[1] The first known rugby players from Serbia were Serbian students in George Heriot's School in Edinburgh, Scotland during The First World War.

On March, 9th 1918 they played their first unofficial international game, in front of 10,000 spectators, against a British Dominions VII and won by eight points to three.

[2] Notable players from this period included Toma Tomić from Leskovac, Dimitrije Dulkanović from Ćuprija and Danilo Pavlović from Prokuplje.

Yugoslavia made their official international debut in 1968 against a Romanian XV, losing 3 points to 11.

They made their full test debut the following month, losing 6 points to 29 against Bulgaria.