The Welsh Rugby Union was formed, in Neath in 1881, and it now has a total of 239 member clubs.  Wales' first international was against England at Blackheath on 19 February 1881.  After a heavy defeat for Wales, the English refused to play against them the next season.

However, Welsh rugby developed over the following years.  Manager Richard Mullock, who went on to become the first secretary of the WRU, persevered and by the turn of the century Wales were the team that everyone feared.  Wales were nearly invincible, winning the championship six times and being runners up also on six occasions in the first 12 years of the new century.  In 1905, Wales were crowned the unofficial 'Champions of the World' when they became the only side to beat New Zealand on their tour of the British Isles.  The success of the national side was mainly thanks to the 'big four' clubs of Cardiff, Llanelli, Newport and Swansea.  For example, Newport lost only seven matches between 1891 and 1895.  In 1911, Wales earned what has become recognised as the first 'official' Grand Slam.  However, it was to be Wales' last for 39 years.  The Great War came in 1914 and rugby was suspended for four seasons.

During the twenties, the rugby side seemed to mirror the industrial recession.  Of the 42 matches played, only 17 were won and three drawn.  The depression resulted in around half-a-million people leaving Wales to find work elsewhere.  Along with them went a host of Welsh rugby internationals to northern England.  Rugby League benefited enormously.  Between 1923 and 1925, Wales were whitewashed by the other rugby nations and only beat France in that time.

The Welsh team grew alongside the economy during the thirties.  Wales won the Championship for the first time in nine years in 1931 after two tries from Jack Morley against Ireland in Belfast.  In January 1933, Wales recorded their first win over England at Twickenham.  The All Blacks visited the Arms Park in 1935, but Wales fell to another famous defeat, 13-12.

The 1939-40 season started on 1 September, but was suspended two days later with the declaration of War against Germany.  Club matches resumed in September 1945, with capped matches returning in 1947.  Wales' first official post-war international was against England.  It ended in a 9-6 defeat, but Scotland, France and Ireland were defeated thereafter.  Hadyn Tanner was captain in 12 of the 13 games played during the decade.

The Arms Park became known as the official home of Welsh rugby in the fifties.  Wales played 18 games there and lost only four times.  Wales won the Grand Slam in 1950 and 1952, but after securing their first Triple Crown since 1911 with victory over Ireland in 1950, an aircraft carrying Welsh fans back home from Dublin crashed 300 metres from its landing strip at Llandow.  80 of the 83 people on board were killed.  In 1953, Wales welcomed the All Blacks and the Arms Park provided the setting for two magnificent home victories.  Sid Judd scored tries for both club and country as first Cardiff beat the tourists 8-3 and three weeks later Wales followed suit, 13-8.

As the demise of heavy industry continued in the sixties, the Welsh team began to rely less on coal miners and steel workers and more on teachers.  After Wales' record defeat in Durban at the hands of the Springboks in 1964, the coaching revolution began.  The WRU Coaching Committee, set up in the late fifties, was given the task of improving the quality of coaching and in January 1967, Ray Williams was appointed Coaching Organiser.  The first National Coach, former Ebbw Vale and Wales back row man David Nash, was appointed in 1968.  Gareth Edwards made his debut against France in Paris on 1 April 1967.  In 1968, he became the youngest ever Welsh captain at 20 years and was captain when Wales won the Triple Crown in 1969.

The seventies was the era when Welsh rugby dominated the game in the northern hemisphere.  Nine of the ten matches against England were won, eight of the ten against the Scots and the Irish claimed only one win and a draw in nine outings.  France were the only side to rival the Welsh, winning three and drawing one of their ten games.  By the time England had been put to the sword on 17 March 1979, Wales had won the Five Nations title five times, done the Grand Slam three times, picked up five Triple Crowns and beaten Australia twice.

In 1981, JPR Williams made his last Test appearance at the Arms Park and the full back made it 11 wins out of 11 against England in a 21-19 victory.  A year later Gwyn Evans equalled the world record with six penalty goals against France before Scotland ended Wales' 27-match unbeaten championship record at the ground.  At the inaugural Rugby World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 1987, Wales beat England in the quarter-finals, lost to the All Blacks in the semi-finals and then beat Australia to take third place.

The nineties was one of the worst periods in the history of the game as defections to Rugby League and internecine struggles decimated the national side. A Five Nations whitewash followed in 1990, and in 1991, Wales were dumped out of the World Cup by the little known Western Samoa in the pool stages. However, things looked to have improved with the appointment of coach Graham Henry. A ten match unbeaten run saw him heralded as the 'Great Redeemer.' As host nation of the Rugby World Cup in 1999, Wales reached the quarter-finals of the tournament before losing to eventual Champions Australia.

However, Wales struggled to make any further progress during the new millennium. Defeats to the likes of Argentina and Ireland in 2001/02 led to Henry's resignation in February 2002.