6 Countries You Didn’t Know Have A National Rugby Team

These nations are so comically small or have never been to the world cup that many rugby fans write them off. Here are some countries you probably haven’t heard of:

Although American Samoa is considered a part of USA, the region can boast of its own national rugby team. However, the team is currently bottom of the World Rankings.

The first rugby game recorded in American Samoa was in 1924, since then the development of the game had been heavily overshadowed by the influence of American Football during the 1970s. The highest governing body of rugby in American Samoa is the American Samoa Rugby Union which was founded in 1990 and was not affiliated into the IRB until 2012.

Internationally, two American Samoans have played for the All Blacks. Frank Solomon was the first in 1932 before Jerome Kaino made his debut in 2004; going onto win back-to-back World Cups with them in 2011 and 2015.

Despite having a population of less than 2,000, Niue has their own international side due to rugby being the most popular sport on the island with them winning the Oceania Rugby Cup in 2008. The land area of the island is only about 261 square kilometres.

Rugby isn’t what comes to mind when you hear the name, Pakistan. They are currently ranked 93 by World Rugby. Since their first match, they have played a total of 20 matches, with only 4 wins and 16 losses.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Rugby Union (SVGRU) came into existence on Sunday 18 January 1998, when the first game of touch rugby was played at the Sion Hill playing field using four traffic cones as pitch markers.

After playing for two hours, the group retired to Villa Beach with a crate of beer, to re-hydrate (any excuse would do) and to soothe aching muscles in the sea. Rugby had been introduced to St. Vincent.

They attempted to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, playing the first match of the Americas qualifying tournament. They played a preliminary qualifier against Saint Lucia in May 2005. The winner would progress to the South Pool of Round 1a, however, Saint Lucia won the match 36-25.

On March 29, 2008, Saint Vincent was defeated by Mexico 47-7 in a pre-qualifier for the right to enter the NAWIRA region qualifying process for Rugby World Cup 2011. They're currently ranked 80th in the world rankings.

Lebanon played their first test match against Jordan on 14 May 2010 in Dubai. The Phoenix currently competes in the Asian Rugby Football Union's, Asian Rugby Championship in Division Three West. Despite winning this division more than once, Lebanon will be unable to progress to a higher division until they achieve World Rugby Associate level. Interestingly, they are coached by former British Naval officer Steve Wrigglesworth.

Qatar is a full member of Asia Rugby and has made application for World Rugby membership.