The Wales national rugby union team annually contests in the Six-Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. They have won the title 23 times, behind only England, the last instance coming in 2005.

Wales played their first international rugby match in 1881, against England at Blackheath. That was the same year the ruling body for the game in Wales, the Welsh Rugby Union, was instituted. After early sparks at the turn of the century, including a famous home win over New Zealand in 1905 - the year they were crowned unofficial 'Champions of the World' -Wales were the team to beat. The four big clubs in Wales, Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli and Newport, were powerhouses and the country looked to be heading for greater glory.

It was not to be, as Welsh rugby hit a low between the two World Wars. Suspensions, economical strife and a series of whitewashes by the other major teams took toll on Welsh rugby. It took a while, but the WRU was able to bring the game back on a firm pedestal by putting stress on infrastructure and funding, notably the switch in pool basis. From a reliance on coal miners and steel workers, the WRU put an emphasis on employing teachers and scholars and successfully set up a coaching system. The effort paid off and Wales won several Five Nations Grand Slams during the seventies and early eighties. By 1979 Wales had won the Five Nations title five times, the Grand Slam three times, and five Triple Crowns.

Wales were one of the 16 teams invited to play in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 which was held in Australia and New Zealand. Richard Moriarty captained that side which finished third in the competition. Wales played Canada, Ireland and Tonga in Pool B and won all three games, 40-9, 13-6 and 29-16 respectively. In the quarter-final, they beat England 16-3 and lost to New Zealand 49-6 in the semis.

Wales did not enjoy such success in 1991, which they partly hosted, losing in the first round itself. Wales looked a better unit four years later, under the Mike Hall's captaincy, but again crashed out early after losing to New Zealand and Ireland. Wales hosted the World Cup in 1999 and opened up with wins over Argentina and Japan before a 38-30 loss to Samoa snapped a ten-game winning streak. They made it to the final eight but were cut short by eventual winners Australia.

Wales's preparations were not the greatest in 2003, with a run of ten straight defeats, including a disastrous Six Nations. But they ended that run in their final two warm-up games for the World Cup, beating Romania and Scotland. Wales faced Canada, Italy, New Zealand and Tonga in the group stages and beat the Canadians 41-10, the Tongans 27-20 and the Italians 27-15. Next came New Zealand, which they lost 53-37, but had already made it through to the quarter-finals. They eventually lost to England 28-17 but had done enough to keep their critics quiet.

After winning their maiden Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005, Wales failed to progress from the pool stage of the 2007 World Cup. After a loss to Australia, and two wins against Japan and Canada, they lost by four points to Fiji, despite scoring more tries than their opponents.

Wales' current ground is the Millennium Stadium, completed to coincide with Wales hosting the 1999 World Cup.