Rugby was able to rapidly grow over the 19th and 20th century and spread to places all over the world with English origins. It spread to areas such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and even India.  Each of these countries all implemented new leagues and hosted games/tournaments.

Overtime Rugby was able to grow so much in popularity that the the first Rugby World Cup was organized by the IRB and held in 1987 in New Zealand. In 1991 the Rugby World Cup was hosted in different European countries and led to Rugby becoming a major international sport as it reached 124 countries and 2.7 billions viewers.