In 1998/9 Israeli Youth teams participated in European Tournaments for the first time:
On the domestic scene, rugby was admitted into the four-yearly Maccabi Games in 1981, when the only overseas competitor was South Africa. In 1985 three overseas countries participated, in 1989 four, 1993 six , l997 seven while in 2001 there were only four competing teams, two of which were Israeli sides. The next Maccabiah takes place in July 2005.