The Barbados national rugby union team represents

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

at the sport of

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 it ...

. Barbados has been playing international rugby union since the mid-1990s. They have thus far not qualified for a

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

. Barbados has also hosted the Caribbean Championship. The national side is ranked 83rd in the world, as of 16 January 2023.

History

Rugby union had a long history in Barbados, though there was originally only the one team, called the Barbados Rugby Union. In 1995 the union affiliated to the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international ru ...

(IRB). Barbados made their international debut against the

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in 1996. Barbados won the match 10 to nil thanks to the heroics of Aidan "Irish" Kelleher now considered amongst the greatest player Barbados has ever had represent their country. They played three games the following year; losing to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

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and

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

. They played

Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of Gr ...

in 1999, losing nil to 15. In 2001 they played the Bahamas again, defeating them 18 to 25, though they lost to Bermuda in their following fixture. In 2005 Barbados began their campaign to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, in the Round 1a of the Americas group. Competing in the South Pool, and won all three of their fixtures, defeating Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

. Barbados finished at the top of their pool, sending them into a play-off match against the winner of the South Pool, the Bahamas. Played in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, Barbados defeated the Bahamas 52 to three. This sent them through to Round 3b, where they would play in a pool with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Barbados lost both of their games, exiting the World Cup qualifiers. During the qualification for the 2011 World Cup, Barbados were eliminated after a heavy defeat by

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Current squad

Squad as current as 7 November 2015

Record

Overall

References

External links

Rugby BarbadosBarbados
on IRB.com
Barbados
on rugbydata.com

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 it ...