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 The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

(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 The Scottish Football Union was a football league competition that existed from 1906 till the outbreak of the First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global confl ...

(later renamed the Scottish Rugby Union) was then founded in 1873, the

Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

in 1879 and the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

in 1881.

Timeline

*1871 (English)

(RFU) *1873 Scottish Rugby Union (as Scottish Football Union until 1924) *1879

(a merger of two Irish unions both formed in 1874) *1881

*1889 South African Rugby Board (merged with South African Rugby Union in 1992 to form South African Rugby Football Union; merged body renamed South African Rugby Union in 2005) *1892 New Zealand Rugby (founded as New Zealand Rugby Football Union, known as New Zealand Rugby Union from 2006–2013) *1895 Rhodesia Rugby Football Union (Zimbabwe RU after 1980) *1899

Argentine Rugby Union The Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby, abbreviated "UAR") is the governing body for rugby union in Argentina. It is a member of World Rugby, with a seat on that body's Executive Council, and a founding member of Sudamérica Rug ...

*1900 German Rugby Federation *1908

Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union Sri Lanka Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest governing bodies in the world, being founded as the Ceylon Rugby Football Union in 1908. History The Ceylon Rugby Football Union was founded in 1908. T ...

(as Ceylon Rugby Football Union) *1913 Fiji Rugby Union (founded as Fiji Rugby Football Union) *1916 Royal Moroccan Rugby Federation *1919 French Rugby Federation *1920 Guyana Rugby Football Union *1921

Malaysian Rugby Union Malaysian Rugby, formerly known as Malaysian 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 Internat ...

(As Malaya Rugby Union) *1922 Catalan Rugby Federation *1923 Spanish Rugby Federation *1923 Tonga Rugby Football Union *1923 Samoa Rugby Football Union *1923 Kenya Rugby Football Union (as Rugby Football Union of Kenya) *1926 Japan Rugby Football Union *1926 Portuguese Rugby Federation *1926 Czech Rugby Union (as Czechoslovakia) *1928

Italian Rugby Federation The Italian Rugby Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Rugby) or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby. (All other members of ...

*1928 Trinidad and Tobago Rugby Football Union *1931 Romanian Rugby Federation *1932 Dutch Rugby Union *1932

Swedish Rugby Union The Swedish Rugby Union ( sv, Svenska Rugbyförbundet) is the governing body for rugby union in Sweden. The Stockholm Rugby Union ( sv, Stockholms Rugbyförbund) was founded on 29 May 1932. It is unclear exactly when it became the "Swedish Rugby Un ...

*1934 Hellenic Rugby Federation *1935

Belgian Rugby Federation The Belgian Rugby Federation (FBRB – ''Fédération Belge de Rugby'' in French and ''Belgische Rugby Bond'' in Dutch) is the governing body for rugby union in Belgium. It was founded in 1931 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Bo ...

*1935 Chilean Rugby Federation (as Rugby Union of Chile) *1936 Rugby Union of Russia (founded as, and successor of, Rugby Union of the Soviet Union) *1937 Thai Rugby Union *1946

Korea Rugby Union The Korea Rugby Union (KRU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Korea. Teams *South Korea - the men's national rugby union team * 7s - the national men's rugby union seven-a-side team. See also *Rugby union in South Korea *Sport in So ...

*1946 Chinese Taipei Rugby Union *1948

Singapore Rugby Union The Singapore Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Singapore. It was founded in 1948. The current president is Terrence Khoo, who played for the national team from 1984 to 2000 and is a former national captain. The Singapore Rugb ...

*1949 Rugby Australia (founded as Australian Rugby Union; renamed in 2017) *1950 Danish Rugby Union *1951

Uruguayan Rugby Union The Uruguayan Rugby Union ( es, Unión de Rugby del Uruguay) is the governing body for rugby union in Uruguay. Foundation and affiliation It was founded in 1951 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1989. They have been repr ...

*1952

Niue Rugby Football Union Niue Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Niue. It was founded in 1952, and became affiliated to the World Rugby (formerly the IRB) in 1999. The Niue Rugby Football Union is a member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Uni ...

*1953

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) is the governing body for rugby union in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1952 and became affiliated to World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby Board) in 1988.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' ...

*1953

Rugby Football Union of East Africa The Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) is an umbrella union for the Kenya Rugby Football Union, Tanzania Rugby Football Union and Uganda Rugby Football Union. It owes its existence to the fact that, prior to independence, Kenya, Tanzan ...

(umbrella organization that includes Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) *1954 Rugby Union of Serbia (as Yugoslavia) *1956 Royal Moroccan Rugby Federation *1957 Polish Rugby Union *1958

Jamaica Rugby Football Union The Jamaica Rugby Football Union is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in Jamaica. Its role is to serve as the national governing body charged with achieving and maintaining high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby. T ...

*1959 Uganda Rugby Union (as URFU) *1960 Senegalese Rugby Federation *1960 British Virgin Islands Rugby Football Union *1960

Latvian Rugby Federation The Latvian Rugby Federation ( lv, Latvijas Regbija federācija) is the governing body for rugby in Latvia. It oversees the various national teams and the development of the sport. The federation was founded in 1991, although its origins go b ...

(as regional body of USSR) *1961 Côte d'Ivoire Rugby Federation *1961 Lithuanian Rugby Federation (as regional body under USSR - full nation body in 1990s) *1962 Bulgarian Rugby Federation *1962

Croatian Rugby Federation The Croatian Rugby Federation ( hr, Hrvatski ragbijaški savez) is the governing body for rugby union in Croatia. Teams Men *Croatia - the national men's rugby union team. * 7s - the national men's rugby union seven-a-side team. See also *Croatia ...

(as part of Yugoslavia) *1963 Madagascan Rugby Federation *1963 Solomon Islands Rugby Union Federation *1963 Papua New Guinea Rugby Football Union *1963 Brazilian Rugby Confederation (as Rugby Union of Brazil) *1964

Georgia Rugby Union The Georgian Rugby Union (GRU) (Georgian: საქართველოს რაგბის კავშირი) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the nation of Georgia. Founded in 1964, it was part of the Rugby Union of ...

(as regional body under USSR - full nation body in 1990s) *1964 Barbados Rugby Football Union *1964

Bermuda Rugby Football Union 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.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ), p. 63 The federation ove ...

*1964 Norwegian Rugby Union *1965 Rugby Canada (founded as Canadian Rugby Union) *1967 Martinique Rugby Committee (territorial committee of French Rugby Federation) *1968

Indian Rugby Football Union Rugby India, also known as Indian Rugby Football Union is the governing body for sport of rugby union in India. It is situated at Marine lines, Mumbai in Maharashtra. It was founded in 1968 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Boa ...

*1968

Finnish Rugby Federation The Finnish Rugby Federation (SRL) ( fi, Suomen Rugbyliitto) is recognised as the national governing body for rugby in Finland. It is a member of several organisations, including World Rugby and Rugby Europe. The SRL was founded in 1968 and has as ...

*1970

Paraguayan Rugby Union The Paraguayan Rugby Union ( es, Unión de Rugby del Paraguay) is the governing body for rugby union in Paraguay. It was founded in 1970 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1989. Senior Paraguayan Rugby Championship See al ...

*1971 Cayman Rugby Football Union *1971 Israel Rugby Union *1972 Swiss Rugby Federation *1972 Tunisian Rugby Federation *1973 Mexican Rugby Federation *1973 Bahamas Rugby Football Union *1974

Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union The Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU) was the governing body for rugby union that represented the Gulf Cooperation Council states until the end of 2010. As well as organising local and regional competitions in United Arab Emirates, UAE, B ...

(founded as Gulf Rugby Football Union) — then an overseas member of the Rugby Football Union; became independent in 1990. Officially disbanded in 2011; to be replaced with separate national unions in each of its former member countries. The new United Arab Emirates union was founded shortly before the AGRFU dissolution. *1974 Luxembourg Rugby Federation *1974 Saint Lucia Rugby Football Union *1975 USA Rugby (founded as United States of America Rugby Football Union) *1975

Zambia Rugby Football Union The Zambia Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Zambia. They also govern rugby sevens in Zambia. It is a member of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) and a member of the International Rugby Board. It administers the Zambia na ...

*1979 Kazakhstan Rugby Union (as regional association of USSR - full national body in 1994) *1977

Brunei Rugby Football Union The Brunei Rugby Football Union (BRFU; - KRBD) is the governing body of rugby union in Brunei Darussalam. History Rugby union, which is played in 105 countries around the world, has been played in Brunei since the 1950s. Despite the fact that ...

*1980

Vanuatu Rugby Football Union The Vanuatu Rugby Football Union, or VRFU, is the governing body for rugby union in Vanuatu. It was established in the 1960s, but only became fully affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1999. The Vanuatu Rugby Football Union is a fu ...

*1986

Andorran Rugby Federation The Andorran Rugby Federation ( ca, Federació Andorrana de Rugby) is the governing body for rugby union in Andorra. It was founded in 1986 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1991. Teams Men * Andorra - the national men's ru ...

*1989

Tahiti Rugby Union The Tahiti Rugby Union () is the governing body for rugby union in Tahiti. It was founded in 1989 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby) in 1994. It is also a full member of Oceania Rugby, which is the governing b ...

*1989 Cook Islands Rugby Union *1989 Rugby Association of Slovenia *1990

Namibia Rugby Union Namibia Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Namibia. It was formed in March 1990, the same month that it joined the International Rugby Board. See also *Namibia national rugby union teamNamibia Sports Commission Rugby u ...

*1990

Hungarian Rugby Union The Hungarian Rugby Union ( hu, Magyar Rögbi Szövetség) is the governing body for rugby union in Hungary. It was founded in 1990 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1992. It organises the three leagues, the Extraliga, the ...

*1990

Austrian Rugby Federation The Austrian Rugby Federation (german: Österreichischer Rugby Verband) is the governing body for rugby union in Austria. The first documented game of rugby played in Austria occurred on April 14, 1912. The sport was being brought to Austria by t ...

*1990

American Samoa Rugby Union The American Samoa Rugby Union, or ASRU, is the governing body for rugby union in American Samoa. It was established in 1990, and became fully affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 2012. The ASRU is also a full member of the Federat ...

*1991 Venezuelan Rugby Federation *1991

National Rugby Federation of Ukraine The National Rugby Federation of Ukraine is the governing body for rugby union in Ukraine. It was founded in 1991 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1992. It is based in Kyiv. History Ukraine made their international debut i ...

*1991

Malta Rugby Football Union The Malta Rugby Football Union (MRFU) is the governing body for all Rugby Union in Malta. The MRFU is a full member of Rugby Europe and World Rugby. The MRFU is a member of SportMalta, the Maltese islands national sports body. On 14 September ...

*1992

Botswana Rugby Union The Botswana Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Botswana. It is a member of Rugby Africa and World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every fou ...

*1992 Moldovan Rugby Federation *1992 Nepal Rugby Association *1992 Bosnia and Herzegovina Rugby Federation *1992 South African Rugby Union (founded as South Africa Rugby Football Union, a merger of the white South African Rugby Board and the non-racial South African Rugby Union; adopted current name in 2005) *1993 Rugby Union Mauritius *1995 Swaziland Rugby Union *1996 Monegasque Rugby Federation *1996

Chinese Rugby Football Association The Chinese Rugby Football Association (CRFA) is the rugby union governing body in China. Due to the Olympic strategy of China, CRFA has concerned more of the rugby sevens instead of the 15-men rugby since the beginning of 2000s. CRFA also organ ...

*1996 Macau Rugby Union *1997 Peruvian Rugby Federation *1997

Cameroonian Rugby Federation The Cameroonian Rugby Federation (french: Fédération Camerounaise de Rugby) is the governing body for rugby union in Cameroon. It is a member of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) and a member of the International Rugby Board. Reference ...

*1997

Guam Rugby Football Union The Guam Rugby Football Union (GRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Guam. The union was formed in 1997 as a sports federation to help develop and host rugby when Guam was chosen to host the 1999 South Pacific Games. They were recognized ...

*1998

Philippine Rugby Football Union The PRFU is the official governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in the Philippines. The PRFU was founded in 1998 and was granted full World Rugby membership in 2008. Philippine Rugby is a non-profit national sports association registered with ...

*1998 Nigeria Rugby Football Federation *1998 Libyan Rugby Association *1998 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Rugby Union *2000

Pakistan Rugby Union The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) is the rugby union governing body in Pakistan. It is in charge of the Pakistan national team. Also among the Union's chief activities are conferences, organising international matches, and educating and training pla ...

*2001

Lao Rugby Federation __NOTOC__ Lao may refer to: Laos * Something of, from, or related to Laos, a country in Southeast Asia * Lao people (people from Laos, or of Lao descent) * The Lao language * Lao script, the writing system used to write the Lao language ** Lao ...

*2001 Togolese Rugby Federation *2001 Burundian Rugby Federation *2001 Malian Rugby Federation *2001 Cambodian Federation of Rugby *2001 Turks and Caicos Islands Rugby Football Union *2003 Mongolian Rugby Football Union *2003 Rwandan Rugby Federation *2004 Azerbaijani Rugby Federation *2004

Uzbekistan Rugby Federation The Uzbekistan Rugby Federation ( uz, O'zbekiston Regbi Federatsiyasi) is the governing body for rugby union in Uzbekistan. The Rugby Federation of Uzbekistan was established in 2002, becoming a full member of ARFU (Asian Rugby Football Union) and ...

*2004 Dominican Rugby Federation *2004 Persatuan Rugby Union Indonesia *2004 Rugby Association of Panama *2004 Slovak Rugby Union *2005 Ghana Rugby Football Union *2005 Sammarinese Rugby Federation *2006

Cyprus Rugby Federation The Cyprus Rugby Federation (CRF) (Greek: Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ράγκμπι, Κ.Ο.ΡΑ) ( tr, Kıbrıs Ragbi Federasyonu (KRF)) the governing body for rugby union in Cyprus. It runs several competitions including a league with t ...

*2007 Jordan Rugby Union *2007

Estonian Rugby Union The Estonian Rugby Union ( et, Eesti Ragbi Liit) is the governing body of rugby union in Estonia and was formed in 2007 in response to FIRA – Association of European Rugby, FIRA-AER expulsion of the Estonian Rugby Federation. In June 2009 the ...

*2007 Guatemalan Rugby Association *2007

Tuvalu Rugby Union The Tuvalu Rugby Union, or TRU, is the governing body for rugby union in Tuvalu. It was established in 2007 and is a full member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU), which is the regional governing body for rugby in Oceania. Tuvalu pa ...

*2007

Algerian Rugby Federation The Algerian Rugby Federation (FAR) ; ( ar, الفدرالية الجزائرية للرغبي) is the governing body for rugby union in Algeria. Algeria became a full member of Rugby Africa in December 2016. The federation is responsible for th ...

*2008 Ecuadorian Rugby Federation *2008 Egyptian Rugby Football Union *2009 Turkey Rugby Federation *2009

Lebanese Rugby Union Federation The Lebanese Rugby Union Federation, a national sports association based in Beirut, is the governing body for rugby union in Lebanon. The origins of the game in the country date back to at least 1995 with the formation of the Beirut Phoenicians ...

*2009 UAE Rugby Federation *2009 Rugby Federation of Costa Rica *2010

Qatar Rugby Federation The Qatar Rugby Federation ( ar, الاتحاد القطري للرجبي) is the governing body for rugby union in Qatar. It was founded in 2006 and sent teams to the Arabian 7s Challenge Cup in that year. However, it was largely dormant until the ...

*2010 Rugby Iceland *2010 Afghanistan Rugby Federation *2010 Liechtenstein Rugby Union *2012 Federation of Lesotho Rugby *2012 Comorian Rugby Federation *2012 Syrian High Rugby Committee *2012 Rugby Belize *2013 Rugby Union of Belarushttp://old.rugbyeurope.tv/team-80.htm *2015 Haitian Rugby Federation

References and notes

External links

*{{cite web , url=http://www.irb.com/unions/index.html , title=Unions , publisher=irb.com , accessdate=2007-12-13 , url-status=dead, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006231410/http://www.irb.com/unions/index.html , archivedate=2014-10-06 Rugby unions History of rugby union Rugby union-related lists