 | This article needs to be updated.(October 2023) |
The following is a list of international rugby union teams:
| This article needs to be updated.(October 2023) |
The following is a list of international rugby union teams:
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]
All countries previously in Tiers 1 and 2.
These are countries earmarked for increased developmental funding and include:
The IRB did not release a list of unions in this category, but named several as World Cup hopefuls being in this band:
World Rugby associates in italics
Benin 
Central African Republic 
Chad 
Congo 
DR Congo 
Egypt 
Gabon 
Guinea 
Malawi 
Mozambique 
Niger 
Seychelles 
Sierra Leone Asia Rugby teams not affiliated to World Rugby
Rugby Europe teams not affiliated to World Rugby
Rugby Americas North teams not affiliated to World Rugby
Oceania Rugby teams not affiliated to World Rugby
Nauru 
New Caledonia 
Tahiti (associate member of Oceania Rugby)
Tuvalu 
Wallis and Futuna (associate member of Oceania Rugby)Sudamerica Rugby teams not affiliated to World Rugby
Teams with affiliation suspended or without affiliation
Kenya 
Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika)
Uganda 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
Catalonia 
CIS*
Czechoslovakia 
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
East Germany 
Soviet Union 
Yugoslavia * For more information on these teams see above.
Australia 
Austria 
Bahamas 
Barbados 
Belgium 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 
Botswana 
Brazil 
Burkina Faso 
Cameroon 
Canada 
Cayman Islands 
China 
Colombia Czech Republic 
Denmark 
England 
Fiji 
Finland France 
Germany 
Guyana 
Hong Kong 
India 
Ireland 
Italy 
Ivory Coast 
Jamaica 
Japan Kenya 
Kazakhstan 
Kyrgyzstan 
Luxembourg 
Madagascar 
Malaysia 
Namibia 
Netherlands 
New Zealand 
Norway 
Papua New Guinea 
Philippines 
Portugal 
Romania 
Russia 
Rwanda 
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 
Samoa 
Scotland 
Senegal 
Serbia 
Singapore 
South Africa 
Spain 
Sweden 
Switzerland 
Thailand 
Tonga 
Trinidad and Tobago 
Tunisia 
Turkey Uganda 
United States 
Uzbekistan 
Wales 
Zambia 
Zimbabwe 
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