Rugby union in Wales

Rugby union is the national sport of Wales and is considered a large part of national culture. Rugby is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the national body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) being formed in 1881. The national team play at the WRU-owned Millennium Stadium, and compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, as well as having competed at every Rugby World Cup. Wales are ranked as a tier-1 nation by World Rugby (WR). The main domestic competition in Wales is the Guinness Pro12 (historically the Celtic League), in which Wales have four sides in the competition which is also contested by Irish and Scottish clubs and from 2010-11 Italian teams. Top-level Welsh teams also compete in the Europe-wide European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup and alongside the teams of England's Aviva Premiership in the Anglo-Welsh Cup. Wales also competes as one of the 15 "core teams" in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series, and won the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens.