1.
Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match
2.
South Africa national rugby union team
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The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblems are the Springbok, the team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. The team made its World Cup debut in 1995, when the newly democratic South Africa hosted the tournament, South Africa regained their title as champions 12 years later, when they defeated England 15–6 in the 2007 final. They were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards, the Springboks also compete in the annual Rugby Championship, along with southern-hemisphere counterparts Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. They have won this championship on three occasions in sixteen years and they also play Test matches against the various rugby-playing nations. Their position in the World Rugby Rankings has varied between the No.1 and No.7 positions, the first British Isles tour took place in 1891, at Diocesan College. These were the first representative games played by South African sides, the tourists won all twenty matches they played, conceding only one point. The British Isles success continued on their tour of 1896, winning three out of four tests against South Africa, South Africas play improved markedly from 1891, and their first test win in the final game was a pointer to the future. In 1903 the British Isles lost a series for the first time in South Africa, Rugby was given a huge boost by the early Lions tours, which created great interest in the South African press. South Africa would not lose another series—home or away—until 1956, the first South African team to tour the British Isles and France occurred during 1906–07. The team played tests against all four Home Nations, England managed a draw, but Scotland was the only one of the Home unions to gain a victory. The trip instilled a sense of pride among South Africans. The South Africans played a match against a France team while the official French team were in England. It was during this tour that the nickname Springboks was first used, the 1910 British Isles tour of South Africa was the first to include representatives from all four Home unions. The tourists won just one of their three tests, the Boks second European tour took place in 1912–13. They beat the four Home nations to earn their first Grand Slam, by the first World War, New Zealand and South Africa had established themselves as rugbys two greatest powers. A Springbok tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1921 was billed as The World Championship of Rugby, the All Blacks won the first Test 13–5, The Springboks recovered to win the second Test 9–5, and the final Test was drawn 0–0, resulting in a series draw. The 1924 British and Irish Lions team to South Africa lost all four Tests to the Springboks and this was the first side to pick up the name Lions, apparently picked up from the Lions embroidered on their ties
3.
Scotland national rugby union team
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The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union, the team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 27 February 2017, Scotland are fifth in the World Rugby Rankings, the Scottish rugby team dates back to 1871, where they beat England in the first international rugby union match at Raeburn Place. Scotland competed in the Five Nations from the tournament in 1883. In 2000 the competition accepted a sixth competitor, Italy, thus forming the Six Nations, since this change, Scotland have yet to win the competition. Their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off, Scotland have a strong rivalry with the English national team. They both annually compete for the Calcutta Cup, each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, and Scotland last won it in 2008. In December 1870 a group of Scots players issued a letter of challenge in The Scotsman and in Bells Life in London, in front of around 4000 spectators, the Scots won the encounter by a try and a goal to a solitary try scored by England. England later got revenge by winning the match at the Kennington Oval. The Calcutta Cup was donated to the Rugby Football Union in 1878 by the members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club, the members had decided to disband, the cup was crafted from melted-down silver rupees which became available when the Clubs funds were withdrawn from the bank. The Cup is unique in that it is competed for only by England and Scotland. The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879 and, since that time, in 1882 the Home Nations Championship, the fore-runner of the modern Six Nations Championship was founded with Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland taking part. Further Triple Crowns wins for Scotland followed in 1901,1903 and 1907, however, Scotlands triumph in 1907 would be the last for eighteen years as the First World War and Englands dominance afterwards would deny them glory. In 1897 land was purchased, by the SFU, at Inverleith, thus the SFU became the first of the Home Unions to own its own ground. The first visitors were Ireland, on 18 February 1899, international rugby was played at Inverleith until 1925. The SFU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield Stadium which was opened on 21 March 1925, in 1925 Scotland already had victories over France at Inverleith, Wales in Swansea and Ireland in Dublin. England, the Grand Slam champions of the two seasons were the first visitors to Murrayfield. 70,000 spectators saw the lead change three times before Scotland secured a 14–11 victory which gave them their first-ever Five Nations Grand Slam
4.
England national rugby union team
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The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and they are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 20 June 2016. England were the first, and to date, the team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup. They were also runners-up in 1991 and 2007, the history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official Test match, losing to Scotland by one goal. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship which started in 1883, following the schism of rugby football in 1895, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. England first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and went on to appear in the final in the second tournament in 1991, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their 2003 Six Nations Championship Grand Slam, they went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup – defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time and they again contested the final in 2007, losing 15–6 to South Africa. England players traditionally wear a shirt with a Rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts. Their home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910, the team is administered by the Rugby Football Union. Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, Englands first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871. Not only was this match Englands first, but it proved to be the first ever rugby union international. Scotland won the match by a goal and a try to a try, in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh. A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872 which saw England defeat Scotland by a goal, in those early days there was no points system, it was only after 1890 that a format allowing the introduction of a points system was provided. Up until 1875 international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored, in 1875, England played their first game against the Irish at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil, the match was Irelands first ever Test. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup and their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardsons Field in Blackheath. England recorded their largest victory, defeating the Welsh by seven goals, six tries, in 1889, England played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives by one goal and four tries to nil at Rectory Field in Blackheath. In 1890 England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland, England first played New Zealand in 1905. The All Blacks scored five tries, worth three points at this time, to win 15–0, England first played France in 1905, and Australia in 1909 when they were defeated 9–3
5.
Wales national rugby union team
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The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy, Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 26 times outright. Wales most recent championship win came in 2013, the governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union, was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Wales performances in the Home Nations Championship continued to improve, experiencing their first golden age between 1900 and 1911 and they first played New Zealand, known as the All Blacks, in 1905, when they defeated them 3–0 in a famous match at Cardiff Arms Park. Welsh rugby struggled between the two World Wars, but experienced a golden age between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships. Wales played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third, following the sport allowing professionalism in 1995, Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, in 2005, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam. That was the first Grand Slam won by a team playing most of the matches away from home, Wales won two more Grand Slams in 2008 and in 2012, and in 2011 came fourth in the Rugby World Cup. Their home ground is the Millennium Stadium, currently known for reasons as Principality Stadium. Eight former Welsh players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850, when Reverend Rowland Williams became Vice-Principal at St Davids College, Lampeter, where he introduced the sport. Wales played their first international on 19 February 1881, organised by Newports Richard Mullock, Wales played against England, losing by seven goals, one drop goal, on 12 March 1881, the Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Hotel, Neath. Two years later, the Home Nation Championship – now the Six Nations Championship – was first played, however, rugby in Wales developed and, by the 1890s, the Welsh had developed the four three-quarters formation. This formation – with seven backs and eight forwards, instead of six backs and nine forwards – revolutionised the sport and was adopted almost universally at international. With the four three-quarter formation Wales became Home International Champions for the first time in 1893, Wales next won the Championship in 1900, heralding the first golden age of Welsh rugby which was to last until 1911. They won two more Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905, and were runners up in 1901,1903 and 1904, when Wales faced New Zealands All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905 they had not lost at home since 1899. The referee ruled a scrum to Wales and the score did not change, the loss was the All Blacks only loss on their 35-match tour. In 1906, Wales again won the Home Championship, and later that played the South African national side. Wales were favourites to win the match, but instead South Africa dominated in the forwards, two years later, on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring Australians, the Wallabies, who they defeated 9–6. In 1909, Wales won the Home Championship and then, in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first Five Nations and it would be nearly forty years before they achieved a Grand Slam again
6.
Paul Roos (rugby player)
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Paul Johannes Roos was one of the first South African Springbok rugby union captains and led the first South African rugby team to tour overseas – to Britain in 1906. Roos was born near the South African town of Stellenbosch on 30 October 1880, Roos was a popular rugby player and was chosen by his own teammates to captain the 1906 tour. A devout Christian, Roos was an excellent ambassador for the game and helped promote the South Africans as a fair, with no first class team in the area, he joined the Villagers in 1900, before returning to the Stellenbosch University side in 1901. By 1902 Roos was captaining the team, and led the team with great success, by 1903 Roos had been selected for the Western Province team, but was such a devout Christian, he refused to play or travel on a Sunday. This led to Roos refusing to play for the Western Province team in the Currie Cup of 1904 as it would mean he would need to travel on a Sunday. The Western Province captain wrote to a professor at Stellenbosch University, Roos brother, Gideon Roos, followed his older brother playing for both Stellenbosch and Western Province before he himself played international rugby for South Africa. Before his first international match Roos faced the 1903 touring British Isles while representing Western Province, after his performance for Western Province, Roos was selected to represent the South African national team in 1903 in the final Test against the British Isles. The first two Test matches had ended in draws, and when the South Africans won, they took their first series against a British team. In 1906 Roos was part of the first overseas touring South African team, the bulk of the team was made up of Western Province players, who had recently won the Currie Cup. Roos, who was the player not to have undertaken a trial for the match as he was seen as a certainty for the team, was elected by the rest of the players to be the team captain. The tour to Britain, Ireland and France took in 29 matches, including Test games against the four Home Nations, the tour began with great expectations, as the previous season had seen the Original All Blacks tour Britain with incredible success. The first 15 games were against club and county teams, with the South Africans victorious in every encounter, the first international encounter for the team was against Scotland, played in front of a record crowd of 30,000. The Springboks were back on winning form the next game against the North of Scotland. Roos lead his team out at the Balmoral Showgrounds in an exciting match, after the first half, Roos men were leading 3–12, but brilliant play from Ireland levelled the scores to 12–12 before a try from the wing settled the game in the South Africans favour. The game against Wales was the most anticipated of the tour, Wales had been unofficially crowned the Worlds best team after a Triple Crown winning season in 1905 and a win over the All Blacks in the Game of the Century. The Glamorgan team that had run the South Africans close earlier in the tour had contained twelve internationals, South Africa beat Newport by a goal and a try to nil, and after the game the two team captains sat down at the Westgate Hotel for a post-match dinner. Roos asked Charlie Pritchard, the Newport skipper, how the Newport forwards and this revelation became a controversial talking point when the Welsh press heard of it. The match against Wales was set for 1 December 1906, and was played at St. Helens Ground in Swansea
7.
Western Province (rugby team)
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DHL Western Province is a South African rugby union team, based in Newlands, Cape Town, that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup tournaments. Founded in 1883, the team has won titles, a record of 34 Currie Cup titles including the inaugural competition, the Vodacom Cup, the Absa Nite Series. The club has the most supporters of any Currie Cup team, the Club is nicknamed Die Streeptruie in reference to their legendary blue and white hooped jerseys. These Striped Jerseys were the colours of Malmesbury Rugby Football Club and they are also known simply as Province by all South African rugby lovers, while Afrikaans-speaking supporters also refer to the team by its abbreviation, W. P. Western Province were the 2012 Vodacom Cup Champions, having defeated the Griquas in 2012 by 20 points to 18 and they also are the 2014 Currie cup champions, having defeated the Lions 19–16 in the final. In 2010 province again did a victory over all of New Zealands five super unions. Province has also beaten the Wallabies 17–6 in an encounter in 1963. The only two teams to have beaten overseas countries as well as teams are yet again the Blue Bulls. Province was literally unstoppable by any opposition in the 1980s except for Northern Transvaal. Since 1983 Western Province has been sponsored by Adidas, in 2013 this will mark the 30th Anniversary of the sponsorship, the maroon jersey along with the centenary jersey as well as the original Stormers orange tops are the three most sought after Province and or Stormers tops. Team sponsor DHL has officially renewed their sponsorship with Western Province until 2016, Western Province currently combines with Boland Cavaliers to compete as the DHL Stormers in the Super Rugby competition. The club was established in 1883, the club claimed their first Currie Cup title in 1889, they repeated this success just three years later, winning the title again in 1892. Western Province continued to dominate the Currie Cup throughout the 1890s and this success continued into the early 1900s, as they won in 1904,1906 and 1908. The competition still being contested irregularly at this stage, was won by the Western Province in 1914. They won a seven times over the next two decades – four times in the 1920s and again three times in the 1930s, sharing two with Border. When the first Currie Cup championship was introduced in 1939, Western Province featured in the final, after losing the final in 1946 to Northern Transvaal, Western Province won their first final in 1947. The Currie Cup became a competition in 1969 and Western Province made it to the final that year. The team had to wait another seven seasons before making another final appearance, three years later they won the Currie Cup, sharing with Northern Transvaal at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town
8.
Griquas (rugby)
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Griquas are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. Their home ground is Griqua Park in Kimberley and they draw their players mostly from Northern Cape Province and they have won the Currie Cup three times – in 1899,1911 and 1970 – and the Vodacom Cup a joint-record five times. The rugby team was established in 1886 in the former British colony of Griqualand West, the Currie Cup became South Africas domestic prize, and Griqualand West first won it in 1899. Griqualand West subsequently won the Currie Cup in 1911, after the introduction of official annual championships in 1969, Griqualand West won the final the next season, defeating Northern Transvaal 11–9 to claim their third title. Since then, Griquas have not won the Currie Cup, the majority of Griquas supporters hail from the Northern Cape province of South Africa, most notably in and around Kimberley where the team plays their home games. Their tradition rivals are Western Province, a rivalry that stems back to the earliest days of the Currie Cup when Griqualand West were a dominant force in South African rugby. Since the 1970s, a rivalry has also developed with neighbours the Free State Cheetahs in what has become known as the central derby. Griquas are nicknamed the Peacock Blues, the following players are contracted to Griquas for 2017, Official website
9.
Golden Lions
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The Golden Lions is a rugby team based in Johannesburg, South Africa who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup. The GLRU also operate a side in the Super Rugby competition, the Lions, prominent clubs involved in the process were Pirates, Wanderers, Pretoria, Potchefstroom and Kaffrarians. The first elected president was Bill Taylor, transvaal’s first match was against Griquas in Kimberley on 31 August 1889. The original colours used by Transvaal were dark blue and white jerseys, blue shorts and it is unsure when the union decided to switch over to a white jersey with a red hoop with black shorts and socks. These colours are still in use today and it is also from these colours that the teams’ nickname, Rooibontes came from. The original union encompassed a bigger catchment area than it does currently. Unions that gained independence from Transvaal are Western Transvaal in 1920, Northern Transvaal in 1938), robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, after which the stadium in Pretoria is named, was a lifetime member of the Transvaal Rugby Football Union. According to a Lions tale –120 years of the red and white, the GLRU competes in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions under the sponsorship name of Xerox Golden Lions. The GLRU serves as the main union for the Lions, in Super Rugby, which also encompass the Pumas. The Golden Lions and Lions share the home stadium, Ellis Park. In the 1980s the union ran into financial trouble, mostly as a result of redeveloping Ellis Park. Transvaal supporters nearly didn’t have a union to support anymore as at one stage the most likely outcome was that the union would disband, in 1984 the union had R37 million of debts to repay, which forced Volkskas Bank to carry the union for a period. This debt mainly came from the union redeveloping the old Ellis Park into a modern 80, the union started out with R1 million of its own money, and intended to raise another R12 million through the sales of suites and life memberships. However, due to the team, the union had a hard time to sell these ideas to businessmen. In March 1984 Volkskas took over the management of Ellis Park, by August the union was told to repay debts of more than R40 million by 4 September. According to Louis Luyt in his autobiography, Walking Proud, the union was left with interest amounting to R20,000 per day, through the business acumen of Dr Luyt, the union was able to become financially stable once again. Thus the rugby union had no representation on the board, the rugby union would however be contractually obliged to play all future matches at the venue, and would have first right over the use of Ellis Park. However, 20% of all gate receipts generated would be paid over to EPSI, however, Volkskas was not fond of this idea, and eventually took complete control over the stadium as a new company called Ellis Park Stadium Pty Ltd
10.
Paddy Carolin
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Carolin was the second player ever to serve as captain abroad, following Paul Roos. Carolin was born on 10 April 1881 in Alicedale in the Western Cape, at school he won the award for best all-round sportsman for four years consecutive years, and was captain of both the rugby and cricket teams. Carolins first club was Villager Football Club, a Cape Town side, in 1903 Carolin is selected at centre alongside Japie Krige for the 3rd test against the touring British side at Newlands on 12 September 1903. He is captain of Villagers when he is chosen as vice-captain for the 1906-07 Springbok tour of Great Britain, Ireland, and France. In the test against Scotland in Glasgow on 17 November 1906 Carolin became the player to captain South Africa abroad when Paul Roos had to withdraw from the team. Carolin is often credited with inventing the 3-4-1 scrum formation in 1906, Heatlie and Carolin had both attended Diocesan College, although not at the same time. Danie Craven in turn pointed to Oubaas Mark Markotter as the coach who had popularised and adapted the formation, the 1906 Springboks became the first national team to utilize the 3-4-1 formation. In all Carolin played in 3 test matches and 15 tour matches for the Springboks and his last test was on 24 November against Ireland at the Balmoral Showgrounds in Belfast, which South Africa won 15 -12. Carolin also played 9 first-class cricket matches for Western Province between 1902 and 1908, as a right-hand batter he scored 354 runs in 16 innings, and as a right-arm fast-medium bowler he took 30 wickets. Carolin moved to Moorreesburg to practice law and subsequently involved in two local sports clubs. With the help of his law partner, Fred Luyt, he helped establish Moorreesburgs rugby club as a force in Boland rugby and he coached the local team, which at one time included future Springbok Chris Koch, who Carolin moved from wing to prop. In the process Carolin created one of the very best ball players. amongst all of the worlds international tight fives, with a Dr J P du Toit Carolin co-founded the Moorreesburg golf club in August 1912. Danie Craven described Carolin as a player, captain. 1906–07 South Africa rugby union tour Scrum The Springboks Waltz
11.
Uncle Dobbin
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Frederick James Dobbin universally known as Uncle Dobbin was a South African rugby union player who represented South Africa on nine occasions. Dobbin played in two tours and was the vice-captain to Paul Millars 1912 team. Dobbin was first selected for the rugby team in 1903. South Africa had an international record to date, having played seven matches, all against the British Isles. The 1903 tourists had a campaign before meeting the South African national team, having lost seven of the 16 games against the invitational county. Dobbin was brought into the South African team for the First Test, the game was very tight, with both teams scoring two converted tries to leave the final score 10-10. Dobbin celebrated his first cap by scoring one of the two South African tries, converted by Fairy Heatlie
12.
Northampton
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Northampton /nɔːrθˈæmptən/ is the county town of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England. It lies on the River Nene, about 67 miles north-west of London and 50 miles south-east of Birmingham, One of the largest towns in the UK, Northampton had a population of 212,100 in the 2011 census. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman. During the Middle Ages, the rose to national significance with the establishment of Northampton Castle. Medieval Northampton had many churches, monasteries and the University of Northampton and it was granted its first town charter by King Richard I in 1189 and its first mayor was appointed by King John in 1215. The town is also the site of two battles, the Battle of Northampton and the second in 1460. The town also suffered the Great Fire of Northampton which destroyed most of the town and it was soon rebuilt and grew rapidly with the industrial development of the 18th century. Northampton continued to grow following the creation of the Grand Union Canal, after the World Wars, Northamptons growth was limited until it was designated as a New Town in 1968, accelerating development in the town. Northampton unsuccessfully applied for status in 1996 and city status in 2000. According to Centre for Cities data in 2015, Northampton had a growth of 11. 3% between the years 2004 and 2013, one of the ten highest in the UK. The earliest reference to Northampton in writing occurred in 914 under the name Ham tune, the prefix North was added later to distinguish it from other towns called Hampton, most prominently Southampton. The Domesday Book records the town as Northantone, which evolved into Norhamptone by the 13th century, present-day Northampton is the latest in a series of settlements that began in the Bronze Age. During the British Iron Age, people lived in protected hill forts. Present-day Hunsbury Hill is an example of settlement, a circular ditch. In the Roman period, a rural settlement is thought to have existed in the present-day district of Duston. Following Danish invasion, the area of the town was turned into a stronghold called a burh. A ditch was dug around the settlement and it was fortified with earth ramparts, having conquered Mercia, the Danes turned the settlement into a centre for military and administrative purposes, which was part of the Danelaw. In the 9th century Regenhere of Northampton an East Anglian Saint with localised veneration was buried in Northampton, by 918, Northampton had an earl and an army dependent upon it, whose territory extended to the River Welland
13.
Leicester
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Leicester is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest, in the 2011 census the population of the City of Leicester unitary authority was 329,839 making it the most populous municipality in the East Midlands region. The associated urban area is also the 11th most populous in England, the name of Leicester is recorded in the 9th-century History of the Britons as Cair Lerion, and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Ligora-ceastre. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is recorded as Ledecestre, the second element of the name comes from the Latin castrum which is reflected in both Welsh cair and Anglo-Saxon ceastre. Based on the Welsh name, Geoffrey of Monmouth proposes a king Leir of Britain as a founder in his Historia Regum Britanniae. Leicester is one of the oldest cities in England, with a going back at least two millennia. The native Iron Age settlement encountered by the Romans at the seems to have developed in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC. This area of the Soar was split into two channels, a stream to the east and a narrower channel on the west. The settlement seems to have controlled a ford across the larger channel, the later Roman name was a latinate form of the Brittonic word for ramparts, suggesting the site was an oppidum. The plural form of the name suggests it was composed of several villages. The Celtic tribe holding the area was recorded as the Coritanians. The Corieltauvians are believed to have ruled over roughly the area of the East Midlands and it is believed that the Romans arrived in the Leicester area around AD47, during their conquest of southern Britain. The Corieltauvian settlement lay near a bridge on the Fosse Way, in the 2nd century, it received a forum and bathhouse. In 2013, the discovery of a Roman cemetery found just outside the old city walls, the remains of the baths of Roman Leicester can be seen at the Jewry Wall, recovered artifacts are displayed at the adjacent museum. Knowledge of the following the Roman withdrawal from Britain is limited. Certainly there is continuation of occupation of the town, though on a much reduced scale in the 5th and 6th centuries. Its memory was preserved as the Cair Lerion of the History of the Britons, following the Saxon invasion of Britain, Leicester was occupied by the Middle Angles and subsequently administered by the kingdom of Mercia. It was elevated to a bishopric in either 679 or 680, this see survived until the 9th century and their settlement became one of the Five Burghs of the Danelaw, although this position was short-lived
14.
Hartlepool
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Hartlepool is a town in County Durham, England. The town lies on the North Sea coast,7.5 miles north of Middlesbrough and 17 miles south of Sunderland, the Borough of Hartlepool includes outlying villages such as Seaton Carew, Greatham and Elwick. Hartlepool was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey, the village grew in the Middle Ages and its harbour served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. Industrialisation and the start of an industry in the later part of the 19th century caused Hartlepool to be a target for the Imperial German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1,150 shells on 16 December 1914 resulted in the death of 117 people, the place name derives from Old English heort, referring to stags seen, and pol, a pool of drinking water which they were known to use. Records of the place-name from early sources confirm this,649, Heretu, at the beginning of the 11th Century the name had evolved into Herterpol, and post Norman Conquest the name of the village sited there evolved in Middle English as, Hart-le-pool. Archaeological evidence has been found below the current high tide mark that indicates that an ancient post-glacial forest by the sea existed in the area during this period. Nearby towns and cities include, Billingham, Darlington, Durham, Middlesbrough, Peterlee, Seaham, Sedgefield, Stockton-on-Tees, the monument at Eston Nab can be seen, beyond the far side of the Tees Bay, to the south. After the Roman Empire abandoned its province of Britannia in the early 5th Century and they subsequently began crossing the North Sea and settled in the area, creating the Kingdom of Northumbria. The monastery became powerful under St Hilda, who served as its abbess from 649–657 A. D. The Abbey fell into decline with the loss of Northumbrian power in the early 8th Century, in March 2000, the archaeological investigation television programme Time Team located the foundations of the lost monastery in the grounds of St Hildas Church. During the Norman Conquest the De Brus family gained over-lordship of the land surrounding Hartlepool, the towns first charter was received before 1185, for which it gained its first mayor, an annual two-week fair and a weekly market. The main industry of the town at this time was fishing, in 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, and became the last Lord of Hartness. Angered, King Edward I confiscated the title to Hartlepool, in 1315, before they were completed, a Scottish army under Sir James Douglas attacked, captured and looted the town. In the late 15th Century a pier was constructed to assist in the harbours workload, in 1795 Hartlepool artillery emplacements and defences were constructed in the town as a defensive measure against the threat of French attack from seaborne Napoleonic forces. Hartlepool in the 18th Century became known as a town with medicinal springs and it was in this endeavour that Isambard Kingdom Brunel visited the town in December 1831, and wrote, A curiously isolated old fishing town – a remarkably fine race of men. Went to the top of the tower for a view. But the plan was faced by competition from new docks
15.
Newcastle, New South Wales
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Located 162 kilometres north-northeast of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the part of the Sydney basin. Newcastle and the lower Hunter Region were traditionally occupied by the Awabakal and Worimi Aboriginal People, in September 1797 Lieutenant John Shortland became the first European settler to explore the area. His discovery of the area was largely accidental, as he had sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized HMS Cumberland as she was sailing from Sydney Cove. While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he described as a very fine river. He returned with reports of the port and the areas abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal mined from the area was the New South Wales colonys first export, Newcastle gained a reputation as a hellhole as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes. By the start of the 19th century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters. Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, in 1801, a convict camp called Kings Town was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney and this settlement closed less than a year later. A settlement was attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then renamed Newcastle, the new settlement, comprising convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships, HMS Lady Nelson, the Resource and the James. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion, Morpeth, New South Wales is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland is north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Under Captain James Wallis, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the conditions improved. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only breakwater survives, during this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle. Newcastle remained a settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners Bay
16.
St James' Park
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St. James Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Championship club Newcastle United F. C, with a seating capacity of 52,405 it is the seventh largest football stadium in England. St James Park has been the ground of Newcastle United since 1892 and has been used for football since 1880. Throughout its history, the desire for expansion has caused conflict with local residents and this has led to proposals to move at least twice in the late 1960s, and a controversial 1995 proposed move to nearby Leazes Park. Reluctance to move has led to the distinctive lop-sided appearance of the present-day stadiums asymmetrical stands, in addition to professional football, the stadium has hosted charity football events and rock concerts, and been used as a set for film and reality television. The site of St. Leazes Terrace was built c1830 by notable Newcastle residents, the site was also near the gallows of the city, last used in 1844, lending the Gallowgate End its name. The first football team to play at St James Park was Newcastle Rangers in 1880 They moved to a ground at Byker in 1882, Newcastle West End took over the ground in 1886. West End were wound up in 1892 and effectively merged into their rivals Newcastle East End, local residents opposition to football being played at St James dated back to the first games in the Football League following the building of the first small stand at the Gallowgate End. A redeveloped Gallowgate and further stands followed in 1899, bringing the first official capacity to 30,000, while the stadium is now synonymous with the Black and Whites, Newcastle United actually played in red and white at St James Park until 1904. In 1905, a doubling of capacity to 60,000, with a stand on the Barrack Road. The second-ever rugby league test match, and first test victory by Great Britain, was played at the ground in 1908 against the touring Australian Kangaroos side on 23 January 1909. Between 1920 and 1930, plans were drawn up for a stand by notable football architect Archibald Leitch. However, after planning disputes, all that was achieved was a roof over the Leazes Terrace side. Floodlights were constructed in the 1950s, with the first match played using them held on 25 February 1953 against Celtic, in the late 1960s further attempts were made to develop the site, and the council proposed a multi-use sports development of St. James Park. This was rejected as not financially viable, plans were drawn up by the club for a move to a stadium in Gosforth, or even a groundshare with Sunderland A. F. C. in a new stadium on Wearside. These plans were withdrawn in 1971 after agreement to redevelop St James Park was finally reached, after mediation by the then Minister for Sport, in 1972, work started on the East Stand,50 years after it was last permitted to be developed. In 1978 the Leazes End was demolished, but relegation and financial difficulties meant the new stand was not built, investigations following the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985 identified a need to replace the ageing West Stand, which was demolished in 1986. Its replacement, the Milburn Stand, was named in honour of Jackie Milburn, further development was again shelved for lack of finance
17.
Leeds
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Leeds /liːdz/ is a city in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in Yorkshires West Riding, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the name referred to an area of the Kingdom of Elmet. The name has applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small borough in the 13th century, through several incarnations. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a centre for the production. During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a mill town, wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing. From being a market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century. The city has the third largest jobs total by local authority area with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is also ranked as a world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Leeds is served by four universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and has the fourth largest urban economy. After London, Leeds is the largest legal and financial centre in the UK, with over 30 national and international banks located in the city. Leeds is also the UKs third largest manufacturing centre with around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees, the largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and medical technology. Outside of London, Leeds has the third busiest railway station, Public transport, rail and road communications networks in the region are focused on Leeds and there are a number of twinning arrangements with towns and cities in other countries. The name Leeds derives from the old Brythonic word Ladenses meaning people of the fast-flowing river and this name originally referred to the forested area covering most of the Brythonic kingdom of Elmet, which existed during the 5th century into the early 7th century. An inhabitant of Leeds is locally known as a Loiner, a word of uncertain origin, the term Leodensian is also used, from the citys Latin name. Leeds developed as a town in the Middle Ages as part of the local agricultural economy. Before the Industrial Revolution it became a centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth. Leeds handled one sixth of Englands export trade in 1770, growth, initially in textiles, was accelerated by the building of the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1699 and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816
18.
Emerald Headingley Stadium
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Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the suburb of Headingley in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Leeds Rhinos rugby league team, there are two separate grounds, Headingley Cricket Ground and Headingley Rugby Stadium with a two-sided stand housing common facilities. Initially owned by the Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Company, in December 2005 Yorkshire County Cricket Club obtained a loan of £9 million from Leeds City Council towards the cost of purchasing the cricket ground for £12 million. Shortly afterwards,98. 37% of members who participated in a vote backed the deal, on 11 January 2006, the club announced plans to rebuild the stand next to the rugby ground with 3,000 extra seats, taking capacity to 20,000. The club also announced plans to redevelop the Winter Shed stand on 25 August 2006 providing a £12.5 million pavilion complex, the cricket ground sits to the Northern side of the complex. It opened in 1891 and has used for test matches since 1899. It is the home ground of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The ground last held The Ashes in 2009, since 2015 the cricket ground has been floodlit. The ground has a capacity of 17,500, executive facilities. All but the stand at the ground end have been rebuilt since 2000. The rugby ground sits to the Southern side of the complex, historically a rugby league ground it now hosts both codes. It is home to Leeds Rhinos rugby league team and Yorkshire Carnegie rugby union club, the ground consists of three stands and an open terrace at one end, one stand is completely seated, one standing and one mixed. It has a capacity of 21,000, Yorkshire County Cricket Club have shown keen interest in redeveloping the northern side of the ground. If Headingley is to retain Test Ground Status it is likely that further improvements will need to be made to the ground, on 5 June 2014 Yorkshire CCC announced the Headingley Masterplan. The phased redevelopment costing around £50 million will take place over the next 20 years, phase One Erection of four permanent floodlight pylons. The work should start for the start of the 2015 season, - The floodlights are now complete. The head is built in the shape of the Yorkshire Rose, the first game to be played under them was the T20 against Derbyshire Falcons on Friday 15 May 2015. Phase Four The development of a new Pavilion located in the North West area of the stadium complex, built on five levels, the Pavilion will be adjacent to the existing Carnegie Pavilion
19.
Devonport, Plymouth
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Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889, Devonport was originally one of the Three Towns, these merged in 1914 to form what would become in 1928 the City of Plymouth. It is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Plymouth Sutton and its elected Member of Parliament is Oliver Colvile, who is a member of the Conservative Party. Plymouth Dock, as Devonport was originally called, began around 1700 as a settlement to house workers employed on the new naval base that was being built around Waters dock. By 1733 its population had grown to around 3,000, by 1811 the population of Plymouth Dock was just over 30,000 and the residents resented the fact that its name made it sound like an adjunct of Plymouth. In 1823 a petition to King George IV requested the town should be renamed, the king agreed, and to celebrate, the town built a column next to the recently completed town hall, both were designed by John Foulston. Devonport was first incorporated as a borough in 1837 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Devonport became a county borough under the Local Government Act 1888, in the mid-eighteenth century a defensive earthwork was constructed around the town and dockyard. Within these dockyard lines, six square barracks were built between 1758-1763 to accommodate the garrison of troops required to man the defences, a series of redoubts were also constructed, forward of the lines, in the 1770s, including that at Mount Pleasant. In the early century, the dockyard lines were strengthened with stone ramparts and armed with guns. These defences became largely redundant with the building of a series of Palmerston Forts around Plymouth in the half of the nineteenth century. Much of the land forming the glacis beyond the lines became Devonport Park in the late 1850s. The high ground south of the town is called Mount Wise, enclosed within the town ramparts, it was given its own redoubt in the 1770s, with eight guns and two mortars protecting the coastal approach to the dockyard. From the late-eighteenth/early-nineteenth century both the military Governor and naval Commander-in-Chief of Plymouth were accommodated in houses on Mount Wise. During the millennium decade, Devonport received government New Deal for Communities funding of £48.7 million, since 2009, the investments have begun to transform Devonport – physically, socially, demographically. The Admiraltys release of land plots in Devonport has assisted the Regeneration project. One ex-MoD area, where new homes will be available from 2011, is the Admiralty House site at Mount Wise. Although there are pockets of regeneration work remaining to be completed, in 2011, the Devonport Heritage Trail was introduced, complete with over 70 waymarkers outlining the route
20.
Taunton
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Taunton /ˈtɔːntən/ is the county town of Somerset, England. The built up area of the town had a population of 64,621 in 2011, the Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of Winchester. The current heavily reconstructed buildings are the inner ward, which now houses the Museum of Somerset, the town is undergoing a regeneration project with redevelopment of the town centre. It has various transport links which support its role in economy. These have included the Grand Western Canal which reached Taunton in 1839, Taunton is the site of Musgrove Park Hospital and Somerset County Cricket Clubs County Ground and is home to 40 Commando, Royal Marines. Central Taunton is part of the annual West Country Carnival circuit and it hosts the Taunton flower show, which has been held in Vivary Park since 1866. The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is located on Admiralty Way, the town name derives from Town on the River Tone — or Tone Town. Cambria Farm which is now the site of a Park and ride close to Junction 25 of the M5 motorway was the site of a Bronze and Iron Age settlement and Roman farm. There was a Romano-British village near the suburb of Holway, the Saxon town was a burh with its own mint. King Ine of Wessex threw up a castle here about 700. A monastery was founded before 904, the bishops of Winchester owned the manor, and obtained the first charter for their men of Taunton from King Edward in 904, freeing them from all royal and county tribute. Somerton took over from Ilchester as the county town in the thirteenth century, but it declined in importance. Between 1209 and 1311 the manor of Taunton, which was owned by the Bishop of Winchester, the parishes of Staplegrove, Wilton and Taunton itself were part of the Taunton Deane Hundred. In 1451 during the Wars of the Roses Taunton was the scene of a skirmish between Thomas de Courtenay, 13th Earl of Devon, and Baron Bonville, queen Margaret and her troops passed through in 1471 to defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury. In the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 most of the Cornish gentry supported Perkin Warbecks cause, Henry VII sent his chief general, Giles, Lord Daubeney, to attack the Cornish and when Warbeck heard that the Kings scouts were at Glastonbury he panicked and deserted his army. Henry VII reached Taunton on 4 October 1497 where he received the surrender of the remaining Cornish army, the ringleaders were executed and others fined a total of £13,000. Taunton Castle changed hands several times during the Civil War of 1642–45, during the Siege of Taunton it was defended by Robert Blake, from July 1644 to July 1645, with the town suffering destruction of many of the medieval and Tudor buildings. After the war, in 1662, the keep was demolished, the town did not obtain a charter of incorporation until 1627, which was renewed in 1677
21.
Middlesex Rugby Football Union
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FR Adams Esq of Richmond F. C. called a meeting at the Bedford Hotel at which a resolution was passed bringing the club into being. He served as the Club and Unions first president until 1883 being succeeded by E. Temple Gurdon and this was the first seven-a-side rugby festival in England. The first tournament took place at Twickenham in aid of Middlesex hospital was won by Harlequins, asterisk denotes President of the R. F. U. After becoming a union the club continued to operate selecting players from its constituent clubs to play matches for the county. Very early in its history, Middlesex played Surrey under floodlights at the Old Deer Park and this is possibly the first rugby match played under floodlights as electric light had only just been invented. A floodlit game was the opportunity to try out the new technology although the game was not a great success by all accounts. On 24 October 1905, Middlesex played the touring South African side at Richmond for their ninth match, Middlesex fielded a cosmopolitan team including Jim Louwrens the South African College scrum half of 1901, three Welshmen who were also later to play for Wales and the Scottish international Geddes. On 2 September 1964 Staines RFC played a Middlesex XV on the occasion of the opening of their new ground, Middlesex were the English county champions for the sixth time in 1968, having defeated Warwickshire in the final. At least ten of the players that had participated in the final went on the tour in July of that year, Middlesex played a total of seven matches on a tour that lasted a little over two weeks, two games being played in Uganda and five in Kenya. The tourists won all seven matches comfortably and reported that the standard of rugby in the region had dropped noticeably since some members of the party had last played there. The Middlesex tour party consisted of 70 members though the minority of these were players, amongst the players, at least three had previously toured East Africa, Patrick Orr, Chris Ralston and Brian Stoneman. Middlesex scored 262 points in seven matches, an average of more than 37 per game, in total they conceded only 14 points. They scored 61 tries,32 conversions, three penalty-goals and two dropped-goals, top scorer was Gordon MacDonald, Ricky Parsons was second highest scorer, Mike Alder was third. Top try scorers were Tim Rutter and Robin Jolliffe, Mike Alder and Roger Weaver, francis Mann was the outstanding player of the tour. The tour had been organised by the Middlesex Hon. Secretary Barry Boyden, his assistant Cyril Brandon, hence the frequency with which first time tourists rapidly made certain they returned a second or third time
22.
Richmond, London
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Richmond is a suburban town in southwest London,8.2 miles west-southwest of Charing Cross. The town is on a meander of the River Thames, with a number of parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas. A specific Act of Parliament protects the scenic view of the River Thames from Richmond, Richmond was founded following Henry VIIs building of Richmond Palace in the 16th century, from which the town derives its name. During this era the town and palace were particularly associated with Elizabeth I, during the 18th century Richmond Bridge was completed and many Georgian terraces were built, particularly around Richmond Green and on Richmond Hill. These remain well preserved and many have listed building architectural or heritage status, the opening of the railway station in 1846 was a significant event in the absorption of the town into a rapidly expanding London. Richmond was formerly part of the ancient parish of Kingston upon Thames in the county of Surrey, in 1890 the town became a municipal borough, which was later extended to include Kew, Ham, Petersham and part of Mortlake. The municipal borough was abolished in 1965 when, as a result of boundary changes, Richmond is now part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and has a population of 21,469. It has a significant commercial and retail centre with a developed day, the area now known as Richmond was formerly part of Shene. Shene was not listed in Domesday Book, although it is depicted on the maps as Sceon. Henry VII had a palace there and in 1501 he named it Richmond Palace in recognition of his earldom. The town that developed nearby took the name as the palace. Henry I lived briefly in the Kings house in Sheanes, Edward II, following his defeat by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, founded a monastery for Carmelites at Sheen. When the boy-king Edward III came to the throne in 1327 he gave the manor to his mother Isabella, Edward later spent over two thousand pounds on improvements, but in the middle of the work Edward himself died at the manor, in 1377. Richard II was the first English king to make Sheen his main residence and it was rebuilt between 1414 and 1422, but destroyed by fire 1497. Following that fire Henry VII built a new residence at Sheen, there are unconfirmed beliefs that Shakespeare may have performed some plays there. Once Elizabeth I became queen she spent much of her time at Richmond and she died there on 24 March 1603. The palace was no longer in use after 1649, but in 1688 James II ordered partial reconstruction of the palace. The bulk of the palace had decayed by 1779, but surviving structures include the Wardrobe, Trumpeters House, and this has five bedrooms and was made available on a 65-year lease by the Crown Estate Commissioners in 1986
23.
Newport RFC
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Newport Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division, Newport RFC are based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Due to the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003 Newport RFC is now a club to Newport Gwent Dragons regional team. Newport supplied over 150 players to the Wales national team and international players to England, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Czech Republic, Canada, Newport’s early success was remarkable, winning every single match in their first four seasons between 1875 and 1879. They were also successful in other tournaments winning the first two South Wales Cup competitions, the club’s strength was reflected at international level, providing more players to the Welsh national team than any other club in the nineteenth century, including four captains. In 1881 Newport was one of the clubs present at the forming of the Welsh Rugby Football Union. Their dominance led Newport’s club secretary, Richard Mulloch to arrange a match against the English domestic champions Blackheath Rugby Club, with a record attendance of 5,000 spectators Newport were out-classed by their opponents, losing four goals and eight tries to nil. However, Newport had played two games in the five days and Blackheath brought in outside players to bolster their squad. In October 1879 Newport played Cardiff RFC in a game at Rodney Parade. In 1887, Newport player Charlie Newman was given the captaincy of the Welsh national team, in 1887 Newport player Tom Clapp was given the Wales captaincy and in 1888 he led the first Welsh side to beat Scotland, a team that included Newport players Powell and Gould. During the 1891–92 season, under captain Tom Graham Newport went unbeaten, winning 29 games, Graham brought a new professional attitude to the team, introducing weekly gym training and an avoidance of alcohol. In 1912 Newport hosted the touring South Africa national team, invincible in 1922–23 Welsh Club Champions 1920,1923. Provided 5 Welsh,1 English and 1 Irish captains, golden era of Wetter, Uzzell, Griffiths, Morley, Bunner Travers etc. Golden era of Jones, Burnett, Thomas, Meredith, Price, Watkins, beat Australia 1957, NZ1963, SA1969, Tonga 1974. Welsh Club Champions 1951,1956,1962,1969, won Welsh Merit Table and Anglo-Welsh Merit Table. Provided 7 Welsh,1 Czech Rep,2 Canadian,1 Fijian captains, introduced 7’s to Wales and won Snellings 10 times and R/U9 times. One of pioneers of floodlights in Wales, introduced squad systems / players playing on rota in Wales. Won Welsh Cup twice, R/U3 times, Welsh Premier League winners and R/U – twice
24.
Newport, Wales
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Newport is a cathedral and university city and unitary authority area in south east Wales. It is located on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, at the 2011 census it is the third largest city in Wales, with a city population of 145,700 and an urban population of 306,844. The city forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area with a population of 1,097,000, Newport has been a port since medieval times, when the first Newport Castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream and it grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales largest coal-exporting port and it was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists. During the 20th century, when the docks declined in importance and it was granted city status in 2002. Newport hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010, the city was the venue for the 2014 NATO summit. It is the largest urban area within the county boundaries of Monmouthshire. The City of Newport, which includes surrounding rural areas as well as the built up area, is governed by Newport City Council. Bronze Age fishermen settled around the estuary of the River Usk. In AD75, on the edge of their empire. According to legend, in the late 5th century Saint Woolos church was founded by Saint Gwynllyw, the church was certainly in existence by the 9th century and today has become Newport Cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. The Normans arrived from around 1088–1093 to build the first Newport Castle and river crossing downstream from Caerleon, the settlement of Newport is first mentioned as novo burgus established by Robert, Earl of Gloucester in 1126. The name was derived from the original Latin name Novus Burgus, the city can sometimes be found labelled as Newport-on-Usk on old maps. The original Welsh language name for the city, Casnewydd-ar-Wysg means New castle-on-Usk, the original Newport Castle was a small motte-and-bailey castle in the park opposite Newport Cathedral. It was buried in rubble excavated from the Hillfield railway tunnels that were dug under Stow Hill in the 1840s and no part of it is currently visible. Around the settlement, the new town grew to become Newport, obtaining its first charter in 1314 and was granted a second one, by Hugh Stafford, in the 14th century friars came to Newport where they built an isolation hospital for infectious diseases. After its closure the hospital lived on in the place name Spitty Fields, austin Friars also remains a street name in the city
25.
Rodney Parade
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Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is operated by Rodney Parade Limited, a wholly owned by Newport Rugby Football Club. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre, the ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the citys central bus and railway stations via Newport Bridge or Newport City footbridge. There is no car park at the ground but a number of multi-storey car parks are nearby. Rodney Parade is the ground of rugby union clubs Newport RFC. It is also the ground of Newport County football club. However, stadium capacity is reduced for football matches, Newport Squash Club has four courts at Rodney Parade. Rodney Parade has two covered stands, the two-tier Hazell Stand and the Bisley Stand which are along the touchlines of the pitch, the upper tier of the west stand is seated with 1,996 seats, including 40 Press seats and the lower tier is a standing terrace. The east stand is all-seated with a 2,526 capacity including 144 seats in 13 hospitality boxes, food/drink outlets, the cameras are therefore pointing westward and often show the sun setting over Newport city centre. The North Terrace is uncovered standing and adjoins the uncovered standing terrace on the west touchline alongside the west stand, the south end of the stadium houses players changing rooms, a media centre and the small uncovered Sytner stand with 222 seats for away football fans. Away football fans are also sited in block F of the east stand giving a capacity of 1,300 for away football fans. A large video screen was erected at the end in December 2013. The hospitality suite is located in the end of the east stand on the upper level. The rugby ticket office and club shop is located at the end of the East Stand next to Gate 4 accessed via the main gates to the grounds off Grafton Road. The Newport County ticket office and club shop is a building just inside the main gate to the ground. To the north of the North Terrace is a floodlit training area. Further north, parallel to Grafton Road, is the Rodney Hall function room, in 1875 the Newport Athletic Club was created, and two years later they secured the use of land at Rodney Parade from Lord Tredegar for their cricket, tennis, rugby and athletics teams. Monmouthshire County Cricket Club played at Rodney Parade from 1901 to 1934, Newport rugby club enjoyed six highly successful seasons, having been unbeaten for six consecutive seasons
26.
Cardiff
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Cardiff is the capital and largest city in Wales and the eleventh-largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is the chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media. The unitary authority areas mid-2011 population was estimated to be 346,100, the Cardiff metropolitan area makes up over a third of the total population of Wales, with a mid-2011 population estimate of about 1,100,000 people. Cardiff is a significant tourist centre and the most popular destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked sixth in the world in National Geographics alternative tourist destinations, the city of Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan. Cardiff is part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities, the Cardiff Urban Area covers a slightly larger area outside the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city. Cardiff was made a city in 1905, and proclaimed the capital of Wales in 1955, since the 1980s, Cardiff has seen significant development. A new waterfront area at Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building, home to the Welsh Assembly, sporting venues in the city include the Millennium Stadium, SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff International Sports Stadium and Cardiff Arms Park. The city was awarded the title of European City of Sport twice, due to its role in hosting major sporting events, first in 2009. The Millennium Stadium hosted 11 football matches as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics, including the opening event. Caerdydd derives from the earlier Welsh form Caerdyf, the change from -dyf to -dydd shows the colloquial alteration of Welsh f and dd, and was perhaps also driven by folk etymology. This sound change had probably first occurred in the Middle Ages, Caerdyf has its origins in post-Roman Brythonic words meaning the fort of the Taff. The fort probably refers to that established by the Romans, the anglicised form Cardiff is derived from Caerdyf, with the Welsh f borrowed as ff /f/, as also happens in Taff and Llandaff. As English does not have the vowel the final vowel has been borrowed as /ɪ/, although some sources repeat this theory, it has been rejected on linguistic grounds by modern scholars such as Professor Gwynedd Pierce. A group of five Bronze Age tumuli is at the summit of The Garth, four Iron Age hill fort and enclosure sites have been identified within Cardiffs present-day county boundaries, including Caerau Hillfort, an enclosed area of 5.1 hectares. The fort was one of a series of military outposts associated with Isca Augusta that acted as border defences, the fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued. However, by this time a settlement, or vicus, was established
27.
Arms Park
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Cardiff Arms Park, also known as The Arms Park and the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park for sponsorship reasons from September 2014, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, the Arms Park also hosted the inaugural Heineken Cup Final of 1995–96 and the following year in 1996–97. The history of the ground begins with the first stands appearing for spectators in the ground in 1881–1882. Originally the Arms Park had a ground to the north. By 1969, the ground had been demolished to make way for the present day rugby ground to the north. The site also has a green to the north of the rugby ground, which is used by Cardiff Athletic Bowls Club. The National Stadium also hosted music concerts including Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, The Rolling Stones. The Cardiff Arms Park site was called the Great Park. The hotel was built by Sir Thomas Morgan, during the reign of Charles I, Cardiff Arms Park was named after this hotel. From 1803, the Cardiff Arms Hotel and the Park had become the property of the Bute family, the Arms Park soon became a popular place for sporting events, and by 1848, Cardiff Cricket Club was using the site for its cricket matches. However, by 1878, Cardiff Arms Hotel had been demolished, the 3rd Marquess of Bute stipulated that the ground could only be used for recreational purposes. At that time Cardiff Arms Park had a ground to the north. 1881–2 saw the first stands for spectators, they held 300 spectators, the architect was Archibald Leitch, famous for designing Ibrox Stadium and Old Trafford, amongst others. In 1890, new standing areas were constructed along the length of the ground. By 1912, the Cardiff Football Ground, as it was known, had a new south stand and temporary stands on the north. The south stand was covered, while the terrace was initially without a roof. The improvements were funded by the Welsh Rugby Union
28.
Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union
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The Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Gloucestershire, England and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union. Formed in 1878, it has won the county championship on numerous occasions, the Union was formed at a meeting held at Gloucester in September,1878. At that meeting, the clubs represented were Clifton RFC, Gloucester RFC, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester RFC, Rockleage, Stroud, and Cheltenham White Cross. The Union was formed due to the efforts of J. D. Miller, J. H. Dunn. All of whom were amongst the Unions first officers, for many years, the playing strength depended almost entirely on the Clifton and Gloucester Clubs. In the first five seasons the Union side only lost two of seventeen fixtures in Inter-County matches, the RFU recognised its success by electing in 1880 J. D. Miller to represent the West of England on the central executive. Ironically, the side then went through a period in which they had a very poor record. From 1883 to 1889 the team played only 10 times and of these 6 were lost,3 drawn and it was noted that the fortunes of the county side mirrored the success of the Gloucester City club side. When the Gloucester City side revived in the early 1890s, so to did the County, in the first year of the County Championship Gloucestershire were the winners in the South-Western group, but when they entered the second phase, they were crushed by Lancashire. From 1984 all Championship finals were played at Twickenham, many notable players have represented the county. British and Irish Lions John Gordon ABear Mike Teague Mike Burton England internationals J. A. Bush W.0, moberly H. C. Baker Wales internationals S. H. Nicholls W. Watts G. Rowles Scotland internationals H. L. Evans H. F. In its early days, only Gloucester City was rated as a first class side, since then, the fortunes of the constituent clubs has varied enormously
29.
Gloucester
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Gloucester is a city and district in southwest England, the county city of Gloucestershire. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, on the River Severn, Gloucester was founded in AD97 by the Romans under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis, and was granted its first charter in 1155 by King Henry II. Economically, the city is dominated by the industries, and has a strong financial and business sector. The origins of the name Gloucester can be traced to Caerloyw in the modern Welsh, there are various appellations in history such as Caer Glow, Gleawecastre, Gleucestre as an early British settlement is not confirmed by direct evidence. However, Gloucester was the Roman municipality of Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum, parts of the walls can be traced, and a number of remains and coins have been found, though inscriptions are scarce. In Historia Brittonum, an account of the early rulers of Britain, Vortigerns grandfather. Part of the foundations of Roman Gloucester can be today in Eastgate Street, while Roman tombstones. After the withdrawal on the Roman Empire in the late 4th Century the town returned to the control of Celtic Dubonni tribe. By the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Gloucester is shown as part of Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577 until 584, Gloucester was captured by the Saxons in 577. In the early 10th century the remains of Saint Oswald were brought to a church in Gloucester. The core street layout is thought to date back to the reign of Ethelfleda in late Saxon times. In 1051 Edward the Confessor held court at Gloucester and was threatened there by a led by Godwin, Earl of Wessex. A unique coin, dated to 1077–80, was discovered, just north of the city and it features the name of the moneyer Silacwine and its place of minting. The Portable Antiquities Scheme said that, until the coin was discovered, after the Norman Conquest, William Rufus made Robert Fitzhamon the first baron or overlord of Gloucester. Fitzhamon had a base at Cardiff Castle, and for the succeeding years the history of Gloucester was closely linked to that of Cardiff. During the Anarchy, Gloucester was a centre of support for the Empress Matilda who was supported in her claim to the throne by her half-brother, Fitzhamons grandson, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester. The story of the Anarchy is vividly told in a series of paintings by William Burges at the Castle. King Henry II granted Gloucester its first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as the citizens of London, a a second charter of Henry II gave them freedom of passage on the River Severn
30.
Oxford University RFC
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The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham, Oxford University RFC was founded in 1869, fifteen months before the creation of the Rugby Football Union. The first Varsity Match was played in February 1872 in Oxford at The Parks, in 1874 it was decided that the game be played on a neutral ground. The very first international player to be capped whilst at Oxford was Cecil Boyle, the record for most appearances in a Varsity Match for Oxford is held by Lewis Anderson who has played in six matches between 2010 and 2015, all won by Oxford
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Oxford
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Oxford is a city in the South East region of England and the county town of Oxfordshire. With an estimated 2015 population of 168,270, it is the 52nd largest city in the United Kingdom, the city is situated 57 miles from London,69 miles from Bristol,65 miles from both Southampton and Birmingham and 25 miles from Reading. The city is known worldwide as the home of the University of Oxford, buildings in Oxford demonstrate notable examples of every English architectural period since the late Saxon period. Oxford is known as the city of dreaming spires, a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold, Oxford has a broad economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing and a number of information technology and science-based businesses. Oxford was first settled in Saxon times and was known as Oxenaforda, meaning Ford of the Oxen. It began with the establishment of a crossing for oxen around AD900. In the 10th century, Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes, Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman Invasion of 1066. Following the conquest, the town was assigned to a governor, Robert DOyly, the castle has never been used for military purposes and its remains survive to this day. DOyly set up a community in the castle consisting of a chapel. The community never grew large but it earned its place in history as one of Britains oldest places of formal education and it was there that in 1139 Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his History of the Kings of Britain, a compilation of Arthurian legends. Mary at Oseney and to the canons serving God in that place and we have made this concession and confirmation in the Common council of the City and we have confirmed it with our common seal. These are those who have made this concession and confirmation, a grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the Cistercian Order, and friars of various orders all had houses of varying importance at Oxford. Parliaments were often held in the city during the 13th century, the Provisions of Oxford were instigated by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort, these documents are often regarded as Englands first written constitution. Richard I of England and John, King of England the sons of Henry II of England, were born at Beaumont Palace in Oxford, on 8 September 1157 and 24 December 1166 respectively. A plaque in Beaumont Street commemorates these events, the University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. Of the hundreds of Aularian houses that sprang up across the city, what put an end to the halls was the emergence of colleges. Oxfords earliest colleges were University College, Balliol and Merton and these colleges were established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers
32.
Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
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The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, sometimes abbreviated CURUFC, is the rugby union club of the University of Cambridge. The team plays Oxford University RFC in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium every December, Cambridge players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest. Many have gone on to represent their country and the British and Irish Lions, whilst at Cambridge University James Bevan became the first captain of the Wales national rugby union team. Football is believed to have introduced to Cambridge University in 1839 by Trinity College fresher Albert Pell. Pell had matriculated at Cambridge after going up from Rugby School, Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club was officially established in 1872, around three years after the Oxford rugby club was founded. The first Varsity match was contested between the two teams on 10 February 1872, the Cambridge team was led out by captain Isaac Cowley Lambert, wearing pink jerseys with a monogram on the left breast. Played away at the Park in Oxford, Cambridge lost by a goal to nil. CURUFC officials helped to draw up the laws of the game that were adopted by the Rugby Football Union when it was established in 1871, Cambridge became a Constituent Body of the Union in 1872, a status which the club still holds today. In 1874, Cambridge provided their first international player directly from the club, the following former players were selected for the British and Irish Lions touring squads whilst playing for Cambridge University. P. Oxford v Cambridge, The Story of the University Rugby Match
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Cambridge
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Cambridge is a university city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam about 50 miles north of London. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, its population was 123,867, there is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area in the Bronze Age and in Roman Britain, under Viking rule, Cambridge became an important trading centre. The first town charters were granted in the 12th century, although city status was not conferred until 1951, the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209, is one of the top five universities in the world. The university includes the Cavendish Laboratory, Kings College Chapel, the citys skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the spire of the Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church, the chimney of Addenbrookes Hospital and St Johns College Chapel tower. Anglia Ruskin University, evolved from the Cambridge School of Art, Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology Silicon Fen with industries such as software and bioscience and many start-up companies spun out of the university. More than 40% of the workforce has a higher education qualification, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, one of the largest biomedical research clusters in the world, is soon to be home to AstraZeneca, a hotel and the relocated Papworth Hospital. Parkers Piece hosted the first ever game of Association football, the Strawberry Fair music and arts festival and Midsummer Fairs are held on Midsummer Common, and the annual Cambridge Beer Festival takes place on Jesus Green. The city is adjacent to the M11 and A14 roads, settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since prehistoric times. The earliest clear evidence of occupation is the remains of a 3, the principal Roman site is a small fort Duroliponte on Castle Hill, just northwest of the city centre around the location of the earlier British village. The fort was bounded on two sides by the lines formed by the present Mount Pleasant, continuing across Huntingdon Road into Clare Street, the eastern side followed Magrath Avenue, with the southern side running near to Chesterton Lane and Kettles Yard before turning northwest at Honey Hill. It was constructed around AD70 and converted to use around 50 years later. Evidence of more widespread Roman settlement has been discovered including numerous farmsteads, evidence exists that the invading Anglo-Saxons had begun occupying the area by the end of the century. Their settlement—also on and around Castle Hill—became known as Grantebrycge, Anglo-Saxon grave goods have been found in the area. During this period, Cambridge benefited from good trade links across the hard-to-travel fenlands, by the 7th century, the town was less significant and described by Bede as a little ruined city containing the burial site of Etheldreda. Cambridge was on the border between the East and Middle Anglian kingdoms and the settlement slowly expanded on both sides of the river, the arrival of the Vikings was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 875. Viking rule, the Danelaw, had been imposed by 878 Their vigorous trading habits caused the town to grow rapidly. During this period the centre of the town shifted from Castle Hill on the bank of the river to the area now known as the Quayside on the right bank. In 1068, two years after his conquest of England, William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill, like the rest of the newly conquered kingdom, Cambridge fell under the control of the King and his deputies
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Hawick
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Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is 10.0 miles south-west of Jedburgh and 8.9 miles south-southeast of Selkirk and it is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawicks architecture is distinctive in that it has many buildings with slate roofs. The town is at the confluence of the Slitrig Water with the River Teviot, Hawick is known for its yearly Common Riding, for its rugby team Hawick Rugby Football Club and for its knitwear industry. At the 2001 census Hawick had a resident population of 14,801, by 2011, this had reduced to 14,294. The west end of the town contains the Mote, the remains of a Norman motte-and-bailey. In the centre of the High Street is the Scots baronial style town hall, built in 1886, drumlanrigs Tower, now a museum, dates largely from the mid-16th century. In 2009 another monument the Turning of the Bull was unveiled in Hawick and this monument depicts William Rule turning the wild bull as it was charging King Robert the Bruce, thus saving the kings life and beginning the Scottish Clan of Turnbull. A poem written by John Leyden commemorates this historical event, the first knitting machine was brought to Hawick in 1771 by John Hardie, building on an existing carpet manufacturing trade. Originally based on linen, this moved to wool and factories multiplied. Engineering firm Turnbull and Scott previously had their headquarters in an Elizabethan-style listed building on Commercial Road before moving to Burnfoot, Hawick lies in the centre of the valley of the Teviot. The A7 Edinburgh to Carlisle road passes through the town, with main roads leading to Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town lost its service in 1969, when as part of the Beeching Axe the Waverley Line from Carlisle to Edinburgh via Hawick was closed. It was said to be the farthest large town from a station in the United Kingdom. Regular buses serve the station at Carlisle,42 miles away. The nearest major airports are at Edinburgh,57 miles away, in March 2007, this was described by the Rough Guide publication World Party as one of the best parties in the world. People from Hawick call themselves Teries, after a song which includes the line Teribus ye teri odin. Many Hawick residents speak the dialect of Border Scots which is informally known as Teri Talk
South Africa
