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List of international rugby union teams

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The following is a list of international rugby union teams:

National teams – band classification

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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]

High performance

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All countries previously in Tiers 1 and 2.

Development One

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These are countries earmarked for increased developmental funding and include:

Targeted

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The IRB did not release a list of unions in this category, but named several as World Cup hopefuls being in this band:

Developmental

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European
countries
North-South American
countries
African
countries
Asian
countries
Oceanian
countries
 Andorra
 Austria
 Azerbaijan
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Bulgaria
 Croatia
 Cyprus
 Czech Republic
 Denmark
 Finland
 Greece
 Hungary
 Israel
 Latvia
 Lithuania
 Luxembourg
 Malta
 Moldova
 Monaco
 Norway
 Serbia
 Slovakia
 Slovenia
 Sweden
  Switzerland
 Turkey
 Ukraine
 Bahamas[2]
 Barbados[2]
 Bermuda[2]
 British Virgin Islands[2]
 Cayman Islands[2]
 Colombia[3]
 Costa Rica[3]
 Guatemala[3]
 Guyana[2]
 Jamaica[2]
 Mexico
 Panama[3]
 Peru[3]
 Saint Lucia[2]
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[2]
 Trinidad and Tobago[2]
 Venezuela[3]
 Algeria
 Botswana
 Burundi
 Burkina Faso
 Cameroon
 DR Congo
 Egypt
 Eswatini
 Ghana
 Lesotho
 Madagascar
 Mali
 Mauritius
 Morocco
 Nigeria
 Rwanda
 Senegal
 Tanzania
 Togo
 Tunisia
 Uganda
 Zambia
 Brunei
 China
 Chinese Taipei
 Guam
 India
 Indonesia
 Iran
 Jordan
 Kazakhstan
 Kyrgyzstan
 Laos
 Lebanon
 Mongolia
   Nepal
 Pakistan
 Philippines
 Qatar
 Singapore
 Syria
 Thailand
 United Arab Emirates
 Uzbekistan
 American Samoa
 Cook Islands
 Niue
 Papua New Guinea
 Solomon Islands
 Vanuatu

World Rugby associates in italics

Other teams

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Rugby Africa teams not affiliated to World Rugby

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

Sudamerica Rugby teams not affiliated to World Rugby

Teams with affiliation suspended or without affiliation

Multinational teams

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  • There was also a West Indies side, which first toured when the Caribbean Rugby Union sent a team (managed by Gavin Clark) to tour England in 1976. Their last tour was also to England in October and November 2000.
  • The Commonwealth of Independent States played during the early 1990s.

Defunct national sides

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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.

* For more information on these teams see above.

Women's rugby

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Defunct women's national sides

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Invitation sides

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ "IRB announces increased funding for the game" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 25 January 2008. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rugby Americas North Member
  3. ^ a b c d e f Sudamérica Rugby Member