This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: No matches after 2017 are listed. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2024)
Matches between full international sides and non-national XVs, and
Other games of note.
It is included as some nations have awarded full caps for these games and may include them as full internationals in their own records. In addition these games act as an indicator of the relative strength of some of the smaller nations, and the strength in depth of the larger.
^Status of Catalonia
The status of games played by Catalonia - especially the games in 1990 and 1995 against Wales and Germany respectively - appear to have been treated as if there were internationals by both opponents at the time. However the status of these games have changed following two retrospective rulings.
First, in 2009 Wales (via email correspondence confirmed by their website) changed the designation of their team to only a "Wales XV" and therefore not an international. This may have been influenced by a 2008 French court ruling (see [1])that the Catalan Rugby Union was not a national union and therefore could not be a member of Rugby Europe (known at the time as FIRA).
As this ruling was retrospective the game between Catalonia and Germany in 1995 also cannot now be considered a game between teams from two nations unions.
^The records of the FFR list this game as a "third place" play-off for the 1991 World Cup. However, no such game was planned or played as part of the tournament. In addition, the NZRU records include no mention of the match. As a result it cannot be seen as an "official" test match.
^The status of this game is confused. While it definitely took place, it is not listed on the USA Rugby website, and Fiji's RFU clearly state that their first international wasn't until 2006. This may be an oversight by Fiji, or it may be because this may not have been a full US side (there is a suggestion that it was mainly a Stanford University selection). However, for whatever reason, as neither RFU currently seems to consider this to be a full "international", it is listed here rather than in the main list.
^A training game, 30 minutes each way. Norwegian team very understrength and included at least two non-Norwegians
^A training game, 3 periods of 20 minutes each way. Norwegian squad only had 13 players - XV made up by Swedish players guesting for Norway
^Not recognised as an international by Kenya, though they fielded effectively the full national XV. Uganda's view of the match uncertain - though they included at least one non-Ugandan player
^IRFU confirm that the game was not an international "the [Irish] team was an Irish President's Selection and no caps were awarded" (Email from Barry Cunningham, IRFU, 2 March 2009). Despite this England consider the game as a full international
^Although only a charity fixture, the game is significant as the first time a women's "Lions"-style team had taken the field. All the team were current or former internationals - Susie Appleby (England), Fiona Britten (England), Lisa Burgess (Wales), Helen Clayton (England), Clare Donovan (England), Non Evans (Wales), Amy Garnett (England), Louise Hogan (Ireland), Donna Kennedy (Scotland), Erin Kerr (Scotland), Emma Layland (England), Lisa O'Keefe (Scotland), Jo O'Sullivan (Ireland), Alex Pilkington (England), Jo Poore (England), Louise Rickard, Selena Rudge (England), Michaela Staniford (England), Nollie Waterman (England), Sharon Whitehead (England)
^A training fixture, though the teams were full strength XVs. The game was divided into two thirty-minute periods, followed by a twenty-minute session with multiple substitutions, especially in the final period.
The above results have been traced mainly via the following listings of national and tournament results - most being national RFUs. Other results have been traced via numerous news reports.
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