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.
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)
Under 21 Rugby 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.
See also:
Rugby union at the Summer Olympics
Rugby union tours
Women's international rugby
Super Rugby — teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Japan (known originally as Super 10 then Super 12 and later as Super 14; "Super Rugby" officially adopted from 2011). Also informally known as "Super 15".
Currie Cup — South African provincial tournament
Vodacom Cup — South African provincial tournament for developmental sides. Has also included a team from Namibia at two different times in the past, most recently in 2010 and 2011, and also featured a team from Argentina from 2010 to 2013.
Americas Rugby Championship – Four franchised Canadian teams, the Argentina Jaguars, and a "USA Select XV" (effectively the USA A national team)
North America 4 - Predecessor to the Americas Rugby Championship; featured franchise teams from the USA and Canada
Nacional de Clubes - Club competition in Argentina
Campeonato Brasileiro de Rugby - Club competition in Brazil
Canadian Rugby Championship - Successor to the (now defunct) Rugby Canada Super League
Rugby Super League - US national club competition, which ran from 1997 to 2012.
USA Rugby Elite Cup - replaced the Rugby Super League completion, but only ran for one year in 2013.
PRO Rugby - the first professional rugby competition in the US, ran for one year in 2016 with five teams.
Club Championship - Club competition in Uruguay
All India & South Asia Rugby Tournament - Indian club knockout tournament
Top League Champions Cup - Japanese club teams (end of season knockout tournament)
Top League - Japanese club teams
MRU Super League - Malaysian club teams
MRU Super Cup - Malaysian club knockout tournament
Clifford Cup - Sri Lanka Division 'A' teams (end of season knockout tournament)
Sri Lanka Rugby Championship (Dialog Rugby League) - Sri Lanka Division 'A' club teams
European Rugby Champions Cup — To be launched in the 2014–15 season. European club, provincial and regional teams, currently from the countries that participate in the Six Nations.
European Rugby Challenge Cup — Also to be launched in 2014–15. Second-tier European club, provincial and regional teams knock-out tournament, also involving all of the Six Nations countries, with possible involvement from lower-tier countries (see below).
European Rugby Qualifying Competition – Third-tier competition involving teams from Italy's National Championship of Excellence, plus clubs from lower-tier countries; will determine two places in each year's Challenge Cup.
Copa Ibérica de Rugby — Annual competition between Spanish and Portuguese clubs.
Heineken Cup — Top-tier competition replaced by the European Rugby Champions Cup after the 2013–14 season.
European Challenge Cup — Second-tier competition replaced by the European Rugby Challenge Cup after the 2013–14 season.
European Shield (defunct) — Knock-out tournament involving teams eliminated in the first round of the Challenge Cup. Scrapped after the 2004–05 season.
England
Aviva Premiership - English clubs, top tier
RFU Championship - English clubs, second tier
National League 1
National League 2 North
National League 2 South
Northern Division - North 2 East
Midlands 6 East (NW)
Top 14 — French clubs, top tier
Rugby Pro D2 - French clubs, second tier
Fédérale 1
Fédérale 2
Fédérale 3
Challenge Yves du Manoir
Coupe de l'Espérance
Coupe de France
United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy
Pro12 — now Guinness Pro12, because of the league's sponsorship by Guinness: provincial/regional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. Two Italian teams joined in 2010–11.
Anglo-Welsh Cup — English and Welsh clubs knock-out tournament. From 1971–2005, open to all English clubs with no involvement from any other nation; from the 2005–06 season, has featured the 12 Premiership clubs and the four Welsh regional sides competing in the Celtic League.
British and Irish Cup — Tournament launched in 2009 featuring sides from second-level leagues in England and Wales, plus second-tier sides from Ireland and Scotland.
Ireland
All Ireland League (AIL/AIB League) — Irish clubs from all 32 counties.
National Championship of Excellence — Italian clubs, top tier
A Series — Italian clubs, second-level championship where winners can jump up to Excellence Championship.
B Series — Italian clubs, third-level league, winners can play on A Series.
C Series — Italian clubs, the lowest-tier for local teams. Winners are promoted to B Series.
Georgia Championship
Divisão de Honra — Portuguese clubs
1a Divisão
2a Divisão
SuperLiga
Professional Rugby League - Russian club competition
División de Honor
Soviet Championship
Soviet Cup
Pacific Rugby Cup - Franchise teams from Fiji, Tonga & Samoa
National Rugby Championship - Inaugural season in 2014
Australian Provincial Championship - Offseason competition between Australia's Super Rugby teams; only season in 2006
Shute Shield - Sydney and regional NSW club teams
Tooheys New Cup - Sydney club teams
New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union - lower level suburban rugby in Sydney, the largest centrally administered rugby competition in the world.
Queensland Premier Rugby - Queensland club competition
Colonial Cup — Fiji club competition
Sukuna Bowl — Fiji Police vs Fiji Military
Digicel Cup — Fiji's Local competition between 12 Districts
New Zealand
Mitre 10 Cup — New Zealand professional provincial tournament
Heartland Championship — New Zealand amateur provincial tournament
Ranfurly Shield — New Zealand provincial challenge trophy
Rugby World Cup Sevens — Sponsored by the IRB, and held every four years, this is the highest prize in the Sevens version of the game. However, due to the upcoming introduction of sevens to the Olympics in 2016, the next edition in 2013 will be the last.
IRB Sevens World Series — Annual IRB-sponsored series of tournaments for men's national Sevens teams. As of the most recent 2013–14 series, the events in the series are:
Australia Sevens
Dubai Sevens
South Africa Sevens
Wellington Sevens
USA Sevens
Hong Kong Sevens, traditionally the biggest annual event in Sevens
Japan Sevens
Scotland Sevens
London Sevens
IRB Women's Sevens World Series — Annual IRB-sponsored series of tournaments for women's national Sevens teams. As of the most recent 2013–14 series, the events are::
Dubai Women's Sevens
USA Women's Sevens
São Paulo Women's Sevens
China Women's Sevens
Amsterdam Women's Sevens
The National Schools Sevens - held at Rosslyn Park, in England, the biggest sevens competition in the world. News, photos and up to the minute results can be found on the official website [2]. Results can also be seen on The Schools' Rugby Website
Commonwealth Games — Quadrennial; most recent tournament in 2006
Other:
Amsterdam Sevens
Bangkok Sevens
Benidorm Sevens
Bogota Sevens
Caldy Sevens
Cape Fear Sevens
Caribbean Sevens
Cayman Sevens
Cwmtawe Sevens
Heidelberg Sevens
Henley Sevens
Kinsale Sevens
Kiama Sevens
Lisbon Sevens
Melrose Sevens
Middlesex Sevens
Neuchatel Sevens
New York Sevens
Northern Sevens
Punta del Este Sevens
Rome Sevens
Safari Sevens
Scandinavian Sevens
Singapore Sevens
Sofia Sevens
Santa Teresa Sevens
Sri Lanka Sevens
Sanix World Rugby Youth Tournament held annually in Japan
English Colts Club Knockout Cup — Held annually
Ulster Schools Cup — Annual schools competition
Munster Schools Senior Cup — Annual schools competition
Craven Week — Annual South Africa schools competition
Bingham Cup — Held every two years, this is the largest international gay rugby tournament and honours 9/11 hero, Mark Bingham
Rugby union at the Maccabiah Games: representative XVs from various countries have been taking part in the Maccabiah Games since 1981.
The trophies in this list are regularly contested between two nations. Some of the competitions for these trophies form part of other international tournaments, such as the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship.
Six Nations Championship Trophy, since 1993
Triple Crown Trophy, since 2006
Calcutta Cup — England and Scotland, since 1879
Centenary Quaich - Ireland and Scotland, since 1989
Millennium Trophy — England and Ireland, since 1988
Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy — France and Italy, since 2007
Bledisloe Cup — Australia and New Zealand, since 1931
Mandela Challenge Plate — Australia and South Africa, since 2000
Freedom Cup — New Zealand and South Africa, since 2004
Puma Trophy — Argentina and Australia
Anexartisias Cup (Independence Cup) — Cyprus and Greece
Antim Cup — Georgia and Romania
Cook Cup — Australia and England
Dave Gallaher Trophy — France and New Zealand
Elgon Cup — Kenya and Uganda
Hillary Shield — England and New Zealand
Hopetoun Cup — Australia and Scotland
James Bevan Trophy — Australia and Wales
Lansdowne Cup — Australia and Ireland
Prince William Cup — South Africa and Wales
Trophée des Bicentenaires — Australia and France
Tom Richards Trophy— Australia and the British and Irish Lions
Raeburn Shield— Hypothetical World Title Shield
