The 2015 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the Summer internationals in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

) refer to international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

matches that were mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere. Because of the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

, no test series took place. This allowed the European season to finish two weeks later, with the final of the

2014–15 Top 14 season The 2014–15 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Two new teams from the 2013–14 Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 this season, Lyon and La Rochelle in place ...

taking place on 13 June. The

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

was able to run for 21 consecutive weeks, without the three-week international break in June, to allow an earlier and shortened

2015 Rugby Championship The 2015 Rugby Championship was the fourth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The 2015 Championship was a shorter competition than normal, with ...

. Although the international window did not take place, some nations participating in the World Cup opted to play uncapped matches in preparation for the tournament.

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

hosted Fiji's A side, the

Fiji Warriors The Fiji Warriors, also referred to as Fiji A, is a national representative rugby team of rugby union in Fiji. It is the second-tier side to the Fiji national team. The Warriors team is selected from players in the Fijian domestic competi ...

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, with the Warriors playing Argentina's A-side

Argentina Jaguars Argentina XV, formerly known as the Jaguares, are the second national rugby union team in Argentina, after the full national side, the Pumas. Overview They already represented Argentina at the South American Rugby Championship, in 2001, 2002, ...

, between the two fixtures. With

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

not competing in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, or either of World Rugby's Nations Cup or Tbilisi Cup, they toured

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

for a two-test series. Three historic matches also took place.

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

hosted

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

for the first time as an official

test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

, the first Pacific nation to do so.

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

played two test matches, against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Portugal became the first European side to visit Kenya for an official test match.

Fixtures

23 May

Notes: * Uruguay gave this match Test Match status and awarded caps in this match.

27–31 May

---- Notes: * This was

Nathan Hines Nathan Hines (born 29 November 1976) is an Australian-born former rugby union and rugby league footballer. He played at international level for Scotland, winning 77 caps, and at club level for Edinburgh, Perpignan, and Clermont Auvergne among ...

and

Shane Jennings Shane Jennings (born 8 July 1981) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at openside flanker for Leinster Rugby and Ireland. He was also registered to St Mary's College. Club career Jennings impressed for Leinster in th ...

last professional match. ---- Notes: *

Vasco Uva Vasco Maria Nunes Barata de Sousa Uva (born 15 December 1982 in Lisbon) is a former Portuguese rugby union player. He played as a number eight. He took his law degree at the Catholic University of Portugal, in Lisbon, and he works as a lawye ...

earned his 100th test cap. ---- Notes: * This was

Ugo Monye Ugochukwu Chiedozie Monye (born 13 April 1983) is an English sports pundit and former rugby union player, Monye played 14 times for , 241 times for his only club Harlequins and played twice for the British & Irish Lions on their 2009 tour to ...

's and

Brad Thorn Bradley Carnegie Thorn (born 3 February 1975) is a rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Born in New Zealand, he represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a 22-season career as a pla ...

's last professional match. * This was England's largest winning margin over the Barbarians, surpassing the 31 point winning margin recorded in May 2012. * This was the Barbarians largest ever defeat. It was previously the 59–8 loss to the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

during the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia. ---- Notes: * Uruguay gave this match Test Match status, and awarded caps in this match.

20 June

26 June

8–11 July

Notes: * This was the first match played by New Zealand against a Pacific Island team in the Pacific, and they became the first

SANZAR SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...

team to play in Apia. * Faialaga Afamasaga and

Tim Nanai-Williams Tim Nanai-Williams (born 12 June 1989) is a New Zealand-born Samoan rugby union player. He currently plays for Stade Toulousain in the Top 14. He has also represented New Zealand and Samoa in sevens rugby. Early life and education Nanai-Wi ...

made their international debuts for Samoa. *

Nepo Laulala Nepo Eti Laulala (born 6 November 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays as a Tighthead Prop for Counties Manukau Steelers in the Mitre 10 Cup, the Blues in Super Rugby and for the national All Blacks, having made his interna ...

George Moala George Moala (born 5 November 1990), is a professional rugby union player currently playing for Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14, having previously played in New Zealand for both Auckland and the Blues. Early career Moala attended Tamaki ...

Charlie Ngatai Charlie Ngatai (born 17 August 1990) is a New Zealand-born professional rugby union footballer who plays as a Midfield Back, although he can also cover other backline positions. Ngatai is currently playing for Leinster in Ireland, having previo ...

and

Brad Weber Brad McCormick Weber (born 17 January 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a halfback for in the National Provincial Championship and the in Super Rugby. Early life Brother of Napier Marist rugby player Sam Webe ...

made their international debuts for New Zealand. ---- Notes: *

Benito Masilevu Benito Eremasilevu (born October 7, 1989) in Savusavu, Cakaudrove is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays wing for Fiji and French Top 14 side, Brive. Career Masilevu was born in Savusavu, he attended St Bedes Primary school. He later ...

and

Ben Volavola Ben Volavola (born 13 January 1991) is an Australian-born Fijian international rugby union footballer who plays for Racing 92. He has previously played for Super Rugby clubs such as the , , and most recently the . Volavola can play as either a ...

made their international debuts for Fiji. * Fiji gave this match Test Match status and awarded caps in this match. ---- Notes: * This was Namibia's first ever win over Russia. * Namibia Captain

Jacques Burger Jacques Burger (born 29 July 1983 in Windhoek, South West Africa) is a retired Namibian rugby union loose forward who finished his career at Saracens in the Aviva Premiership. Club career He played for Saracens, having joined them in the 2009/ ...

played in his first home since 2009, and was his first win since 2010. ----

18 July

---- ----

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mid-Year

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2014–15 in European rugby union 2015–16 in European rugby union 2015 in Oceanian rugby union 2015 in South American rugby union 2015 in African rugby union