In 1995, Zagreb won the Cup, defeating Jadran HRM 29:12 on the Rudeš pitch. As a reward, Coach Bartolić took the team on a tour of France.

Their first stop was Luxembourg, where Cathy, who had trained with RK Zagreb years earlier while living in the city, hosted the entire club for dinner. She single-handedly fed and watered over 30 grown men. The next day, the team defeated Longwy 29:7 in an excellent match, after which the hosts held a phenomenal party. The team went straight from the celebration onto the bus toward Paris. After sightseeing in Paris, they traveled to Caen in Normandy. The following day, they participated in the "Tournament of Peace," where Zagreb took second place (results: 48:22 vs. Caen I, 49:7 vs. Caen II, and a 5:12 loss to Caen University). The entire stay in France was marked by the incredible hospitality of the hosts. The tour ended with a massive party in the local club's premises. When the players finally headed for the bus, the entire hall followed, singing "Oh, Champs Élysées."

The mid-90s saw significant league restructuring: the "Alpine League" with Slovenian and Austrian clubs began in 1994, a unified Croatian league started in 1995, and the Croatian-Slovenian league launched in 1996.

In 1996, Zagreb won the Cup in Makarska against the favored hosts (15:3), a match broadcast live on HRT (Croatian Radiotelevision). The commentator was mid-sentence dismissing the impact of substitute Pai Pai Wiki (perhaps because he started on the bench) when, a second later, Wiki blocked Kučak's kick, scored a try, and secured the victory!

In 1997, Makarska got their revenge in a similar fashion at Rudeš, defeating Zagreb 18:15 with a try scored in the 90th minute.

In 1999, Zagreb toured the Lot-et-Garonne region of France, a trip arranged by the great rugby enthusiast, French Ambassador to Zagreb, Sans Christophe. In a fantastic atmosphere, the team, led by coach Dubravko Milošević, lost to a combined team of local clubs, but two days later, they participated in a Rugby Sevens tournament.

With the arrival of Anthony Sumich as coach, Zagreb's strong squad began to realize its full potential. To illustrate the turnaround, a year before his arrival, Nada had defeated Zagreb 77:3 in Split. The season after, in the 2001 Cup Final under Sumich, Zagreb narrowly lost 7:3. However, with a magnificent victory in a crucial league match on the Stari plac pitch, Zagreb was finally crowned National Champion.

In 2001, Zagreb secured 3rd place and a cash prize at a very strong international Rugby Sevens tournament in Makarska. The taste of professionalism was sweet, prompting the players to extend their stay by a day and return on the veterans' bus from Split, singing all the way.

After Sumich’s departure, finding a coach became an issue again. Denis Veličković frequently stepped into the role with great enthusiasm. Eventually, Pero Prebeg took over as player-coach. Under his leadership, Zagreb won the national Cup two years in a row—2002 and 2003—both times with convincing victories over city rival Mladost.