List of Rugby Union Competitions - International Tournaments

International Tournaments

Name	Participants	First played	Last played	Frequency	Notes
Rugby World Cup	Top 12 teams from previous World Cup (the top 3 in each group) plus 8 nations chosen from regional qualifying tournament.	1987	2011	Quadrennial
Women's Rugby World Cup	12 top national women's teams	1991	2010	Quadrennial
Six Nations Championship	England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales	1883	2012	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	2011	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	2012	Annually	From its inception through 2011, the competition involved only Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and was known as the Tri Nations.
Canada Cup	Canada, plus up to three other invitational teams.	1993	2005	Approximately biennial	International women's tournament generally including the USA (missing only in 2005), plus New Zealand and/or England.
Churchill Cup	Canada, England Saxons, United States and three invitational teams.	2003	2011	Annually	The England Saxons are England's "A" side. The invitational teams are a combination of "A" sides of top-tier nations and senior sides of lower-tier nations. The 2011 edition was the last, as Canada and the USA will now be included in the global Test calendar.
FIRA Women's European Championship	Up to 16 European national teams	1988	2008	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.
European Nations Cup	36 European national teams	2000	2010	Annually	Excludes European sides in the Six Nations Tournament. Played over two years on home and away basis with the competition split into three divisions. Including sub-divisions, the competition includes 7 levels, with promotion and relegation.
Pacific Nations Cup	Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga	2006	2011	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. Since 2010, only the Pacific Island nations and Japan have participated.
Nations Cup	Varies from year to year; the most frequent participants have been Argentina Jaguars, Italy AI, Namibia, Georgia, Romania, Emerging Springboks	2006	2010	Annually	The Argentina Jaguars were formerly known as Argentina A, and the Emerging Springboks are South Africa's A side. The inaugural tournament in 2006 featured Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia.
Asian 5 Nations	Top five Asian sides	2008	2010	Annually	The inaugural tournament in 2008 featured Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Arabian Gulf. Yearly promotion and relegation with three lower divisions.

Four Nations Tournament — Belgium, Spain, Welsh club XV, France amateur
Pan-American Championship — Uruguay, Canada, United States and Argentina
South American Rugby Championship
Super Cup — Canada, Japan, Russia and United States (formerly called the Super Powers Cup)
Under 19 Rugby World Championship — Worldwide (defunct)
IRB Under-21 World Championship — Worldwide (defunct)
IRB Junior World Championship — First-tier worldwide competition for under-20 men; replaces Under 19 and Under 21 World Championships starting in 2008
IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy — Second-tier worldwide competition for under-20 men
Autumn internationals — A name which refers to a series of Tests which take place usually in November each year in the Northern Hemisphere
Africa Cup — The main tournament for African nations.
CAR Super 16 — A regional tournament for African nations below the Africa Cup.
Viking Tri-nations Rugby A rugby tournament Played by Norway, Denmark, and since 2011 Sweden.