Ivory Coast national rugby union team

Ivory Coast
Shirt badge/Association crest
NicknameLes Éléphants (The Elephants)
EmblemElephant
UnionIvorian Rugby Federation
Head coachEdgar Babou
CaptainTBD
Home stadiumVarious
First colours
World Rugby ranking
Current49 (as of 16 January 2023)
Highest38 (2003, 2005, 2006, 2021)
Lowest55 (2017)
First international
 Zimbabwe 22–9 Ivory Coast 
(Harare, Zimbabwe; 5 May 1990)
Biggest win
 Ivory Coast 83–3 Mauritius 
(Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast; 26 June 2013)
Biggest defeat
Scotland  89–0  Ivory Coast
(Rustenburg, South Africa; 26 May 1995)
World Cup
Appearances1 (First in 1995)
Best resultPool stage (1995)

The Ivory Coast national rugby union team, nicknamed Les Éléphants, participates in the annual Africa Cup and are considered a third tier rugby team.

Formed in 1990, the team's most significant achievement to date was their success in qualifying for the Rugby World Cup for their first and so far only time in 1995. They have not qualified since, though they did reach the semi-finals of the African qualifying competition for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, achieving a home draw against eventual qualifiers Namibia before being defeated in their away match.

Rugby union in Côte d'Ivoire is popular among school children, but the rugby union playing population in Côte d'Ivoire is still relatively small with only 14 clubs and 470 registered senior players.[1]

The national side is ranked 43rd in the world (as of 29 July 2019).[2]

  1. ^ "Ivory Coast". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  2. ^ "World Rugby". Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.