Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
The Ireland national team dates to 1875, when it played its first international match against England. Ireland reached number 1 in the World Rugby Rankings for the first time in 2019.[1] Eleven former Ireland players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
Dublin University was the first organised rugby football club in Ireland, having been founded in 1854.[2] The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain. During the third quarter of the nineteenth century, and following the adoption of a set of official rules in 1868, rugby football began to spread quickly throughout Ireland, resulting in the formation of several other clubs that are still in existence, including NIFC (1868); Wanderers (1869); Queen's University (1869); Lansdowne (1873); Dungannon (1873); Co. Carlow (1873); UCC (1874); and Ballinasloe (1875) which amalgamated with Athlone to form Buccaneers.[3]
In December 1874, the Irish Football Union was formed. Initially, there were two unions: the Irish Football Union, which had jurisdiction over clubs in Leinster, Munster and parts of Ulster and the Northern Football Union of Ireland which formed in January 1875 and controlled the Belfast area.[4] The IRFU was formed in 1879 as an amalgamation of these two organisations, convening for the first time on 5 February 1880.[5]
Ireland lost their first test match against England 0–7 at the Oval on 15 February 1875. Both teams fielded 20 players in this match,[6] as was customary in the early years of rugby union; it was not until 1877 that the number of players was reduced from 20 to 15. That same year Ireland's first home match, also against England, was held at Leinster Cricket Club's Observatory Lane ground in Rathmines, as Lansdowne Road was deemed unsuitable.[7][8][9] The first match at Lansdowne Road was held on 11 March 1878, with England beating Ireland by two goals and a try to nil.[9][10]
Following a six-year period of defeats, in 1881 Ireland finally achieved their first test victory, beating Scotland at Ormeau in Belfast, following a late drop goal from John C Bagot.[11] Ireland turned up two men short for their test in Cardiff in 1884 and had to borrow two Welsh players.[12] Ireland's first test match victory at Lansdowne Road on 5 February 1887, was also their first win over England, with the final score of two goals to nil.[10] On the third of March 1888, Ireland recorded their first win over Wales with a goal, a try and a drop goal to nil.
