Arabian Gulf rugby union team
The Arabian Gulf rugby union team was a combined squad from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. It played internationally from 1993 to 2010 and was run by the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU). Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan were associate members.
In 1999, during the Rugby World Cup qualifiers, they beat Botswana, Zambia and Tunisia, then narrowly lost to Kenya in Nairobi. In 2002, they competed in Colombo against Sri Lanka and Japan, beating Sri Lanka but struggling against Japan. In 2003, at the Asian Championships in Bangkok, they beat Malaysia and Singapore, reaching the final where they lost to Thailand. At the Cobra 10s in Kuala Lumpur, they beat Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia but lost the final to South Africa by three points.
The Gulf team reached the top level of the Asian Five Nations in 2008, alongside Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan. They finished last and were relegated to Division One for 2009, which they won to earn promotion back to the top division for 2010.
On 16 January 2009, the International Rugby Board announced the AGRFU would be split into separate national unions by the end of 2010. The UAE formed first and became a full IRB member in November 2012. The Arabian Gulf’s final tournament was the 2010 Asian Five Nations, where they won two of four matches, including a 21–19 victory over Korea in their last match in Dubai.
The Gulf team did not participate in the 2015 World Cup qualifying, having been dissolved. The Arabian Gulf women never played test matches but were active in sevens, including the first women’s tournament in 1997 and more than 70 internationals up to 2010.
Former associates Jordan and Lebanon played their first match on 14 May 2010. After the breakup, the UAE Rugby Federation and the federations of Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia joined Asia Rugby.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:03 (CET).