2013 International Rugby Union matches
In 2013 there were 340 international rugby union matches, including 295 official test matches. Players from 126 different national teams took part in at least one test.
During the year, 154 matches were won by the home team, 118 by the away team, there were 5 draws, and 63 matches were played at neutral venues.
With the 2015 Rugby World Cup approaching, many regional competitions served as qualifiers. These included the Africa Cup, Asian Five Nations, European Nations Cup, Oceania Cup, and the South American Championship. In the Americas, Canada beat the United States 40–20 on aggregate to join Pool D as Americas 1.
The Six Nations Championship (its 14th edition) ran in February and March, with Wales retaining the title and beating England by a wide margin (30–3). The Rugby Championship (its second edition) ran in August, September, and October, and New Zealand won all six of their matches to take the title.
June was the busiest month, with 87 matches (73 of them tests) and the 125th anniversary of the British & Irish Lions. The Lions toured Australia and won the three-test series 2–1, including a 41–16 victory in one of the tests.
In November, the All Blacks of New Zealand won all 14 of their tests in 2013, becoming the first team in the professional era to win every test in a calendar year.
RN rankings changed little from the end of 2012 to the end of 2013. New Zealand remained No. 1 (a position they had held since 2010), South Africa was No. 2, and Australia No. 3. England moved up to No. 4. Samoa remained the highest-ranked team in the second tier, despite dropping to No. 8 in 2013. Japan climbed in the rankings ahead of their 2019 home World Cup, highlighted by their first win over Wales in Tokyo and by hosting the All Blacks for the first time in Japan. Japan scored the most tries of any team that year, with 75, including 18 in a 121–0 win over the Philippines. Spain drew more matches than any other nation in 2013, while Benin, Brunei, and Burundi did not score in any of their internationals.
The 340 matches counted here feature international teams, some of which are not members of the International Rugby Board.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:24 (CET).