List of international rugby rivalries

In International rugby union history there have been a number of notable rivalries. This list reflects some of the great rivalries. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

For the purpose of this article only, the criteria for inclusion are (all must be met):

• The two teams must have played each other at least 35 times.
• Both teams must at least be a tier-one or tier-two rugby nation.
• The two teams must have had their first match played in 1980 or earlier.

Rivalry	Period	Meetings	Overall Head to Head	Most Wins	Name of Trophy	Ref
Australia–New Zealand	1903–	179	126–45 (8 draws)	New Zealand	Bledisloe Cup	[4] [5]
England–Scotland	1871–	143	77–47 (19 draws)	England	Calcutta Cup	[6]
England–Ireland	1875–	143	81–54 (8 draws)	England	Millennium Trophy	[7]
Ireland–Scotland	1877–	143	72–66 (5 draws)	Ireland	Centenary Quaich	[8]
England–Wales	1881–	143	70–61 (12 draws)	England	—	[9]
Ireland–Wales	1882–	136	70–59 (7 draws)	Wales	—	[10]
Scotland–Wales	1883–	131	75–53 (3 draws)	Wales	Doddie Weir Cup	[11]
England–France	1906–	112	61–44 (7 draws)	England	—	[12]
New Zealand–South Africa	1921–	110	63–43 (4 draws)	New Zealand	Freedom Cup	[13] [14]
France–Wales	1908–	105	51–51 (3 draws)	Tied	—	[15]
France–Ireland	1909–	104	60–37 (7 draws)	France	—	[16]
France–Scotland	1910–	104	61–40 (3 draws)	France	Auld Alliance Trophy	[17]
Australia–South Africa	1933–	97	53–41 (3 draws)	South Africa	Mandela Challenge Plate	[18]
Fiji–Tonga	1924–	96	66–27 (3 draws)	Fiji	—	[19]
Samoa–Tonga	1926–	71	39–28 (4 draws)	Samoa	—	[20]
Canada–United States	1977–	67	40–25 (2 draws)	Canada	—	[21]
France–New Zealand	1906–	67	51–15 (1 draw)	New Zealand	Dave Gallaher Trophy	[22] [23]
Chile–Uruguay	1948–	57	43–13 (1 draw)	Uruguay	—	[24]
Australia–England	1909–	56	28–27 (1 draw)	England	Ella–Mobbs Trophy	[25]
Fiji–Samoa	1924–	56	32–21 (3 draws)	Fiji	—	[26]
Argentina–France	1949–	56	40–15 (1 draw)	France	—	[27]
Australia–France	1928–	52	29–21 (2 draws)	Australia	Trophée des Bicentenaires	[28]
France–Romania	1924–2015	51	41–8 (2 draws)	France	—	[29]
France–Italy	1937–	50	46–3 (1 draw)	France	—
Australia–Wales	1908–	49	34–14 (1 draw)	Australia	James Bevan Trophy	[30]
England–South Africa	1906–	47	29–16 (2 draws)	South Africa	—	[31]
England–New Zealand	1905–	46	36–8 (2 draws)	New Zealand	Hillary Shield	[32] [33]
France–South Africa	1913–	46	28–12 (6 draws)	South Africa	—
Italy–Romania	1936–	44	25–16 (3 draws)	Italy	—	[34]
South Africa–Wales	1906–	43	35–7 (1 draw)	South Africa	—
Spain–Portugal	1935–	42	27–13 (2 draws)	Spain	—	[24]
Australia–Argentina	1979–	42	29–10 (3 draws)	Australia	Puma Trophy	[35]
Ireland–New Zealand	1905–	38	32–5 (1 draw)	New Zealand	—	[36] [37]
Australia–Ireland	1927–	38	22–15 (1 draw)	Australia	Lansdowne Cup	[38]
Australia–Scotland	1927–	35	22–13	Australia	Hopetoun Cup	[39]

See also

• Rugby union trophies and awards
• List of rugby union competitions

References

1. "Top 5 international rugby rivalries of all time | RugbyPass rugby rivalries". RugbyPass . 22 August 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
2. "Top Seven Rugby Rivalries That Defined the Sport". The Rugby Paper. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
3. "The eight biggest rivalries in world rugby ranked". Ruck. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
4. "Rivalries > NZ Rugby Stats > Australia". stats.allblacks.com. New Zealand Rugby.
5. "Rugby Database: All Blacks vs Australia rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
6. "Rugby Database: England vs Scotland rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
7. "Rugby Database: England vs Ireland rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
8. "Rugby Database: Ireland vs Scotland rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
9. "Rugby Database: England vs Wales rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
10. "Rugby Database: Ireland vs Wales rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
11. "Rugby Database: Wales vs Scotland rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
12. "Rugby Database: England vs France rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
13. "Rivalries > NZ Rugby Stats > South Africa". stats.allblacks.com. New Zealand Rugby.
14. "Rugby Database: All Blacks vs South Africa rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
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17. "Rugby Database: France vs Scotland rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
18. "Rugby Database: Australia vs South Africa rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
19. "Rugby Database: Fiji vs Tonga rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
20. "Rugby Database: Tonga vs Samoa rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
21. "Results and Statistics | International | Canada vs USA | Rugby Kick Off". rugbykickoff.com. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
22. "Rivalries > NZ Rugby Stats > France". stats.allblacks.com. New Zealand Rugby.
23. "Rugby Database: France vs All Blacks rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
24. "Results and Statistics | International | Spain vs Portugal | Rugby Kick Off". rugbykickoff.com. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
25. "Rugby Database: Australia vs England rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
26. "Results and Statistics | International | Fiji vs Samoa | Rugby Kick Off". rugbykickoff.com. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
27. "Rugby Database: Argentina vs France rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
28. "Rugby Database: Australia vs France rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
29. "Teams played by France – International Rugby Union". Rugby Data. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017.
30. "Rugby Database: Australia vs Wales rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
31. "Rugby Database: England vs South Africa rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
32. "Rivalries > NZ Rugby Stats > England". stats.allblacks.com. New Zealand Rugby.
33. "Rugby Database: England vs All Blacks rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
34. "Results and Statistics | International | Romania vs Italy | Rugby Kick Off". rugbykickoff.com. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
35. "Rugby Database: Australia vs Argentina rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
36. "Rivalries > NZ Rugby Stats > Ireland". stats.allblacks.com. New Zealand Rugby.
37. "Rugby Database: Ireland vs All Blacks rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
38. "Rugby Database: Australia vs Ireland rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
39. "Rugby Database: Australia vs Scotland rugby stats". rugbydatabase.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2025.