Rugby refers to the team sports rugby league and rugby union. Legend claims that Rugby football was started around the time of 1845 in Rugby School, Rugby, Warwickshire, England, although forms of football in which the ball was carried and tossed date to medieval times. Rugby eventually split into two sports in 1895 when twenty one clubs split from the original Rugby Football Union, to form the Northern Union in the George Hotel, Huddersfield, Northern England over the issue of payment to players, thus making rugby league the first code to turn professional and pay its players, rugby union turned fully professional in 1995. Both sports are run by their respective world governing bodies World Rugby and the Rugby League International Federation. Rugby football was one of many versions of football played at English public schools in the 19th century. Although rugby league initially used rugby union rules, they are now wholly separate sports. In addition to these two codes, both American and Canadian football evolved from rugby football.
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament was first held in 1987, when the tournament was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to serve as "the national governing body charged with achieving and maintaining high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby." USA Rugby is responsible for the promotion and development of the sport in the U.S. and promotion of U.S. international participation.
The Japan national rugby league team, nicknamed the Samurais, represents Japan in rugby league football. Japan have played some international competition since 1994. A regular domestic amateur competition has not been held in Japan for several years.
The Uruguay national rugby union team, nicknamed Los Teros, is governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay. One of the older test sides in the world, Uruguay has qualified three times for the Rugby World Cup, in 1999, 2003 and most recently 2015. As of March 2018 they are ranked 18th in the world, and are ranked 3rd in the Americas region, behind rivals Argentina and the United States.
Rugby union in the United States is a growing national sport. Rugby union at the youth, high school, college, club, and international levels is governed by USA Rugby. There are over 125,000 players registered with USA Rugby as of 2016. Over 2,500 rugby clubs exist around the country, with college rugby being the most popular.
The Women's Rugby World Cup is the premier international competition in rugby union for women. The tournament is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby. The championships are currently held every four years; the event was most recently held in Ireland in 2017. World Rugby has reset the tournament on a new four-year cycle to avoid conflict with the Olympics and Women's World Cup Sevens; World Cups will thus be held every four years after 2017.
The Brazil national rugby union team, nicknamed Tupis, is controlled by the Confederação Brasileira de Rugby. Brazil is one of the founding unions of CONSUR and played in the inaugural South American tournament. Brazil has not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but participated in the first edition of rugby 7s in the Olympics. Brazil currently ranks 3rd in South America and 5th in the Americas region.
Boston Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Boston, Massachusetts, US. The club competes in, and is governed by, the New England Rugby Football Union, the Northeast Rugby Union, and USA Rugby.
The New York Athletic Club Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in New York City that is affiliated with the New York Athletic Club.
Old Mission Beach Athletic Club Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in San Diego, California. OMBAC RFC is directly affiliated with the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club. The rugby team plays at The Little Q Rugby Field, adjacent to Qualcomm Stadium.
The Chile national rugby union team, nicknamed Los Cóndores, plays in red jerseys and blue shorts, and is organized by the Chilean Rugby Federation. As of 2015, Chile has not qualified for a Rugby World Cup.
The True South Geographical Union is the Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams playing in the Southern United States for USA Rugby.
Todd Stanger Clever is an American rugby union player who plays flanker for the Austin Elite Rugby. He became the first American to play Super Rugby. At the international level, he was a member of the United States national team, served as captain, and is the most capped player in United States rugby union history.
The 1980 Italy rugby union tour of the United States, New Zealand and the South Pacific was a series of matches played between June and July 1980 in the United States, South Pacific Islands and New Zealand by the Italian rugby union team.
The 1983 Italy rugby union tour of Canada and the United States was a series of matches played between June and July 1983 in Canada and the United States by Italy national rugby union team
The 1999 United States rugby union tour of Australia, England and Wales was a series of matches played in July and August 1999 in Australia, England and Wales by the USA national rugby union team in order to prepare the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
The Pacific Rim Rugby Championship, also known as the Epson Cup for sponsorship purposes, was an international rugby union tournament contested by national teams from around the Pacific. The championship was held annually between 1996 and 2001.
