Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory, it has long had a rugby presence, and the game was probably introduced at some point during the 19th century by the military.

Around World War II, a number of Gibraltarians were evacuated to the United Kingdom, and some learned rugby while at school there or in the British Armed Forces.

There were also regular and well attended Rugby Sevens events that took place, with recorded coverage from GBC television on John Shepherd's sports programmes.

With the opening of the border in the 1980s, the huge demand by military personnel and returning local, university students led to the creation of Gibraltar's first national league.

On 5 November 2011 the Gibraltar Rugby Football Union (GRFU) fielded a national team in its first official Test Match.

The historic first encounter between a Spanish and Gibraltarian side (U20s) was held in September 2010, against Marbella RFC[6] In 2011 the GRFU hosted its first, locally based, international Sevens tournament called "The Rock 7s".

Gibraltar's National League is played amongst the four local clubs: DHL Europa Stormers, Inline Framing Straits Sharks, Ibex Buccaneers, Rock Scorpions.