This timeline lists the foundation dates of the national governing bodies for rugby union —known as rugby unions or federations. The first union was the Rugby Football Union (RFU) that was founded in 1871 to govern rugby union within England. It was founded following the first ever rugby union international, played between England and Scotland in 1871. The Scottish Football Union (later renamed the Scottish Rugby Union) was then founded in 1873, the Irish Rugby Football Union in 1879 and the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881.
Langholm Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team founded in 1871. They play their home games at Milntown, Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway.
Fédération Ivoirienne de Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in the Ivory Coast. It was founded in 1961 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1988.
Rugby union in the Bahamas is a minor, but relatively successful sport. They are currently ranked 86th in the International Rugby Board's world rankings. There are fewer than one thousand registered athletes in the country and only seven official IRB sanctioned teams.
Rugby union in Belgium is a growing sport. The national governing body for rugby union in Belgium is the Belgian Rugby Federation. The national team plays in the European Nations Cup, and as of October 2014, they were ranked thirtieth in the World Rugby Rankings.
Rugby union in Martinique is a minor, but growing sport.
Rugby union in India is a minor sport. However, it is a fast-growing sport as some Indian sporting clubs are beginning to embrace the game. Rugby union was the second most popular winter sport after association football in India, but now it is played in the shadow of the football team.
Rugby union in Botswana is a growing sport.
Rugby union in Latvia is a minor but growing sport. During the occupation of the Baltic states, Latvia was not a centre for the game but nonetheless Latvia managed to qualify for the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens - which may be seen as the highest point it has yet reached.
Rugby union in Morocco is a significant and popular sport.
Rugby union in Poland is a moderately popular sport and currently, the Polish men`s national team are ranked 30th in the world as of 20th November 2022. The Poland women's rugby sevens team won the silver medal at the 2023 European Games behind Great Britain, progressing to the final 2024 Summer Olympic qualification tournament.
Rugby union in Thailand is a significant sport. They are currently ranked 60th, with 16,121 registered players.
Rugby union in Tunisia is a significant sport. They are currently ranked 39th in the world, with 15830 registered players, and 72 clubs.
Rugby union in the British Virgin Islands is a minor but growing sport. They currently have around 440 registered players.
Rugby union in Mozambique is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby Israel is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Israel. It was founded as the Israel Rugby Union in 1971, and joined the International Rugby Board in 1988. For political reasons, it is also part of FIRA-AER, the European rugby body, rather than the Asian Rugby Football Union. The Israel national rugby union team play in the European Nations Cup. Its headquarters are in Ra'anana.
Colin McLeod Telfer is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He played at fly-half.
Malaysia Rugby, formerly known as Malaysia Rugby Union(Malay: Kesatuan Ragbi Malaysia) is the governing body for rugby union in Malaysia. It was founded in 1921 and joined the International Rugby Football Board, later known as the International Rugby Board and now as World Rugby, in 1988. They organize the annual Malaysia Sevens tournament and few local tournament
The Korea Rugby Union (KRU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Korea. It was founded in 1946, and become a member of World Rugby in November 1988. The KRU was the fifth Asian rugby union to be founded, after Ceylon, Malaya, Japan (1926) and Thailand (1937).
The Bermuda Rugby Football Union is the rugby governing body in Bermuda. It was founded in 1964, and joined the International Rugby Board in 1992. The federation oversees the Bermuda national rugby union team.
The Chinese Taipei Rugby Football Union (CTRFU)) is the rugby union governing body in the Taiwan. Because of Taiwan's complex relationship with the People's Republic of China, the union competes under the name Chung Hua Taipei or "Chinese Taipei", rather than as either Taiwan or the Republic of China.