Okay, so today I decided to dig into the topic of rugby union countries. I’ve always been a fan of the sport, but I realized I didn’t know as much about its global reach as I thought I did. So, I set out to create a comprehensive list and learn a bit more about each country’s involvement.
Getting Started
First things first, I needed a starting point. I fired up my browser and did a simple search. I got a lot of different sources, like Wikipedia pages, official rugby websites, and news articles. I opened a bunch of tabs—it was a bit of a mess at first, honestly.
Compiling the List
I started a new document to keep things organized. My initial goal was just to get a raw list of every country that plays rugby union. I went through the search results, and I found many different countries. I copied and pasted names into my document, trying to avoid duplicates. It was a bit tedious, but I eventually had a pretty long list.
Adding Some Details
Just a list wasn’t very interesting, though. I wanted to know more! So I went back to my sources and started adding notes next to each country. Things like:
- When did they start playing rugby?
- Are they part of the World Rugby organization?
- Have they ever played in the Rugby World Cup?
- Any major achievements or notable players?
This part took a while. I had to jump between different websites, verify information, and try to summarize things in my own words. It wasn’t always easy to find the info I wanted, especially for some of the smaller rugby nations.
Feeling Accomplished (and a Little Tired)
After a few hours of work, I finally had a decent document! It’s not perfect, and I’m sure there’s more I could add, but it’s a good start. I learned a lot about the global spread of rugby union, and I discovered some countries I didn’t even know had teams. For example, I was surprised to see how many countries in Africa and South America have embraced the sport.
I also learned a lot about the history of rugby in some of these countries. For example, many countries started playing rugby during the colonial era.
I enjoyed doing some research and sharing my findings with you.
