The Arabian Gulf rugby union team was a combined team of players that represented the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in international rugby union competitions. The team competed in international matches between 1993 and 2010,[2] and was governed by the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU). Associate members were Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
The Arabian Gulf participated in the highest tier of the inaugural 2008 Asian Five Nations alongside Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.[5] After losing all four of their matches and subsequently finishing last, the team was relegated to Division One for the 2009 tournament. The team proceeded to win Division One in 2009, securing promotion to the Asian Five Nations for 2010.[citation needed]
However, on 16 January 2009, the sport's international governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), announced that the AGRFU – and the combined Arabian Gulf team – would be split into separate national entities and cease to exist by the end of 2010. The first new union to be formed was that of the UAE, which became a full IRB member in November 2012.[6][7]
Former associate members of the AGRFU, Jordan and Lebanon played each other on 14 May 2010, the first match for both national teams.[citation needed]
The UAE Rugby Federation,[6] and the respective federations of Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, all subsequently joined Asia Rugby in their own right.[8]