With all the Home Nations competing regularly, the decision was taken to introduce

a competitive tournament between the sides, and the British International

Championship (later to become better known as the British Home Championship) was
created in 1884.[26] The inaugural tournament was won by Scotland who won all three
of their ties. Having defeated Ireland 6–0 in their opening match, Wales went on to
finish third after suffering successive defeats to England and Scotland.[27] The
early stages of the competition continued on the same lines; England and Scotland
competed for the title, while Wales would finish third by defeating Ireland. In the
first three years of competition, Wales' only points other than in matches against
Ireland was a 1–1 draw with England in the 1884–85 tournament.[26] In the 1886–87
edition, Wales finished bottom of the competition for the first time after losing
all three of their matches, including a 4–1 defeat to Ireland in the nation's first
victory in international football. Wales had struggled to raise a team for the
match and included Wrexham defender Bob Roberts playing as the goalkeeper. FAW
secretary Alexander Hunter also stepped in when Humphrey Jones withdrew late.[26]
Hunter had never played football at such a level and his performance was described
as "glaringly deficient".[28]

In a reversal of the previous year's events, the Freeman's Journal wrote that a
weakened Ireland team travelled to Wales for the 1887–88 British Home Championship.
The publication reported that "some young gentlemen from Belfast" had claimed to
represent Ireland and went on to lose the match 11–0,[21] although there were only
four debutants in the team on the day.[29] The scoreline remains a record victory
for Wales. Jack Doughty scored four goals, and the game was so one-sided that three
Welsh players left the field before the match ended to ensure they were on time for
their train home.[26] After 5–1 defeats to both England and Scotland, Wales again
finished third.[27]

Wales avoided defeat in a fixture against Scotland for the first time with a
goalless draw in the 1888–89 British Home Championship. The feat was achieved
despite local amateur Alf Pugh starting in goal for Wales after the original
selection, James Trainer, failed to arrive at the match.[30] Pugh played the first
30 minutes before Wrexham's Sam Gillam arrived and took his place,[26] thus
becoming the first substitute ever used in international football.[31][32] The
following year, Wales played a home fixture outside the nation for the first time
when a meeting with Ireland was held in Shrewsbury in an attempt to draw a large
crowd. Wales won the match 5–2.[33] By the early 1890s, with the domestic game
thriving in England, Wales were struggling to get players released for
international fixtures, particularly for away matches against Ireland which
required a three-day absence from a player's club due to ferry travel. As a result,
Wales finished bottom of the British Home Championship five times during the
decade, including three consecutive seasons between 1891 and 1893.[27][33] Wales
did record their highest placed finish to date in 1895 by coming second to England
after drawing all three of their fixtures, inspired by the likes of James Trainer,
Billy Lewis and a debuting Billy Meredith.[27][34]