Bulgaria national rugby union team
National rugby union team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bulgaria national rugby union team is governed by the Bulgarian Rugby Federation and has yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
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| Union | Bulgarian Rugby Federation | |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Romain Balmisse (FRA) | |
| Captain | Petar Nikolov | |
| ||
| World Rugby ranking | ||
| Current | 73 (as of 8 June 2026) | |
| Highest | 59 (16 January 2023) | |
| Lowest | 74 (2026) | |
| First international | ||
 Bulgaria 3 - 70 Romania  (Sofia, Bulgaria; 20 May 1963) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
Bulgaria 71 - 7 Serbia  (Sofia, Bulgaria; 12 October 2019) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
| Bulgaria 0 - 100 Romania (Burgas, Bulgaria; 21 September 1976) | ||
The national side is ranked 73rd in the world (as of 8 June 2026).[1]
History
Bulgaria played their first rugby international in 1963, where they met Romania. They were defeated by the Romanians, 70-3. There was no qualifying tournament held for the first Rugby World Cup, and Bulgaria did not attempt to qualify for the tournament until the Welsh hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup. They competed in Pool 2 of Round A, but did not advance to the next stage.
Bulgaria again tried to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and competed in Pool B of Round 1. Although Bulgaria won one pool match, they did not advance to Round 2. For the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Bulgaria were able to advance past Round 1, and entered Pool D of Round 2. However, they were then knocked out of the qualifying tournament.
World Cup record
Overall Record
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Bulgaria national XV at test level up until 25 April 2026, updated after match with 
Moldova.
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andorra | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71.43% |
 Armenia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Austria | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40% |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 57.14% |
 Croatia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
 Cyprus | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0% |
 Czechoslovakia | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 14.29% |
 Denmark | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 East Germany | 23 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 56.52% |
 Finland | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 88.89% |
 Georgia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Greece | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50% |
 Hungary | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 12.5% |
 Israel | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33.33% |
 Italy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Latvia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Lithuania | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0% |
 Luxembourg | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 77.78% |
 Malta | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
| Moldova | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.67% |
 Monaco | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0% |
 Montenegro | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
 Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Norway | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 42.86% |
 Poland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Romania | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Serbia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80% |
 Serbia and Montenegro | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Slovakia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Slovenia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60% |
 Soviet Union | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Spain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Switzerland | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.67% |
 Turkey | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71.43% |
 Ukraine | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Yugoslavia | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 28.57% |
 West Germany | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Total | 165 | 69 | 95 | 1 | 41.82% |
Recent Squad
Previous squad
Squad to 2019 European Nations Cup - Division 2D.[2]
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See also
External links
- RugbyBulgaria.com Сайтът за Ръгби в България
- Bulgaria national rugby union team Archived 2016-02-20 at the Wayback Machine Fixtures and Results
- Bulgaria on "World Rugby"
- Bulgaria Archived 2016-08-17 at the Wayback Machine on RugbyData.com
- Murphy's Misfits Archived 2011-08-22 at the Wayback Machine Social Rugby in Bulgaria
- Barbarians Sofia Barbarians Sofia Rugby Club