The Brazil national rugby union team, nicknamed Tupis, is controlled by the

Brazilian Rugby Confederation The Brazilian Rugby Confederation ( Portuguese: ''Confederação Brasileira de Rugby'', CBRu) is the governing body for rugby union in Brazil, founded in 2010. It is the successor of the União de Rugby do Brasil (founded in 1963) and the Associaç ...

. Brazil is one of the founding unions of CONSUR (now Sudamérica Rugby) and played in the inaugural South American tournament. Brazil has not qualified for a

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

, but participated in the first edition of rugby 7s in the Olympics. Brazil currently ranks 4th in South America (behind Argentina, Uruguay and Chile) and 6th in the Americas region. Rugby union in Brazil has a long history, dating back to the late 19th century when British immigrants brought the game to Brazil's urban ports. Despite Brazil's success in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, Brazil has historically been one of the weakest teams of the Americas, having less success than that of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. In the 21st century, efforts were made to revitalize the sport in Brazil. With

rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

being added to the Olympic calendar, Brazil was invited to the

World Rugby Sevens Series The SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World ...

, showing improvement in both the men's and women's series. In 2016, a meeting with the unions of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States and Uruguay established the

Americas Rugby Championship The Americas Rugby Championship, often informally called the Americas' Six Nations, was an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations: Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Brazil national rugby u ...

, meant to mirror the Six Nations and

The Rugby Championship The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ran ...

, and give consistent tests to the top teams in the region. After 3 close games, two of which Brazil came close to victory, Brazil beat the

USA Eagles The United States men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in men's international rugby union competitions. USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States, a ...

, 24–23, their first victory in the championship, as well as over the United States and a Tier Two nation. Brazil later went to have its first victories over Belgium and Portugal, marking the first time the team beat any European side and, later, a historical win against Argentina XV. This latter game, along with two wins against Chile and Colombia, secured Brazil its first

South American Rugby Championship The South American Rugby Championship refers to the continental rugby union championships for South America, organized by Sudamérica Rugby. The current name of the championships is ''South American Six Nations'', implemented in 2018. South Ameri ...

title, in 2018.

History

Beginnings: 19th Century to 1949

The very first instance of rugby being played in Brazil dates back to the late 19th century. British immigrants arriving in Brazil brought the game to various port cities in Brazil. These immigrants set up various athletic clubs which doubled with

. The first recorded instance of a rugby game being played in Brazil was 1891, played by the

São Paulo Athletic Club São Paulo Athletic Club - officially nowadays Clube Atlético São Paulo, but generally referred to as SPAC, is a Brazilian sports club founded on 13 May 1888 by Charles William Miller, Algernon Francis Egert and several English immigrants, b ...

, under the auspices of

Charles William Miller Charles William Miller (24 November 187430 June 1953; ) was a Brazilian sportsman, who is considered to be the father of football in Brazil. Miller founded São Paulo Athletic Club (SPAC), one of the oldest sports clubs in Brazil, and founded ...

. Future efforts to promote the game were then taken on by Augusto Shaw, after Miller began to devote himself exclusively to football.Bath, Richard (ed.). ''The Complete Book of Rugby''. p. 64. Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997. . During the 1920s and 1930s, rugby began to flourish somewhat in Brazil, although it did not enjoy the widespread exposure as football. For the most part, rugby was primarily restricted to those who had British descent, or with some other connection to Britain. In 1926, a proper domestic competition was established.Niterói Rugby
História do Rugby Brasileiro. Acessado em 8/2/2012. By 1932, a national side had formed; Brazil played its first ever national game against South Africa XV, losing by an unknown margin. The sport suffered a setback when an attempt to get it recognized as a national sport was denied, since rugby was limited to only four states than the required five.

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

suspended operations from 1941 to 1946, as was the case in many countries.

1950s to 1990s

Brazil participated in the first ever South American Rugby Championship, but lost all three of their fixtures. They were shut out 68 and 72 to zero against Chile and Argentina respectively, while Brazil played a closer game against Uruguay, losing 10 – 17. During the 1950s, organization of rugby in Brazil was sporadic; there was no official high governing union at the time, and the national side was only organized by Jimmy Macintyre, who ran the SPAC. Brazil would not play another test until 1961. The modern day Brazilian Rugby Confederation (CBRu) was founded in 1963, in order to govern the game more efficiently in the country. The first president of the CBRu was Harry Donovan. In 1964, Brazil finished runner-up in the South American Rugby Championship, tying Chile 16–16 and defeating Uruguay 15–8. In the 1970s the better structure of rugby allowed the game to be introduced to Brazilians outside of the British-descended community. Brazil experienced somewhat of an expansion in rugby; the game was introduced to universities throughout the country, and Brazil was becoming a destination for rugby tours. In 1974, Brazil played a test match against France, losing by a margin of 7–99. For the rest of the decade Brazil played against its South American neighbors; Brazil frequently beat minnows Paraguay during this period. In 1985, France toured Brazil again, but this time Brazil played much more valiantly, losing by a score of 6–41. Brazil is a charter member of CONSUR (now Sudámerica Rugby), founded in 1989. Despite this, Brazil did not officially join the IRB until 1995, and did not participate in qualifying tournaments until then. However, their first fixture in the qualifiers was a disaster; Brazil was humiliated by Trinidad and Tobago by a score of 41–0, swiftly ending their campaign.

2000s: the new century

Brazil began the 2000s with much more success. In 2000, Brazil easily won the 2000 edition of the SARC; they repeated this in 2001, topping the group of Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. Brazil advanced to the next round of qualifying, disposing of Trinidad and Tobago; Brazil would go on to lose their final games, but Brazil was finally starting to close the gap. Throughout the 2000s, Brazil began winning more of its games, and in 2008, finally broke through; Brazil beat Paraguay to finally advance to the top flight of the SARC, their first time there since 1989. Brazil further repeated this by beating Paraguay again in 2009. In 2012, the New York Times reported that rugby was Brazil's second fastest growing sport, behind MMA. This is partly due to

World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

re-investing in Brazil due to the reinstatement of rugby in the 2016 Olympics. Since then, Brazil has been invited to the

, allowing Brazil to improve against higher competition. In 2014, Brazil recorded its first-ever victory over Chile, defeating the Condores 24 to 16. Since initiatives were taken in 2009, the character of rugby has changed in Brazil; the registration numbers have risen, and the sport has successfully formed sponsorships with companies such as

Bradesco Banco Bradesco S.A. is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Osasco, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest banking institution by assets in Brazil and Latin America. It is also one of fifty most valuable ban ...

, many of whom see Brazilian rugby to be profitable in the future. In 2015, Brazil played two tests against the national team of Germany, one held in

Pacaembu Stadium Pacaembu Stadium (, ; named after the Pacaembu neighbourhood), currently known as Mercado Libre, Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. Located in the Pacaembu neighbourho ...

; these performances attracted 10,000 spectators, being one of the highest attendances for rugby in Brazil. Brazil's improved form showed in 2016 in the first edition of the

, where Brazil was on the verge of historic victories against Chile and Uruguay, but could not hold on. After scoring 25 points in their first ever fixture versus Canada, Brazil went on to upset the United States 24–23 in Pacaembu; Brazil proceeded to finish off the tournament losing 7–41 to Argentina, scoring their first try against Argentina in decades. For the 2016 South American Rugby Championship "A",

RedeTV! RedeTV! (, also Rede TV! or RTV! or TV Ômega) is a Brazilian television network owned by Amilcare Dallevo and Marcelo de Carvalho. It is the newest television network, among the five major networks in Brazil, being a relaunch of Rede Manchete ...

, one of Brazil's major TV networks, will air Brazil's games live. Brazil played Uruguay at

Allianz Parque Allianz Parque (), also known as Arena Palmeiras or as Arena Palestra Itália, is a football stadium in Água Branca, São Paulo, Brazil, and the home of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Palmeiras. The stadium also serves as a multipurpose arena ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, one of the largest stadiums to ever host a rugby game in Brazil. Brazil tied 20–20 against Chile, further signaling their rise to the top in South America. To cap off the tournament, Brazil beat Paraguay 32–21, finishing in third place only behind Chile on points difference. Brazil improved in the 2017 edition of the ARC, beating Chile convincingly 17 to 3, before notching their first win in only their second meeting against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in Pacaembu, by the score of 24 to 23. After these victories, Brazil rose to 30th, their first time in the top 30 of the

World Rugby Rankings The World Rugby Rankings is a ranking system for national teams in rugby union, managed by World Rugby, the sport's governing body. There are separate men's and women's rankings. The teams of World Rugby's member nations are ranked based on th ...

since 2009. On November 18, 2017, Brazil won on European soil for the first time in history, defeating

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, further showing their progress in the 2010s. Brazil's progress continued as they beat Chile on their home soil for the first time in history, and later in the year, in the reformed 2018

, defeated Argentina XV, marking their first-ever victory over an Argentinean side. Brazil would go onto defeat Colombia and was crowned South American champions for the first time in their history.

Uniforms

Traditionally, the rugby team of Brazil has worn a strip of a yellow top and green shorts while the away strip consists of a green top and white shorts. The current provider of the kit is local based Topper. In 2015, the shorts were changed to blue, to be consistent with that of Brazil's football team; this included a presentation involving the Tupí tribe, whom the team is nicknamed after. The current shirt sponsor of Brazil is

Nickname

For some time, Brazilian national rugby union side was unofficially associated with Walt Disney's character Zé Carioca. Sometime later, CBRu, still known as Associação Brasileira de Rugby, or simply ABR, chose Vitória Régia as its official emblem and nickname. However, this nickname was not adopted by fans. In March 2012, CBRu announced ''Os Tupis'' as Brazil national rugby union team's official nickname, a reference to

Tupi people The Tupi people, a subdivision of the Tupi-Guarani linguistic families, were one of the largest groups of indigenous peoples in Brazil before its colonization. Scholars believe that while they first settled in the Amazon rainforest, from abo ...

, the main ethnic group of Brazilian indigenous people. The choice for an emblem started in 2010, when CBRu started receiving e-mails with several suggestions. The three finalists were Tupis, Sucuris (Anacondas) and Araras (Macaws). Fans voted on an Internet poll and chose Tupis with 47% (4,387 votes) of preference. According to CBRu's former president (from 2012-2016), Sami Arap, "The choice ratified the roots of Brazilian people. Tupi represents the essence of our country, referring to urstrength, perseverance, loyalty and team spirit".

Tournament records

Rugby World Cup

Americas Rugby Championship

The Americas Rugby Championship was held in five of the seven years from 2009 to 2015, but Brazil did not participate. Brazil along with Chile has participated in an expanded six-country Americas Rugby Championship in 2016. In the 2016 ARC, 42nd ranked Brazil defeated the 16th ranked United States 24–23, their first win against the United States.

South American Championship

Overall record

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Brazil national XV at test level up until 16 November 2024, updated after match with .

Current squad

On 31 October, Brazil named a 28-player squad for their two-test series against

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Head Coach:

Emiliano Caffera Emiliano Caffera (born 30 October 1978) is an Uruguayan rugby union former player and a current coach. He played as a scrum-half. Playing career He played at Champagnat, in Uruguay. He had 35 caps for Uruguay, from 2000 to 2010, scoring 12 con ...

* Caps Updated: 16 November 2024 (after second test v Hong Kong)

Honors

SAR Championship Champions:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Runners-up:

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

SAR Championship "B" Champions: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2022, 2023 Runners-up: 2003, 2004, 2005

Notable players

* In 2011 Lucas "Tanque" Duque and his brother Moisés Duque were given trials with professional teams in France. * Since 2015 Luiz Vieira has been playing for the second team of the TOP14 team Oyonnax.

Media coverage

Before 2016, most of Brazil's games were aired through

SporTV SporTV is a Brazilian pay television sports network owned by Canais Globo, part of Grupo Globo, launched in 1991. It is the most watched sports network in Brazil. On 18 January 2013, were launched High-definition simulcasts of SporTV and ...

, a paid television network. In 2016, changes were made to Brazil's broadcasting; more commonly available

would air games involving the

, while

ESPN Brasil ESPN is the Brazilian division of ESPN Inc. Launched in March 1989 as Canal+, it was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States, launched in June 1995. The channel has covered major sporting events, like the 1996 Summer ...

holds the rights to the

References

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

Rugby clubs established in 1932 1932 establishments in Brazil