List of international rugby rivalries

In International rugby union history there have been a number of notable rivalries. This list reflects some of the great rivalries.^[1][2][3]

For the purpose of this article only, the criteria for inclusion are (all must be met):

• The two teams must have played each other at least 35 times.
• Both teams must at least be a tier-one or tier-two rugby nation.
• The two teams must have had their first match played in 1980 or earlier.

Rivalry	Period	Meetings	Overall Head to Head	Most Wins	Name of Trophy	Ref
Australia–New Zealand	1903–	181	128–45 (8 draws)	New Zealand	Bledisloe Cup	[4][5]
England–Scotland	1871–	144	77–48 (19 draws)	England	Calcutta Cup	[6]
England–Ireland	1875–	144	81–55 (8 draws)	England	Millennium Trophy	[7]
Ireland–Scotland	1877–	144	73–66 (5 draws)	Ireland	Centenary Quaich	[8]
England–Wales	1881–	144	71–61 (12 draws)	England	—N/a	[9]
Ireland–Wales	1882–	137	70–60 (7 draws)	Wales	—N/a	[10]
Scotland–Wales	1883–	132	75–54 (3 draws)	Wales	Doddie Weir Cup	[11]
England–France	1906–	113	61–45 (7 draws)	England	—N/a	[12]
New Zealand–South Africa	1921–	110	63–43 (4 draws)	New Zealand	Freedom Cup	[13][14]
France–Wales	1908–	105	52–51 (3 draws)	France	—N/a	[15]
France–Ireland	1909–	105	61–37 (7 draws)	France	—N/a	[16]
France–Scotland	1910–	105	61–41 (3 draws)	France	Auld Alliance Trophy	[17]
Australia–South Africa	1933–	97	53–41 (3 draws)	South Africa	Mandela Challenge Plate	[18]
Fiji–Tonga	1924–	96	66–27 (3 draws)	Fiji	—N/a	[19]
Samoa–Tonga	1926–	71	39–28 (4 draws)	Samoa	—N/a	[20]
Canada–United States	1977–	67	40–25 (2 draws)	Canada	—N/a	[21]
France–New Zealand	1906–	67	51–15 (1 draw)	New Zealand	Dave Gallaher Trophy	[22][23]
Chile–Uruguay	1948–	57	43–13 (1 draw)	Uruguay	—N/a	[24]
Australia–England	1909–	57	29–27 (1 draw)	England	Ella–Mobbs Trophy	[25]
Fiji–Samoa	1924–	57	33–21 (3 draws)	Fiji	—N/a	[26]
Argentina–France	1949–	56	40–15 (1 draw)	France	—N/a	[27]
Australia–France	1928–	53	29–22 (2 draws)	Australia	Trophée des Bicentenaires	[28]
France–Romania	1924–2015	51	41–8 (2 draws)	France	—N/a	[29]
France–Italy	1937–	51	47–3 (1 draw)	France	—N/a
Australia–Wales	1908–	49	34–14 (1 draw)	Australia	James Bevan Trophy	[30]
England–New Zealand	1905–	47	36–9 (2 draws)	New Zealand	Hillary Shield	[31][32]
England–South Africa	1906–	47	29–16 (2 draws)	South Africa	—N/a	[33]
France–South Africa	1913–	47	29–12 (6 draws)	South Africa	—N/a
Italy–Romania	1936–	44	25–16 (3 draws)	Italy	—N/a	[34]
South Africa–Wales	1906–	44	36–7 (1 draw)	South Africa	—N/a
Spain–Portugal	1935–	43	27–14 (2 draws)	Spain	—N/a	[24]
Australia–Argentina	1979–	42	30–10 (3 draws)	Australia	Puma Trophy	[35]
Ireland–New Zealand	1905–	39	33–5 (1 draw)	New Zealand	—N/a	[36][37]
Australia–Ireland	1927–	39	22–16 (1 draw)	Australia	Lansdowne Cup	[38]
Australia–Scotland	1927–	35	22–13	Australia	Hopetoun Cup	[39]

See also

• Rugby union trophies and awards
• List of rugby union competitions

References