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 | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the British and Irish Lions | |
| 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 and 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, the British and Irish national rugby union team has no historical presence on major tormentors such as the Rugby World Cup. Instead the team compete in a regular tour series, currently occurring every four years, with the first being the 1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia. The team also plays in select one-off matches.
In major competition the Home Nations represent them selves as:
Women's
The is also a unified Great Britain women's national rugby union team; however in most cases women's rugby also sees the Home Nations represent them selves as:
Domestic competitions
The Home Nations run individual competition across four league system:
Tournaments hosted
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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 tornement 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.