I'm not so sure you would. Given that Rugby Union still has the individual home nations and they started about the same time. And before any body says Lions they only come out to play every 4 years. Actually it could work like that the UK team has historically only played every 4 years first against France and then the rest of the world.
Or football is like cricket and although there are Scottish, Welsh and Irish teams the England team can pick anyone born or naturalised in the UK. This would have had to have a POD around 1863.