan nbsp Belgium nbsp Bosnia and Herzegovina nbsp Bulgaria nbsp Croatia nbsp Cyprus nbsp Czech Republic nbsp Denmark nbsp Finland nbsp Greece nbsp Hungary nbsp Israel nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp Moldova nbsp Monaco nbsp Norway nbsp Poland nbsp Serbia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Slovenia nbsp Sweden nbsp Switzerland nbsp Turkey nbsp Ukraine nbsp Bahamas 2 nbsp Barbados 2 nbsp Bermuda 2 nbsp British Virgin Islands 2 nbsp Cayman Islands 2 nbsp Colombia 3 nbsp Costa Rica 3 nbsp Guatemala 3 nbsp Guyana 2 nbsp Jamaica 2 nbsp Mexico nbsp Panama 3 nbsp Peru 3 nbsp Saint Lucia 2 nbsp Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 nbsp Trinidad and Tobago 2 nbsp Venezuela 3 nbsp Algeria nbsp Botswana nbsp Burundi nbsp Burkina Faso nbsp Cameroon nbsp DR Congo nbsp Egypt nbsp Eswatini nbsp Ghana nbsp Lesotho nbsp Madagascar nbsp Mali nbsp Mauritius nbsp Morocco nbsp Nigeria nbsp Rwanda nbsp Senegal nbsp Tanzania nbsp Togo nbsp Tunisia nbsp Uganda nbsp Zambia nbsp Brunei nbsp China nbsp Chinese Taipei nbsp Guam nbsp India nbsp Indonesia nbsp Iran nbsp Jordan nbsp Kazakhstan nbsp Kyrgyzstan nbsp Laos nbsp Lebanon nbsp Mongolia nbsp Nepal nbsp Pakistan nbsp Philippines nbsp Qatar nbsp Singapore nbsp Syria nbsp Thailand nbsp United Arab Emirates nbsp Uzbekistan nbsp American Samoa nbsp Cook Islands nbsp Niue nbsp Papua New Guinea nbsp Solomon Islands nbsp VanuatuWorld Rugby associates in italics Other teams edit Rugby Africa teams not affiliated to World Rugby nbsp Benin nbsp Central African Republic nbsp Chad nbsp Congo nbsp DR Congo nbsp Egypt nbsp Gabon nbsp Guinea nbsp Malawi nbsp Mozambique nbsp Niger nbsp Seychelles nbsp Sierra LeoneAsia Rugby teams not affiliated to World Rugby nbsp Afghanistan nbsp Bangladesh nbsp Iraq nbsp Macau nbsp Oman nbsp Palestine nbsp Saudi ArabiaRugby Europe teams not affiliated to World Rugby nbsp Belarus nbsp Estonia nbsp Iceland nbsp Kosovo nbsp Liechtenstein nbsp Montenegro nbsp San MarinoRugby Americas North teams not affiliated to World Rugby nbsp Belize nbsp Curacao nbsp Dominican Republic nbsp French Guiana nbsp Guadeloupe nbsp Martinique nbsp Turks and Caicos IslandsOceania Rugby teams not affiliated to World Rugby nbsp Nauru nbsp New Caledonia nbsp Tahiti associate member of Oceania Rugby nbsp Tuvalu nbsp Wallis and Futuna associate member of Oceania Rugby Sudamerica Rugby teams not affiliated to World Rugby nbsp Bolivia nbsp Ecuador nbsp El Salvador nbsp Honduras nbsp NicaraguaTeams with affiliation suspended or without affiliation nbsp Armenia nbsp Cambodia nbsp Comoros nbsp Gibraltar nbsp Mauritania nbsp Saint Kitts and Nevis nbsp Sudan nbsp TokelauMultinational teams editThe British and Irish Lions nbsp England nbsp Ireland nbsp Scotland nbsp Wales Established in 1950 East Africa conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982 and played against incoming international representative and club touring sides including twice against the British Lions perhaps the only example of representative as opposed to invitational multinational teams playing against each other They also played against the Barbarians nbsp Kenya nbsp Tanzania formerly Tanganyika nbsp Uganda A similar development in 2004 has been the Pacific Islanders team nbsp Fiji nbsp Samoa nbsp Tonga The South American Jaguars were a combination team who played South Africa during the early 1980s nbsp Argentina nbsp Chile nbsp Uruguay The African Leopards are a development side drawn from across Africa they have played representative rugby union against South African students The Arabian Gulf rugby union team combined various teams from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf 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 although the team may be revived in the future nbsp Bahrain nbsp Egypt nbsp Jordan nbsp Kuwait nbsp Lebanon nbsp Oman nbsp Qatar nbsp Saudi Arabia nbsp United Arab Emirates There was also a West Indies side which first toured when the Caribbean Rugby Union sent a team managed by Gavin Clark to tour England in 1976 Their last tour was also to England in October and November 2000 The Commonwealth of Independent States played during the early 1990s nbsp Armenia nbsp Azerbaijan nbsp Belarus nbsp Kazakhstan nbsp Kyrgyzstan nbsp Moldova nbsp Russia nbsp Tajikistan nbsp Turkmenistan nbsp Uzbekistan nbsp UkraineDefunct national sides editVarious 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 nbsp Arabian Gulf dissolved by the end of 2010 and replaced by separate unions and national teams nbsp Catalonia nbsp CIS nbsp Czechoslovakia nbsp East Africa a combination of Kenya Tanzania Tanganyika and Uganda It has not played since 1982 but the Rugby Football Union of East Africa RFUEA still exists and there have been recent talks to resurrect the team nbsp East Germany nbsp Soviet Union nbsp Yugoslavia For more information on these teams see above Women s rugby editMain article Women s international rugby union nbsp Australia nbsp Austria nbsp Bahamas nbsp Barbados nbsp Belgium nbsp Bosnia and Herzegovina nbsp Botswana nbsp Brazil nbsp Burkina Faso nbsp Cameroon nbsp Canada nbsp Cayman Islands nbsp China nbsp Colombia nbsp Czech Republic nbsp Denmark nbsp England nbsp Fiji nbsp Finland nbsp France nbsp Germany nbsp Guyana nbsp Hong Kong nbsp India nbsp Ireland nbsp Italy nbsp Ivory Coast nbsp Jamaica nbsp Japan nbsp Kenya nbsp Kazakhstan nbsp Kyrgyzstan nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Madagascar nbsp Malaysia nbsp Namibia nbsp Netherlands nbsp New Zealand nbsp Norway nbsp Papua New Guinea nbsp Philippines nbsp Portugal nbsp Romania nbsp Russia nbsp Rwanda nbsp Saint Vincent and the Grenadines nbsp Samoa nbsp Scotland nbsp Senegal nbsp Serbia nbsp Singapore nbsp South Africa nbsp Spain nbsp Sweden nbsp Switzerland nbsp Thailand nbsp Tonga nbsp Trinidad and Tobago nbsp Tunisia nbsp Turkey nbsp Uganda nbsp United States nbsp Uzbekistan nbsp Wales nbsp Zambia nbsp Zimbabwe Defunct women s national sides edit nbsp Catalonia nbsp Great Britain nbsp Soviet UnionInvitation sides edit NomadsNotes and references edit IRB announces increased funding for the game Press release International Rugby Board 25 January 2008 Archived from the original on 13 November 2013 Retrieved 30 January 2008 a b c d e f g h i j Rugby Americas North Member a b c d e f Sudamerica Rugby Member Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of international rugby union teams amp oldid 1180698921, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
