 Prior to the Rugby World Cup , there was no truly global rugby union competition , but there were a number of other tournaments . One of the oldest is the annual Six Nations Championship , which started in 1883 as the Home Nations Championship , a tournament between England , Ireland , Scotland and Wales . It expanded to the Five Nations in 1910 , when France joined the tournament . France did not participate from 1931 to 1939 , during which period it reverted to a Home Nations championship . In 2000 , Italy joined the competition , which became the Six Nations . 
