Ireland Rugby Team

Although rugby union had its infancy in Ireland as far back as the 1850s, it wasn’t until 1875 that the Ireland Rugby team had its first international match against England. In quite a substantial difference to the team’s international prowess of today, they also didn’t win a test match until 1881, where they beat Scotland in Belfast.

Naturally though as the popularity of the sport grew in the country, the performances steadily began to improve and by the early 20th century the Ireland Rugby team were an established international side and twice came close to Grand Slams in what was the Five Nations of 1926 and 1927.

The period between the second world war and the start of the professional era was mixed in terms of success. Highlights included Five Nations titles in the 50s and 70s and quarter finals finishes in the World Cups of 1987 and 1991. However, Ireland had a resurgence with the creation of the Six Nations in the year 2000, including a memorable Grand Slam and title in 2009.

As of 2021, the Ireland Rugby team have an envious record on the international stage. Ireland reached the number one spot in the World Rankings for the first time in 2019 and in total they have 14 Six Nations (in all competition formats) titles, including 3 Grand Slams and 11 Triple Crowns. They’ve also featured in every World Cup with quarter finals finishes in all but one event, the 2007 tournament in France. Ireland now also forms part of the four unions that make the British and Ireland Lions squad.