The Bulgaria national rugby union team is governed by the Bulgarian Rugby Federation and has yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
The national side is ranked 73rd in the world (as of 8 June 2026).
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
World Cup recordYearRound 1987Not invited 1991Did not enter 1995 1999 Did not qualify 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027Total0/11------
Overall Record
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Bulgaria national XV at test level up until 3 October 2026, updated after match with .
AgainstPlayedWonLostDrawnWin percentage 7 5 2 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 5 2 3 0 % 7 4 3 0 % 2 0 2 0 0% 5 0 5 0 0% 7 1 6 0 % 1 1 0 0 % 23 13 10 0 % 9 8 1 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 4 2 2 0 % 8 1 7 0 % 6 2 4 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 1 0 1 0 0% 5 0 4 1 0% 9 7 2 0 % 3 1 2 0 % 6 1 5 0 % 4 0 4 0 0% 2 1 1 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 7 3 4 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 2 0 2 0 0% 5 4 1 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 2 2 0 0 % 5 3 2 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 1 0 1 0 0% 6 1 5 0 % 8 5 2 1 % 1 0 1 0 0% 7 2 5 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% Total 166 69 95 2 %
Recent Squad
Previous squad Squad to 2019 European Nations Cup - Division 2D.
Georgi Gidionov Dimo Dimov Dimitar Georgiev Vladi Mihov Alex Tenev Tsvetomir Stoyanov Iliya Krastev Nikolay Hinov Denis Ivanov Borislav Borisov Kostadin Petkov Vasil Borisov Petar Nikolov (c) Tsvetostin Tsvetkov Ivailo Petrov Ivailo Ivanov Kristian Kotsev Kristian Pavlov Ricardo Attye Tsvetan Rashev Hristo Georgiev Smilko Debrenliev Deyan Parvanov Dimitar Kotsev Victor Iliev
See also Rugby union in Bulgaria
External links RugbyBulgaria.com Сайтът за Ръгби в България Bulgaria national rugby union team Fixtures and Results Bulgaria on "World Rugby" Bulgaria on RugbyData.com Murphy's Misfits Social Rugby in Bulgaria Barbarians Sofia Barbarians Sofia Rugby Club
References