Top 5 international rugby rivalries of all time
The 27th of March 1871 is a day etched into Rugby history as the first on which a competitive game of Rugby Union took place.
England and Scotland duked it out that day in front of 4000 spectators at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh.
The fixture itself came about as a challenge set forth by the captains of five senior Scottish Clubs to the footballers of England.
Much to the delight of the home crowd the Scots took home the win by the score of two tries and a goal to England’s lone try.
At that very moment Rugby’s first international rivalry was born and now more than 150 years later the sport has become a global game with many significant rivalries at all levels.
Rivalry by its very definition is based on competitiveness with the sole objectivity of superiority over your competition.
In a sport where many of the top nations play each other on a regular basis, several intense rugby rivalries have cultivated over the decades.
Below we will look at the top five rugby rivalries in international rugby history.
5. Fiji vs Samoa
Undoubtedly the most bone crunching of these rivalries, the South Pacific Island rivals rarely disappoint when going head-to-head.
Having first met way back in 1924, they have met on 53 further occasions with Fiji currently edging Samoa 30 – 21 with 3 draws.
Both countries are widely regarded as hot beds for rugby talent and have seen several of their very best players go on to represent other nations.
Names such as Joe Rokocoko, Manu Tualagi and Mils Muliaina have gone on to be some of the greatest players in the world for other countries.
Despite this, the players who have remained and played for their countries have been nothing short of sensational.
Think Alesana Tuilagi, Rupeni Caucaunibuca, Brian Lima and suddenly you realise just how much talent these little islands have produced.
4. Australia vs New Zealand
The Australasian rivalry between these two sides is one of little brother looking to take on big brother.
Unfortunately for big brother (Australia) little brother has completely dominated this rivalry, in particular in recent years.
Having played each other a whopping 173 times, New Zealand holds almost three times as many wins with 120 compared to Australia’s 45 with 8 draws thrown in for good measure.
Despite the lopsided nature of this rivalry, it remains one of the fieriest match ups in the game.
Australian victories have often come at the most inopportune times for the Kiwis, most notably the 1991 and 2003 Rugby World Cups – both tournaments in which the All Blacks were heavy favourites.
The 2003 tournament in particular sticks out for the famous statement of “Four more years boys” from the former Wallabies‘ captain George Gregan as his side knocked the All Blacks out of yet another tournament.
3. England vs Ireland
Ireland and England’s rivalry is one steeped in history due to the two countries complicated history.
The first fixture between the two sides took place in 1875 and would begin a run of forty-two consecutive English victories.
The streak would come to an end in 1925 when the two sides played out a 6 – 6 draws at Twickenham.
The following year in Dublin would see a first ever Irish victory 19 – 15. From here the Irish would begin to level the series with it currently standing at 80 – 51 in England’s favour.
Interestingly when one of these two sides gains the ascendancy, they tend to hold it for multiple seasons.
2. Australia vs England
A rivalry as old as time, the Aussies and the Poms.
No two countries enjoy beating each other more than these two.
Perhaps it is the similarities between the sporting psyche of the two nations or could it just be wanting to get one over the monarchy.
Rugby due to its very nature as a sport that requires physical and mental dominance for success has seen fierce battles over the years. None more so than the 2003 World Cup final which required two periods of overtime to be settled by the boot of one Johnny Wilkinson.
To get a real sense of this rivalry one only needs to look at the record between the two sides which is currently led by England 28 – 26.
1. New Zealand vs South Africa
Since 1921 these two southern hemisphere giants have gone tooth and nail against each other.
Due to South Africa’s apartheid regime, the country was put on an international sporting ban initially by the International Olympic Committee in 1970.
It would take rugby a bit longer but as the Springboks landed in Auckland in 1981 for their tour, the New Zealand public offered a significant backlash.
This would be the last time the two sides would meet until 1992 when the Apartheid era came to an end.
Interestingly until that point the Springboks held the advantage in the head-to-head series 21 – 18 and had the distinction of winning a series in New Zealand.
At the time of writing the two sides have now played 100 matches with the All Blacks winning 60 tests, the Springboks 36 with 4 draws.
Comments on RugbyPass
Well that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
2 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
18 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
18 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to comments