 | |||
| Nickname | Tupis | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Tupí chief | ||
| Union | Confederação Brasileira de Rugby (CBR) | ||
| Head coach | Josh Reeves | ||
| Captain | Cleber Dias | ||
| Top scorer | Josh Reeves (156) | ||
| Top try scorer | Felipe Sancery (11) | ||
| Home stadium | Pacaembu Stadium | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 27 (as of 16 January 2023) | ||
| Highest | 24 (2019) | ||
| Lowest | 45 (2015) | ||
| First international | |||
 Uruguay 8−6Brazil  (9 September 1950) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Costa Rica 0−95Brazil (10 October 2006) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Argentina 114−3Brazil (10 October 1992) Argentina 111−0Brazil (5 May 2012) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 0 | ||
| Website | www.brasilrugby.com.br | ||
TheBrazil national rugby union team, nicknamedTupis,[1] is controlled by theBrazilian Rugby Confederation. Brazil is one of the founding unions ofCONSUR (now Sudamérica Rugby) and played in the inauguralSouth American tournament. Brazil has not qualified for aRugby World Cup, but participated in thefirst 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 inassociation football, Brazil has historically been one of the weakest teams of the Americas, having less success than that ofArgentina orUruguay.
In the 21st century, efforts were made to revitalize the sport in Brazil. Withrugby sevens being added to the Olympic calendar, Brazil was invited to theWorld Rugby Sevens Series, 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 theAmericas Rugby Championship, meant to mirror theSix Nations andThe Rugby Championship, 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 theUSA Eagles, 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 firstSouth American Rugby Championship title, in 2018.
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 withassociation football.[2] The first recorded instance of a rugby game being played in Brazil was 1891, played by theSão Paulo Athletic Club, under the auspices ofCharles William Miller. Future efforts to promote the game were then taken on by Augusto Shaw, after Miller began to devote himself exclusively to football.[3]
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.[4] By 1932, a national side had formed; Brazil played its first ever national game againstSouth 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.[3]World War II suspended operations from 1941 to 1946, as was the case in many countries.
Brazil participated in thefirst 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.[5] 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.[5] For the rest of the decade Brazil played against its South American neighbors; Brazil frequently beat 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.
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 toWorld Rugby re-investing in Brazil due to the reinstatement of rugby in the 2016 Olympics.[6] Since then, Brazil has been invited to theWorld Rugby Sevens Series, 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 asBradesco, many of whom see Brazilian rugby to be profitable in the future.[7]
In 2015, Brazil played two tests against the national team of Germany, one held inPacaembu Stadium; 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 theAmericas Rugby Championship, 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 the2016 South American Rugby Championship "A",RedeTV!, one of Brazil's major TV networks, will air Brazil's games live. Brazil played Uruguay atAllianz Parque inSão Paulo, 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 the2017 edition of the ARC, beating Chile convincingly 17 to 3, before notching their first win in only their second meeting againstCanada in Pacaembu, by the score of 24 to 23. After these victories, Brazil rose to 30th, their first time in the top 30 of theWorld Rugby Rankings since 2009. On November 18, 2017, Brazil won on European soil for the first time in history, defeatingBelgium andPortugal, 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 2018South American Rugby Championship, defeatedArgentina 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.
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 basedTopper. 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.[8] The current shirt sponsor of Brazil isBradesco.
For some time, Brazilian national rugby union side was unofficially associated with Walt Disney's characterZé Carioca. Sometime later, CBRu, still known as Associação Brasileira de Rugby, or simply ABR, choseVitória Régia as its official emblem and nickname. However, this nickname was not adopted by fans.
In March 2012, CBRu announcedOs Tupis as Brazil national rugby union team's official nickname,[1] a reference toTupi people, the main ethnic group ofBrazilian 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 [our] strength, perseverance, loyalty and team spirit".
| World Cup record | World Cup Qualification record | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Pts F | Pts A | P | W | D | L | F | A | |
  1987 | Not invited | — | ||||||||||||
   1991 | did not enter | did not enter | ||||||||||||
 1995 | ||||||||||||||
 1999 | did not qualify | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | |||||||
| 2003 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 140 | 84 | ||||||||
| 2007 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 179 | 108 | ||||||||
| 2011 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 230 | 190 | ||||||||
 2015 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 85 | 164 | ||||||||
 2019 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 160 | 139 | ||||||||
| 2023 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 59 | ||||||||
| Total | 0/10 | – | 31 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 849 | 785 | ||||||
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.
| Tourney | Record | Pts Diff | Position | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1–4 | −68 | 5th | United States (24–23) |
| 2017 | 2–3 | −116 | 4th | Chile (17–3); Canada (24–23) |
| 2018 | 1–4 | −96 | 5th | Chile (16–14) |
| 2019 | 2–3 | −65 | 4th | Chile (15–10); Canada (18–10) |
| Tourney | Host | Record | Pts Diff | Position | Wins | Draws | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Uruguay | 1–2 | −129 | 4th | Paraguay (36–21) | N/a | Uruguay (3–71), Chile (3–79) |
| 2010 |  Chile | 1–2 | −34 | 4th | Paraguay (23–18) | N/a | Uruguay (10–26), Chile (8–31) |
| 2011 | Argentina | 1–2 | −3 | 4th | Paraguay (51–14) | N/a | Uruguay (18–39), Chile (6–25) |
| 2012 | Chile | 0–3 | −136 | 4th | N/a | N/a | Uruguay (15–27), Chile (6–19), Argentina (0–111) |
| 2013 | Uruguay | 0–3 | −150 | 4th | N/a | N/a | Chile (22–38), Uruguay (7–58), Argentina (0–83) |
| 2014 | No fixed host | 1–2 | −24 | 3rd | Chile (24–16) | N/a | Paraguay (24–31), Uruguay (9–34) |
| 2015 | No fixed host | 0–3 | −77 | 4th | N/a | N/a | Uruguay (9–48), Chile (3–32), Paraguay (11–17) |
| 2016 | No fixed host | 1–1–1 | −11 | 3rd | Paraguay (32–21) | Chile (20–20) | Uruguay (14–36) |
| 2017 | No fixed host | 1–2 | +32 | 3rd | Paraguay (57–6) | N/a | Uruguay (27–41), Chile (10–15) |
| 2018 | No fixed host | 3–0 | +81 | 1st | Chile (28–12), Argentina XV (36-33), Colombia (67-5) | N/a | N/a |
| 2019 | No fixed host | 1–2 | –25 | 4th | Paraguay (66–10) | N/a | Uruguay XV (19-38), Argentina XV (0-62) |
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Brazil national XV at test level up until18 November 2025, updated after match with
Namibia.[9]
| Rank | Change[i] | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | South Africa | 93.94 |
| 2 | | New Zealand | 90.33 |
| 3 | | England | 89.41 |
| 4 |  5 | France | 88.40 |
| 5 |  4 | Ireland | 86.81 |
| 6 | | Argentina | 84.97 |
| 7 | | Australia | 81.53 |
| 8 | |  Fiji | 81.14 |
| 9 | 10 |  Italy | 79.81 |
| 10 | 9 |  Scotland | 78.98 |
| 11 | | Wales | 74.23 |
| 12 | | Japan | 74.09 |
| 13 | |  Georgia | 73.18 |
| 14 | | Uruguay | 69.19 |
| 15 | |  Spain | 69.16 |
| 16 | |  United States | 68.26 |
| 17 | | Chile | 66.72 |
| 18 | |  Tonga | 66.66 |
| 19 | 20 |  Portugal | 66.53 |
| 20 | 19 |  Samoa | 66.43 |
| 21 | |  Belgium | 60.77 |
| 22 | |  Romania | 59.68 |
| 23 | |  Hong Kong | 59.61 |
| 24 | |  Zimbabwe | 58.80 |
| 25 | |  Canada | 58.75 |
| 26 | 27 | Namibia | 56.96 |
| 27 | 26 |  Netherlands | 56.86 |
| 28 | |  Switzerland | 55.26 |
| 29 | |  Czech Republic | 54.78 |
| 30 | |  Poland | 52.96 |
| Brazil's historical rankings |
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win % | For | Aga | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0.00% | 54 | 1,096 | –1,042 |
| Argentina XV | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 14.29% | 115 | 343 | –228 |
| Barbarians | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 22 | 47 | −25 |
| Belgium | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | 97 | 74 | +23 |
| Canada | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50% | 105 | 180 | –75 |
| Chile | 34 | 5 | 27 | 2 | 14.71% | 468 | 1,106 | –638 |
 Colombia | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 491 | 47 | +434 |
| Costa Rica | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 95 | 0 | +95 |
| France A | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 140 | –127 |
| Georgia XV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 20 | 18 | +2 |
 Germany | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0.00% | 51 | 157 | –106 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25% | 68 | 111 | –43 |
 Kenya | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 42 | 45 | –3 |
| Māori All Blacks | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 35 | –32 |
 Mexico | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 126 | 19 | +107 |
| Namibia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 40 | 31 | –9 |
| Oxford andCambridge | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 102 | −89 |
 Paraguay | 33 | 20 | 13 | 0 | 60.61% | 873 | 623 | +250 |
 Peru | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 404 | 58 | +346 |
| Portugal | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20% | 65 | 173 | –108 |
| Romania | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | 47 | 100 | –53 |
| Spain | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 24 | 89 | –65 |
 Trinidad and Tobago | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80% | 75 | 71 | +4 |
| Samoa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 10 | 48 | –38 |
 United Arab Emirates | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 66 | 3 | +63 |
| United States | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.67% | 102 | 221 | –119 |
| USA Selects | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 33 | 20 | +13 |
| Uruguay | 30 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 10% | 318 | 1,053 | –735 |
| Uruguay A | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 12 | 28 | –16 |
 Venezuela | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 88.89% | 258 | 95 | +163 |
| Zimbabwe | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | 44 | 48 | –24 |
| Total | 204 | 74 | 127 | 3 | 36.27% | 4,145 | 6,190 | –2,045 |
On 31 October, Brazil named a 30-player squad ahead of the2027 Rugby World Cup Final Qualification Tournament.[11]
Head Coach:Josh Reeves
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henrique Ferreira | Hooker | (1999-12-10)10 December 1999 (age 26) | 15 | Cobras |
| Yan Rosetti | Hooker | (1993-07-05)5 July 1993 (age 32) | 41 | Barcelona |
| Brendon Alves | Prop | (1998-12-01)1 December 1998 (age 27) | 9 | Cobras |
| Vicente Galvão | Prop | (1993-12-15)15 December 1993 (age 32) | 3 | Cobras |
| João Lucas Marino | Prop | (2002-04-16)16 April 2002 (age 23) | 5 | Cobras |
| Leonel Moreno | Prop | (1997-08-29)29 August 1997 (age 28) | 17 | Lazio |
| Wilton Rebolo | Prop | (1995-08-02)2 August 1995 (age 30) | 45 | Unattached |
| Caique Segura | Prop | (1993-11-21)21 November 1993 (age 32) | 36 | La Seyne |
| Matteo Dell’Acqua | Lock | (1991-06-13)13 June 1991 (age 34) | 17 | Reggio |
| Ben Donald | Lock | (1998-04-03)3 April 1998 (age 27) | 13 | Thames Valley |
| Hélder Lúcio | Lock | (2003-06-18)18 June 2003 (age 22) | 4 | Cobras |
| Gabriel Oliveira | Lock | (2001-10-29)29 October 2001 (age 24) | 14 | Cobras |
| André Arruda | Back row | (1989-01-09)9 January 1989 (age 37) | 50 | Cobras |
| Matheus Cláudio | Back row | (1998-06-08)8 June 1998 (age 27) | 24 | Cobras |
| Adrio de Melo | Back row | (2001-03-21)21 March 2001 (age 24) | 23 | Cobras |
| Devon Muller | Back row | (1998-10-12)12 October 1998 (age 27) | 4 | College Rovers |
| Renato Santos | Back row | (2001-02-06)6 February 2001 (age 25) | 2 | Cobras |
| Lucas Spago | Scrum-half | (2000-05-19)19 May 2000 (age 25) | 19 | Cobras |
| Gustavo Gobeti | Scrum-half | (2005-05-20)20 May 2005 (age 20) | 2 | Cobras |
| João Amaral | Fly-half | (2000-01-01)1 January 2000 (age 26) | 13 | Cobras |
| Thiago Oviedo | Fly-half | (2002-05-09)9 May 2002 (age 23) | 6 | Cobras |
| Moisés Duque | Centre | (1988-12-21)21 December 1988 (age 37) | 67 | Cobras |
| Lorenzo Massari | Centre | (1998-01-11)11 January 1998 (age 28) | 22 | Cobras |
| Carlo Mignot | Centre | (2003-02-16)16 February 2003 (age 22) | 5 | Biarritz |
| Robert Tenório | Centre | (1996-07-27)27 July 1996 (age 29) | 38 | Cobras |
| Théo Bastardie | Wing | (2000-02-26)26 February 2000 (age 25) | 3 | Rouen |
| Raphael Hollister | Wing | 3 | Blackheath | |
| Sérgio Luna | Wing | (2001-05-14)14 May 2001 (age 24) | 1 | São Paulo Athletic Club |
| Robson Morais | Wing | (1998-02-02)2 February 1998 (age 28) | 6 | Cobras |
| Lucas Tranquez | Fullback | (1994-03-12)12 March 1994 (age 31) | 59 | Cobras |
Champions:2018
Runners-up:1964
Champions: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2022, 2023
Runners-up: 2003, 2004, 2005
Before 2016, most of Brazil's games were aired throughSporTV, a paid television network. In 2016, changes were made to Brazil's broadcasting; more commonly availableRedeTV! would air games involving theSouth American Rugby Championship, whileESPN Brasil holds the rights to theAmericas Rugby Championship.
| Male teams | |
|---|---|
| Female teams | |
| Mixed teams | |
