Rugby union had a long history in Barbados, though there was originally only the one team, called the Barbados Rugby Union. In 1995 the union affiliated to the
International Rugby Board (IRB). Barbados made their international debut against the
British Virgin Islands in 1996. Barbados won the match 10 to nil thanks to the heroics of Aidan "Irish" Kelleher now considered amongst the greatest player Barbados has ever had represent their country. They played three games the following year: losing to the
Bahamas,
Bermuda and
Martinique. They played
Trinidad & Tobago in 1999, losing nil to 15. In 2001 they played the Bahamas again, defeating them 18 to 25, though they lost to Bermuda in their following fixture. In 2005 Barbados began their campaign to qualify for the
2007 Rugby World Cup in France, in the
Round 1a of the Americas group. Competing in the South Pool, and won all three of their fixtures, defeating
Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and
St Lucia. Barbados finished at the top of their pool, sending them into a play-off match against the winner of the South Pool, the Bahamas. Played in
Trinidad, Barbados defeated the Bahamas 52 to three. This sent them through to Round 3b, where they would play in a pool with
Canada and the
USA. Barbados lost both of their games, exiting the World Cup qualifiers. During the qualification for the
2011 World Cup, Barbados was eliminated after a heavy defeat by
Trinidad and Tobago. ==Current squad==