 For many years in the 1800s and early 1900s the Singapore team that played against other Malayan states was made up of expatriates who were working in Singapore and army servicemen based in Singapore at the time.With such a large core of servicemen making the "national team" of the time, a Singapore "Civilians XV" also played many games representing the island state.Up to the 1960s, this representation of Singapore Civilians made up the national team that competed in the annual Malaya Cup that hosted states from around Malaya (now Malaysia).