List of rugby union competitions

The following is a list of notable rugby union competitions that are still currently in existence. This includes both international tournaments played by national Test teams and also domestic club and provincial competitions.

Name	Participants	First played	Last played	Frequency	Notes
Men’s Rugby World Cup	Top 12 teams from previous World Cup (the top 3 in each group) plus 8 nations from regional qualifying tournaments.	1987	2023	Quadrennial
Women's Rugby World Cup	12 top national women's teams	1991	2021	Quadrennial^[1]
Men’s Six Nations Championship	England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales	1883	2023	Annually	Originally the Home Nations Championship, then the Five Nations with France's entry into the competition in 1910. Became the Six Nations when Italy was added in 2000.
Women's Six Nations Championship	England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales	1996	2023	Annually	Originally the Home International Championship. Became the Five Nations in 1999 when France joined. Spain was added in 2000, but Ireland did not play all the other countries in 2000 or 2001, making the first true Women's Six Nations the 2002 competition. Spain were replaced by Italy effective in 2007 after the competition was taken over by the (men's) Six Nations committee.
The Rugby Championship	Argentina (since 2012), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa	1996	2022	Annually	From its inception through 2011, the competition involved only Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and was known as the Tri Nations.
Rugby Europe Women's Championship	Up to 16 European national teams	1988	2022	Annually	Tournament for European women's national teams. Number of participants varies from year to year. The tournament is often divided into two "pools", dependent on playing strength. France and England, when they take part, normally enter "A" teams.
Rugby Europe International Championships	36 European national teams	2000	2022	Annually	Excludes European sides in the Six Nations Tournament. Currently played over a single season on a single round-robin basis with the competition split into five divisions, with promotion and relegation.
World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup	Fiji, Samoa, Tonga	2006	2022	Annually	Originally Pacific Five Nations — replaced the Pacific Tri-Nations. The original teams were Australia A, the Junior All Blacks (New Zealand's official "A" side), and the three Pacific Island nations. In 2008, the New Zealand Māori replaced the Junior All Blacks. From 2010-2012, only the Pacific Island nations and Japan participated who were then joined by Canada and USA. Due to their inclusion in the Quadrangular tournament in South Africa, Samoa did not feature in the 2013 edition of the Pacific Nations Cup.,^[2] to the competition in 2014. Canada, Japan, and the USA withdrew for the 2016 and 2017 editions due to commitments to 2019 Rugby World Cup qualification.
World Rugby Pacific Challenge	Fiji Warriors, Junior Japan, Samoa A, Tonga A	2006	2022	Annually	Originally Pacific Rugby Cup. Introduced in 2006 with two developmental sides each from Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Since 2011, the three Pacific nations have been represented by their A sides, and Junior Japan (that country's A side) joined them as a core team in 2013. At various times, Super Rugby academy teams and Argentine developmental side Pampas XV have also featured.
Nations Cup	Varies from year to year; the participants in the most recent edition in 2016 were Argentina XV, Italy A, Namibia, Romania, Spain, and Uruguay.	2006	2019	Annually	Argentina XV were formerly known as Argentina A and Argentina Jaguars. The inaugural tournament in 2006 featured Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia.
Americas Rugby Championship	Argentina XV, Brazil, Canada, Chile, United States, and Uruguay.	2009	2019	Annually	Originally involved Canadian regional sides plus a USA developmental side and Argentina XV (then known as Argentina Jaguars). Later editions mostly featured national A sides, though Uruguay normally sent its senior national team. Following a hiatus in 2015 to accommodate that year's Rugby World Cup, the competition was relaunched in 2016 with its current lineup of teams, all senior national sides except for Argentina XV. Americas Rugby Championship]] – Originated with four franchised Canadian teams, the Argentina Jaguars, and a "USA Select XV" (effectively the USA A national team). Relaunched in 2016 as the Western Hemisphere's equivalent to the Six Nations Championship; see the table of international competitions for more details.
Asia Rugby Championship	Top three Asian sides	2008	2022	Annually	Originally known as the Asian Five Nations; the inaugural tournament in 2008 featured Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Arabian Gulf. Tournament renamed as Asia Rugby Championship in 2015, with the top division reduced to three teams playing in a home-and-away "Tri Nations" format. Yearly promotion and relegation with three lower divisions.