Early years (1881–1892) Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850, when Reverend
Rowland Williams became Vice-Principal at
St David's College,
Lampeter, and introduced the sport there. Wales played their
first international match on 19 February 1881; organised by Newport's
Richard Mullock and captained by
James Bevan, they played against England, losing by seven goals, one drop goal and six tries to nil. On 12 March 1881, the
Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Hotel,
Neath. However, rugby in Wales developed and, by the 1890s, the Welsh had introduced the "four three-quarters" formation – with seven
backs and eight forwards instead of six backs and nine forwards – which revolutionised the sport and was eventually adopted almost universally at international and club level. Wales next won the Championship in
1900, heralding the first "golden age" of Welsh rugby, which was to last until 1911. They won two more Triple Crowns in
1902 and
1905, and were runners-up in
1901,
1903 and
1904. but South Africa dominated in the forwards and eventually won 11–0. Two years later, on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring
Australians, who they defeated 9–6. In
1909, Wales won the Home Nations Championship and then, in
1910 – with the inclusion of
France – the first Five Nations. In
1911, Wales took the first Five Nations
Grand Slam, winning all their matches in the tournament. The Great War came in 1914 and rugby was suspended for the duration.
The Game of the Century in 1905 When Wales faced
New Zealand at
Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905, they had not lost at home since 1899. This New Zealand team – referred to as
The Original All Blacks – was the first of the southern hemisphere national teams to visit the British Isles, and were undefeated on their tour up to that point, having already beaten England, Ireland and Scotland. Before the match, New Zealand team performed a
haka (a
Māori posture dance); the 47,000-strong crowd responded with the Welsh national anthem –
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ("Land of My Fathers") – the first time a national anthem had been sung before a sporting fixture. Wales
wing Teddy Morgan scored a try to give Wales a 3–0 lead, before New Zealand's
Bob Deans claimed to have scored a try, only to be dragged behind the goal-line before the referee arrived. The referee awarded a
scrum to Wales and the score remained unchanged; Wales won 3–0. The loss was New Zealand's only defeat on their 35-match tour.
Post-war years (1920–1968) The post-First World War years marked a decline in Welsh rugby. An industrial recession struck the country, and hurt South Wales in particular. Welsh international results in the 1920s mirrored the performance of the economy: of their 42 matches, they won only 17, with three drawn. Half a million people emigrated from Wales to find work elsewhere during the depression; this included many Welsh rugby union internationals, who moved to the professional code of rugby league. Between 1923 and 1928, Wales managed only seven victories – five of them against France. However, even France managed to defeat Wales that decade, achieving their first victory in 1928. Welsh selection policy reflected the upheavals of the mid-1920s. In 1924, 35 different players were selected for Wales' four matches, with a different captain for each, and only
Edward Watkins in the backs and
Charlie Pugh in the forwards playing in all four matches. Then, in 1933, captained by
Watcyn Thomas, Wales defeated England at
Twickenham. In 1935, Wales beat the touring New Zealand side 13–12, with
Haydn Tanner making his first appearance. Although the Five Nations Championship was suspended during the Second World War, Wales did play a
Red Cross charity match against England at Cardiff in 1940, losing 18–9. After the Second World War, Wales played a New Zealand Army team (
the Kiwis) in 1946, losing 11–3. The Five Nations (suspended during the war) resumed in 1947, when Wales shared the title with England. Although Wales suffered their first home defeat to France in 1948, they won their first Five Nations Grand Slam since 1911 in 1950. They achieved another Grand Slam in 1952, In 1954,
St Helen's in Swansea (a Welsh international venue since 1882) hosted its last international and Cardiff Arms Park officially became the home of the Welsh team. In 1956, Wales again won the Five Nations, but they did not regain the title until 1964 and did not win it outright until 1965. They lost the test against South Africa in
Durban 24–3, their biggest defeat in 40 years. At the WRU annual general meeting that year, the outgoing WRU President D. Ewart Davies declared that "it was evident from the experience of the South African Tour that a much more positive attitude to the game was required in Wales ... Players must be prepared to learn, and indeed re-learn, to the absolute point of mastery, the basic principles of Rugby Union football". This started the coaching revolution. The WRU Coaching Committee – set up in the late 1950s – was given the task of improving the quality of coaching and, in January 1967,
Ray Williams was appointed Coaching Organiser. The first national coach,
David Nash, was appointed in 1967 to coach Wales for the season, but resigned when the WRU refused to allow him to accompany Wales on their 1968 tour of Argentina. Eventually, the WRU reversed their decision, appointing Clive Rowlands to tour as coach. Of the six matches, Wales won three, drew two and lost one.
Second 'golden age' (1969–1979) Wales enjoyed a second "golden age" in the 1970s, with world-class players such as
Gareth Edwards, in their side. Wales dominated Northern Hemisphere rugby between 1969 and 1979, and managed an incredible winning record, losing only seven times during that period. New Zealand
fullback Fergie McCormick scored 24 points; a record at the time. In 1970, Wales shared the Five Nations with France, and recorded a 6–6 draw against South Africa in Cardiff. The following year, Wales recorded their first Five Nations Grand Slam since 1952. Using only 16 players in four games, the 1971 side achieved their most notable win of the tournament in their victory over Scotland; after a last-minute try by Gerald Davies that reduced Scotland's lead to 18–17,
flanker John Taylor kicked a conversion from the sideline described as "the greatest conversion since
St Paul" to give Wales a 19–18 win. Wales contributed more players than any other team to the
British Lions side that toured New Zealand that year. Those Lions became the only ones to win a series over New Zealand. In the
1972 Five Nations Championship, Wales and Scotland refused to travel to Ireland at the height of
the Troubles after receiving threats, purportedly from the
Irish Republican Army. The Championship remained unresolved with Wales and Ireland unbeaten. Although the Five Nations was a five-way tie in 1973, the Welsh did defeat Australia 24–0 in Cardiff. Wales next won the Five Nations outright in 1975, and in 1976, Wales won their second Grand Slam of the decade. Just like the first in 1971, they used only 16 players over their four matches. They repeated the feat in 1978 and, in the process, became the first team to win three consecutive Triple Crowns. Following their final Five Nations match of 1978, both
Phil Bennett and Gareth Edwards retired from rugby. The penalty was controversial because New Zealand
lock Andy Haden had dived out of a line-out in an attempt to earn a penalty. Haden later admitted that he and
Frank Oliver had pre-agreed this tactic should they find themselves in difficulties. Referee Roger Quittenton was criticised by the press for failing to notice the dive, but he later stated that the penalty had been given against Welsh lock
Geoff Wheel for jumping off the shoulder of Oliver. Quittenton later said, "Haden's perception is that his dive secured the penalty. That is a load of rubbish". Wales lost 23–3 to New Zealand in Cardiff, with the All Blacks scoring four tries to nil. Wales won two matches in the Five Nations Championships of both
1980 and
1981, and in 1983 were nearly upset by
Japan, winning 29–24 at Cardiff. In 1984, Australia defeated Wales 28–9 at Cardiff Arms Park. before defeating England in the quarter-finals. They then faced hosts New Zealand, who won 49–6, but beat Australia in the third place play-off game to claim third. The next year Wales won the Triple Crown for the first time since 1979, but heavy defeats on tour to New Zealand later that year saw the end of a number of Welsh players' careers, as several converted to rugby league. but in 1990, Wales were defeated in all four Five Nations' matches for the first time, before almost doing the same the following year. The
1991 World Cup saw further frustration, when Wales were upset by
Samoa in their opening match. A second group-stage loss, by 38–3 to Australia, eliminated Wales from the tournament. Wales won the Championship in 1994 on points difference. At the 1995 World Cup, after comprehensively beating Japan, Wales lost to New Zealand; this meant that they needed to defeat Ireland to qualify for the quarter-finals. Wales lost 24–23 and so failed to progress beyond the pool stage for the second time, Record defeats of 51–0 to France and 96–13 to South Africa, prompted the WRU to appoint New Zealander
Graham Henry as coach in 1998. Henry had early success as coach, leading Wales to a 10-match winning streak; this included Wales' first victory over South Africa, a 29–19 win in the first match played at the
Millennium Stadium. Hosting the
1999 World Cup, Wales qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since 1987, but lost 24–9 to eventual champions Australia. At the
2003 World Cup, Wales scored four tries in their 53–37 pool stage loss to New Zealand, and after victories over Italy, France and Scotland, they faced Ireland in front of a capacity crowd at the Millennium Stadium where Wales' 32–20 victory gave them their first Championship since 1994. Later that year, they suffered a record home loss, 41–3 to New Zealand. Ruddock resigned as head coach midway through the 2006 Six Nations, where Wales finished fifth, and
Gareth Jenkins was eventually appointed as his replacement. Jenkins led Wales through the
2007 World Cup, where they failed to advance beyond the pool stage after losing their final game 38–34 to Fiji, thanks to a
Graham Dewes try. and
Warren Gatland, a New Zealander, was appointed as his successor.
First Gatland Era (2008–2019) Wales faced England at Twickenham for Gatland's inaugural match as coach and their first match of the
2008 Six Nations. They had not defeated England there since 1988, and went on to win 26–19. They won all their matches in the Championship, conceding only two tries in the process, to claim another Grand Slam. Later that year, Wales defeated Australia 21–18 in Cardiff, but then started a six-year, 23-game winless streak against the southern hemisphere nations of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. At the
2011 World Cup, Wales reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1987, but lost 9–8 to France after captain
Sam Warburton was sent off. The two teams met again in March 2012, with Wales needing a win to claim their third Six Nations Grand Slam in eight years, which they did with a 16–9 victory. This was followed immediately by an eight-match losing streak that was eventually broken during the 2013 Six Nations, where Wales retained the Championship for the first time since 1979. Wales reached the quarter-finals of the
2015 World Cup at the expense of hosts England, before losing 23–19 to South Africa. Wales also achieved a fourth Grand Slam in 14 years and their first in seven years in the 2019 Six Nations. Wales reached the top spot in the men's
World Rugby Rankings in August 2019, holding the position for two weeks. They went on to top their pool at the
2019 Rugby World Cup, winning all their pool matches for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987, and ultimately reached the semi-finals before they were knocked out by eventual champions South Africa; Wales lost to New Zealand in the bronze final and finished fourth in the tournament.
Pivac Era (2019–2022) In July 2018, it was announced that then-
Scarlets coach
Wayne Pivac would succeed Gatland as Wales coach following the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Pivac's first match in charge was a match against a Barbarians side coach by Gatland in November 2019. Despite winning Pivac's first full international in charge in the
2020 Six Nations against Italy, Wales only recorded two other wins all year, finishing fifth in both the Six Nations and the
Autumn Nations Cup. 2021 saw highs and lows. Wales won their fourth Six Nations title of the last decade, though they fell short of winning the Grand Slam at the death of their final match against France in Paris. They faced Argentina in a two-match test series, in which they drew the opening game and Wales lost in the second game 33–11. That autumn, Wales opened with losses to New Zealand and South Africa before beating Fiji and Australia. Wales slumped to a fifth-place finish in the
2022 Six Nations Championship, their sole win coming at home against Scotland. In the final week of the tournament, Wales lost to Italy 22–21, their first ever home loss to the Italians. They then embarked on a tour to South Africa over the summer. Wales narrowly lost the first test, losing 32–29 after a late penalty from Springbok outside half
Handre Pollard. The following week, Wales secured their first ever win on South African soil, winning 13–12 in Bloemfontein. South Africa won the final test, and secured a 2–1 series win.
Second Gatland spell and record losing run (2022–2025) On 5 December 2022, Warren Gatland was reappointed as head coach, following a review of Wayne Pivac and his performance in the
2022 Autumn Nations Series. The contract saw Gatland appointed as head coach through to the end of the
2023 Rugby World Cup, with the potential to extend for an additional four years, through the
2027 Men's Rugby World Cup. Gatland's initial coaching team included
Alex King as attack coach,
Mike Forshaw as defence coach,
Jonathan Humphreys as forwards coach and
Neil Jenkins as skills coach.
Jonathan Thomas was added as a contact area skills coach. They finished fifth in the
2023 Six Nations, only beating Italy, but saw a slight improvement at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, topping their pool unbeaten and recording their largest ever victory over Australia. Argentina knocked them out in the quarter-finals, scoring two late tries to win 29–17. However, Wales were whitewashed in the
2024 Six Nations, losing to Italy at home again. In November 2024, they lost 24–19 to Fiji in the
Autumn Nations Series. This was their tenth loss in a row, equalling a record set by head coach Steve Hansen from 2002 to 2003. It was also the first time Wales had ever lost to Fiji at the Millenium Stadium. A week later, they lost 52–20 to Australia at the Millennium Stadium, a record 11th straight consecutive defeat. Throughout the
2025 Six Nations, they fell to 12th in the world rankings, below Six Nations hopefuls Georgia, following a second defeat by Italy in consecutive years and a first loss in Rome since the
2007 tournament. This was also their record 14th successive defeat in all competitions and an 8th consecutive defeat in Six Nations fixtures. Following this result, Warren Gatland's departure as head coach was confirmed on 11 February 2025. He was replaced on an interim basis by
Cardiff Rugby head coach
Matt Sherratt, who would take charge of the side for the remainder for the 2025 Six Nations. At home on Matchday 3, Wales took their first lead of the Tournament at half-time against Ireland. Despite this revival, Wales ended up losing their fifteenth match in a row 18–27. On 8 March, on Matchday 4, Scotland pushed the Welsh further down the rankings despite a late comeback where Wales scored four tries in a 35–29 defeat. Wales then ended the tournament with a home defeat by
England, suffering their heaviest-ever defeat in the tournament and their heaviest-ever home defeat by their arch-rivals, 14–68. This setback, the 17th in a row in all competitions, the longest losing streak by a Six Nations team in the modern era, confirmed a second straight wooden spoon for Wales. Sherratt chose to stay on for the
Summer tour to Japan adding
Harlequins head coach
Danny Wilson for this period. Although, this tour occurred during the
2025 Lions tour to Australia, only two Welsh players,
Jac Morgan and
Tomos Williams, were selected, enabling Wales to bring a full strength side. The Lions opening test match against Australia was the first Lions Test without Welsh representation since the 1890s, reflective of Wales' continued demise at test level. Wales tied the record for
consecutive matches without a victory by a tier I nation at 18 with a 24–19 defeat away by Japan in the first summer international; this defeat also put Wales at an all-time low of 14th in the world rankings on 7 July 2025. The following week, after 644 days without a victory, Wales ended their losing streak after a 22–31 victory against Japan.
Tandy era (2025–present) In July 2025, Scotland defence coach
Steve Tandy was appointed as the new permanent head coach. In doing so, he became the first Welsh-born head coach of the national team since
Gareth Jenkins was sacked from the position in 2007. In March 2026, in the final round of the
2026 Six Nations, Wales beat Italy 31–17 to win their first Six Nations fixture since 2023. Despite this, they finished the tournament with their third consecutive wooden spoon. ==Strip==