1.
Australia national rugby union team
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The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. Australia have competed in all eight Rugby World Cups, and have won the World Cup on two occasions, in 1991 beating England in the final, and in 1999 when their opponents in the final were France. Australia also lost in the final after extra time to England in the 2003 competition, Australia are governed by the Australian Rugby Union. Eleven former Australian players have been inducted into either the International Rugby Hall of Fame or the IRB Hall of Fame, three are members of the International Hall only, four are members of the IRB Hall only, and four are members of both Halls of Fame. In 1882 the Southern Rugby Football Union toured New Zealand, the New Zealand national team toured New South Wales in 1884 – defeating New South Wales in all three matches, and winning all nine matches on tour. The first tour by a British team took place in 1888, a British Isles team toured Australia and New Zealand, though no Test matches were played. Although they had representatives from all four nations, the players were drawn mainly from England. The tour was not sanctioned by the Rugby Football Union as it was organised by entrepreneurs, in 1899 the first officially sanctioned British Isles team toured Australia. Four Tests were played between Australia and the British Isles, the Australian team for the first Test match consisted of six players from Queensland and nine from New South Wales. The first Test was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and won 13–3 by Australia, the first Test between Australia and New Zealand was played on 15 August 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Despite Australia losing 22–3, this tour improved rugbys popularity in Australia and helped to increase attendances at matches in Sydney. In 1907 the New South Wales Rugby League was formed and star player Dally Messenger left the Rugby union for the rival code, the next year the first Australian team to tour the British Isles left Sydney. Newspapers in England initially gave the team the name Rabbits, the Australian players thought this nickname derogatory and replaced it with Wallabies. Australias last Test before First World War was against New Zealand in July 1914, the war had a very negative effect on rugby union in Australia. This resulted in all but closed down in New South Wales. In Queensland regular competitions did not commence again until 1928 and this caused many players to switch to rugby league – which did not cease playing during the war. War hero Sir Edward Weary Dunlop also played for Australia before World War II and he played on the side that was the first to win the Bledisloe Cup. The first Test to following World War Two was played at Carisbrook, Australia did not win on the three match tour, beaten 20–0 by New Zealand Maori, and then losing 14–10 to the All Blacks the following week
2.
New Zealand national rugby union team
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The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly called the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in mens rugby union, which is regarded as the countrys national sport. The side has won the last two Rugby World Cups, in 2011 and 2015, as well as the tournament in 1987. They have a 77% winning record in test match rugby, and are the international side with a winning record against every opponent. Since their international debut in 1903, they have lost to only six of the 19 nations they have played in test matches, since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in 2003, New Zealand has held the number one ranking longer than all other teams combined. The All Blacks are statistically the best side to have played the game, New Zealand competes with Argentina, Australia and South Africa in The Rugby Championship. The All Blacks have won the fourteen times in the competitions twenty-one-year history. As of the end of 2016 competition, they hold the Bledisloe Cup, which is contested annually with Australia, New Zealand have achieved a Grand Slam four times –1978,2005,2008 and 2010. Fifteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, All Black coaches have won World Rugby Coach of the Year nine times since the awards 2001 launch. The teams first match was in 1884, and their first international test match was in 1903 against Australia in Sydney, the following year they hosted their first ever home test, a match against a British Isles side in Wellington. This was followed by a 34-game tour of Europe and North America in 1905, New Zealands early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. By the 1905 tour, they were wearing all black, except for the silver fern, the team perform a haka – a Māori challenge or posture dance – before each match. The haka performed has traditionally been Te Rauparahas Ka Mate, although since 2005 Kapa o Pango is often performed, the first recorded game in New Zealand took place in May 1870 in Nelson between the Nelson club and Nelson College. The first provincial union, the Canterbury Rugby Football Union, was formed in 1879, NSW did not face a New Zealand representative team but played seven provincial sides – the tourists won four games and lost three. Two years later the first New Zealand team to travel overseas toured New South Wales, a privately organised British team, which later became the British and Irish Lions, toured New Zealand in 1888. No test matches were played, and the only played provincial sides. The British players were mainly from Northern England, but there were representatives from Wales. The first officially sanctioned New Zealand side toured New South Wales in 1893, the following year New Zealand played its first home international game, losing 8–6 to New South Wales. The teams first true test match occurred against Australia on 15 August 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of over 30,000 spectators, a representative New Zealand team first toured the British Isles in 1905
3.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
4.
Rugby union positions
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In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs. In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players on the bench, players are not restricted to any single position on the field, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that specialise in three positions are called utility players. The scrum, however, must consist of eight players, the front row, the row. The players outside the scrum are called the backs, scrum-half, fly-half, the backs play behind the forwards and are usually more lightly built and faster. Successful backs are skilful at passing and kicking, full-backs need to be good defenders and kickers, and have the ability to catch a kicked ball. The wingers are usually among the fastest players in a team, the centres key attacking roles are to try and break through the defensive line and link successfully with wingers. The fly-half can be a kicker and generally directs the backline. The scrum-half retrieves the ball from the forwards and needs a quick, forwards compete for the ball in scrums and line-outs and are generally bigger and stronger than the backs. Props push in the scrums, while the hooker tries to hook the ball, locks are tall and jump for the ball at the line-out after the hooker has thrown it in. The flankers and number eight should be the first forwards to a tackle, there are a maximum of 15 players from each team on a rugby field at one time. The players position at the start of the game is indicated by the number on the back of their shirts,1 to 15, the positions are divided into two main categories, forwards and backs. In international matches, there are eight substitutes that can replace a team member. The substitutes, numbered 16 to 23, can take up the position of the player they replace or the on-field players can be shuffled to make room for this player in another position. Typically, the replacement players will have a number that corresponds with their intended replacement position with the numbers from 16 to 20 being forwards and 21 to 23 being backs. There are no personal squad numbers and a players position. Players can also change positions with players on the field during the match, common examples are the fly-half playing the full-backs position in defence or a prop taking the hookers position at line-outs. Different positions on the field suit certain skill sets and body types, each position has certain roles to play on the field, although most have been established through convention rather than law
5.
Wellington
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Wellington is the capital and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 405,000 residents. It is at the tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. Wellington is the population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the worlds windiest city, with a wind speed of over 26 km/h. Situated near the centre of the country, Wellington was well placed for trade. In 1839 it was chosen as the first major planned settlement for British immigrants coming to New Zealand, the settlement was named in honour of the Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. As the nations capital since 1865, the New Zealand Government and Parliament, Supreme Court, despite being much smaller than Auckland, Wellington is also referred to as New Zealands cultural capital. The city is home to the National Archives, the National Library, architectural sights include the Government Building—one of the largest wooden buildings in the world—as well as the iconic Beehive. Wellington plays host to artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It has an urban culture, with many cafés, restaurants. One of the worlds most liveable cities, the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world, Wellingtons economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, and government. It is the centre of New Zealands film and special effects industries, Wellington ranks as one of New Zealands chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is served by Wellington International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, Wellingtons transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island. Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo, his title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. One of the founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, reported that the settlers took up the views of the directors with great cordiality, in Māori, Wellington has three names. In New Zealand Sign Language, the name is signed by raising the index, middle and ring fingers of one hand, palm forward, to form a W, and shaking it slightly from side to side twice. The citys location close to the mouth of the narrow Cook Strait leads to its vulnerability to strong gales, legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the district in about the 10th century. The earliest date with hard evidence for Maori living in New Zealand is about 1280, European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship Tory on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840
6.
Sydney
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Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds the worlds largest natural harbour, residents of Sydney are known as Sydneysiders. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years, the first British settlers, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural. As at June 2016 Sydneys estimated population was 5,005,358, in the 2011 census,34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home and it is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has a market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia, there is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacifics leading financial hubs. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors. The first people to inhabit the now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago, the earliest British settlers called them Eora people. Eora is the term the indigenous used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is from this place, prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans. Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan, the principal language groups were Darug, Guringai, and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells. Development has destroyed much of the citys history including that of the first inhabitants, there continues to be examples of rock art and engravings located in the protected Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The first meeting between the people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. He noted in his journal that they were confused and somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors, Cook was on a mission of exploration and was not commissioned to start a settlement
7.
Orange, New South Wales
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Orange /ˈɒrɪndʒ/ is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is 254 kilometres west of the capital, Sydney. Orange had an urban population of 40,075 as of June 2015 making the city a significant regional centre. According to the 2011 census, the key employment sectors within the City of Orange local government area include health care & social assistance, retail, a significant nearby landmark is Mount Canobolas. With a peak elevation of 1,395 metres it gives commanding views of the district, Orange is the birthplace of poets Banjo Paterson and Kenneth Slessor, although Paterson lived in Orange for only a short time as an infant. Walter W. Stone, book publisher and passionate supporter of Australian literature, was born in Orange. The first Australian Touring Car Championship, known today as V8 Supercar Championship Series, was held at the Gnoo Blas Motor Racing Circuit in 1960. In the late 1820s, the surveyor J. B. Richards worked on a survey of the Macquarie River below Bathurst, on a plan dated 1829, he indicated a village reserve, in the parish of Orange. Initial occupation by British graziers began in late 1829, and tiny settlements eventually turned into larger towns as properties came into connection with the road. In 1844, the surveyor Davidson was sent to check on encroachments onto the land reserved for a village and his choices were Fredericks Valley, Pretty Plains, or Blackmans Swamp. Blackmans Swamp was chosen, and it was proclaimed a village, at nearby Ophir, a significant gold find in Australia was made in 1851, resulting in a sporadic population movement which is known as the Australian gold rush. Additional gold finds in nearby areas led to the establishment of Orange as a trading centre for the gold. The growth of Orange continued as the conditions were well suited for agriculture, the railway from Sydney reached Orange in 1877. In 1946,100 years after it was first being established as a village, Orange was proclaimed as a minor city, in recent years, a large number of vineyards have been planted in the area for rapidly expanding wine production. The growth of wine industry, coupled with the further development of Orange as a gourmet food capital, has ensured Oranges status as a prominent tourism destination. Other large industries include, Cadia gold mine is an open cut gold. The mine has been developed throughout the 1990s and is an employer in the region with an expected lifespan of several decades. Cadia is the second largest open-cut mine in Australia, following the Super Pit at Kalgoorlie, large mineral deposits are also being uncovered from the more recently developed Ridgeway underground mine which is adjacent to the Cadia Mine
8.
Armidale, New South Wales
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Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had an population of 23,674 as at 30 June 2015. It is the centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It is approximately halfway between Sydney and Brisbane at the junction of the New England Highway and Waterfall Way, Armidale traditional owners are Anaiwan people. Many Gumbaynggirr people have settled in Armidale since colonisation, a short distance to the east of Armidale are heavily forested steep gorges dropping down to the eastern coastal plain. Large parts of the highlands are covered by Palaeozoic aged metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, intruding into these meta-sediments are granite plutons which decompose to form sandy soil, slightly deficient in nutrients. There are also basalt flows which are fertile for the soil substrates. Those areas away from the deep gorge country tend to display gently undulating terrain mainly used for pastures, to the west is Mount Yarrowyck Nature Reserve. The coastal plain can be reached directly at Coffs Harbour via Waterfall Way to Dorrigo and Bellingen on the Bellinger River, Armidale has a noted problem with air pollution caused by the use of solid fuel domestic wood heaters during the winter months. A local retired doctor said he is so concerned by the wood smoke situation, Armidale has a subtropical highland climate influence. Armidales elevation gives it a climate, but the summers are still very warm. Winters are long and cool, with frosty nights. Snowfall is extremely rare, on only one day in every three years. The presence of four seasons, unlike most of the rest of Australia, is the reason for the New England moniker. Summers are characterised by warm to very warm days followed almost always by cool, sometimes cold, thunderstorms often produce heavy falls of rain and occasionally hail in the afternoons and early evenings, also bringing a sudden drop in temperature. Unlike nearby coastal areas, Armidale does not usually high humidity levels making most of the summer days quite comfortable. Temperatures exceed 30 °C on average of 13 days per year, the highest temperature recorded at Armidale Airport was 37.0 °C, recorded in January 2014. As the leaves turn yellow and fall, day temperatures are still warm, particularly in March
9.
Queensland Reds
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The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemispheres Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a team selected from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland. From 1996 to 2005 they were one of three Australian teams competing in the Super 12 competition, alongside the New South Wales Waratahs, Queensland finished as minor premiers in 1996 and 1999. From 2006 to 2010, they competed in the expanded Super 14 competition as one of four Australian sides, beginning in 2011, they are one of five Australian sides in the expanded and renamed Super Rugby, winning the competition in its first season in its new format. In 2012 they finished first in the Australian conference, however, it was reported that the game was soon varied to suit the preferences of the local players, and “rugby, with Brisbane variations, was the game played”. Most of these games were played at the Queens Park (now part of the City Botanic Gardens, however, in 1882, a Brisbane FC representative arranged a Rugby match against the Sydney Wallaroos Rugby club, after the NSWRU offered to pay all costs associated with the match. The following years saw rapidly increasing popularity of the Rugby game, as Rugby historian Sean Fagan noted, The defining moment in the code battle came with the 1886 Queensland side, who defeated NSW for the first time in Sydney. “The success of this team won the day for rugby game in Queensland. In 1883, the first inter-colonial match in Brisbane took place, in 1896 the first Queensland team departed for a tour of New Zealand, where they played New Zealand at Athletic Park in Wellington on 15 August, losing 9 to nil. In 1899 Queensland recorded their first win against an international team, the Queensland team remained a representative team selected solely from the rugby union clubs within the state, until the advent of the Super rugby competition in the 1990s. With the start up of league as well as World War I, Queensland rugby was dormant for a number of years. In 1928 the QRU was re-formed, and the GPS competition, the game struggled during World War II, but growth was nonetheless apparent, with the advent of the Queensland Junior Rugby Union and the Country Rugby Union. In 1950 the QRU secured the Normanby Oval at nominal rent from Brisbane Grammar School, before they moved into Ballymore Stadium in 1966, in 1980 Queensland defeated the All Blacks, which was their first win against New Zealand. The match was played at Ballymore on 6 July and Queensland won 9 to 3, two seasons later centenary celebrations took place, with Queensland defeating New South Wales 41 to 7 in the celebratory match. The first Super 10 was held in 1993, Queensland were grouped in Pool A alongside Auckland, Natal, Western Samoa and Otago. Queensland finished with five points, in fourth place, the subsequent Super 10 competition of 1994 saw Queensland finish at the top of Pool A on 13 points, edging out North Harbour on for and against differential to finish at the top. The Queensland Reds went on to play the winner of Pool B, South African side, the Reds won the final,21 points to 10 at Kings Park Stadium in Durban. The following season was more successful for the Reds, who were playing in Pool B for the 1995 season
10.
Brisbane
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Brisbane is the capital of and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbanes metropolitan area has a population of 2.35 million, the Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, about 15 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite, one of the oldest cities in Australia, Brisbane was founded upon the ancient homelands of the indigenous Turrbal and Jagera peoples. A penal settlement was founded in 1824 at Redcliffe,28 kilometres north of the business district. The city was marred by the Australian frontier wars between 1843 and 1855, and development was set back by the Great Fire of Brisbane. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a colony from New South Wales in 1859. During World War II, Brisbane played a role in the Allied campaign. Today, Brisbane is well known for its distinct Queenslander architecture which forms much of the built heritage. It also receives attention for its damaging flood events, most notably in 1974 and 2011. Several large cultural, international and sporting events have held at Brisbane, including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo 88, the final Goodwill Games in 2001. Prior to white settlement, the Brisbane area was inhabited by the Turrbal and they knew the area that is now the central business district as Mian-jin, meaning place shaped as a spike. The Moreton Bay area was explored by Matthew Flinders. On 17 July 1799, Flinders landed at what is now known as Woody Point, in 1823 Governor of New South Wales Sir Thomas Brisbane instructed that a new northern penal settlement be developed, and an exploration party led by John Oxley further explored Moreton Bay. Oxley discovered, named, and explored the Brisbane River as far as Goodna,20 kilometres upstream from the Brisbane central business district, Oxley recommended Red Cliff Point for the new colony, reporting that ships could land at any tide and easily get close to the shore. The party settled in Redcliffe on 13 September 1824, under the command of Lieutenant Henry Miller with 14 soldiers and 29 convicts. However, this settlement was abandoned after a year and the colony was moved to a site on the Brisbane River now known as North Quay,28 km south, chief Justice Forbes gave the new settlement the name of Edenglassie before it was named Brisbane. Non-convict European settlement of the Brisbane region commenced in 1838, German missionaries settled at Zions Hill, Nundah as early as 1837, five years before Brisbane was officially declared a free settlement. The band consisted of ministers Christopher Eipper and Carl Wilhelm Schmidt and lay missionaries Haussmann, Johann Gottried Wagner, Niquet, Hartenstein, Zillman, Franz, Rode, Doege and they were allocated 260 hectares and set about establishing the mission, which became known as the German Station
11.
The Gabba
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The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. The land on which the ground sits was first set aside for use as a ground in 1895. Prior to this, cricket was played at the ground located in the area then known as Green Hills. The Gabba shared first-class cricket matches with the Exhibition Ground until 1931, the first Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba was scheduled to be played between 31 January 1931 and 4 February 1931, but it was washed out without a ball being bowled. The first Test match at the Gabba was played between Australia and South Africa between 27 November and 3 December 1931. Over the years, the Gabba has hosted athletics, Australian rules football, baseball, concerts, cricket, cycling, rugby league, rugby union, soccer and pony and greyhound races. Between 1993 and 2005, the Gabba was redeveloped in six stages at a cost of A$128,000,000, the dimensions of the playing field are now 170.6 metres by 149.9 metres to accommodate the playing of Australian Football at elite level. The seating capacity of the ground is now 42,000, on 15 December 2016, Australia hosted Pakistan for the first Day-Night Test of The Gabba, and the first Australian day-night test hosted outside of Adelaide Oval. The First Test between Australia and England is played nowadays at Brisbane, nobody seems to know why, and all sorts of arguments are ventilated for and against more cricket Tests on the Woolloongabba ground. I am all in favour of robbing Queensland of its greatest cricketing occasion and it is not a cricket ground at all. Spectators are herded and sorted out into lots as though for all the world this was a slave market, the stands are of wood and filthy to sit on. The dining rooms are barns, without a touch of colour or a picture on the wall, everywhere there is dust and dirt. Forgive me if I am bitter about the Woolloongabba ground. The venue usually hosts the first Test match of the season each November in addition to a number of international matches usually held in January. The pitch is usually fast and bouncy, the Gabbas amenities were greatly improved in the 1980s from a very basic standard, especially in comparison with the other Australian cricket grounds. Test cricket was first played at the ground in November 1931, in December 1960, Test crickets first-ever Tied Test took place at the ground when Richie Benauds Australian team tied with Frank Worrells West Indian side. Queensland clinched its first-ever Sheffield Shield title with victory over South Australia in the final at the ground in March 1995, the Gabba was the first Australian venue to host an International Twenty20 cricket match. Australias Michael Clarke holds the record for number of runs scored in one Test innings at the Gabba with 259 not out, Australia has a formidable test match record at the ground
12.
New South Wales Waratahs
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The New South Wales Waratahs (/ˈwɒrətɑːz/ or /ˌwɒrəˈtɑːz/, referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other parts of the state, are represented by the Brumbies. The name and emblem comes from the waratah, the flower for New South Wales. Their home ground is Allianz Stadium in Sydney, some matches are also held at ANZ Stadium. The NSWRU was established in 1874, and the very first club competition took place that year, by 1880 the SRU had over 100 clubs in its governance in the metropolitan area. In 1882 the first New South Wales team was selected to play Queensland in a two-match series, NSW would go on to win both the games. That same year the first NSW touring squad was selected to go, in 1907, several of the New South Wales rugby union teams players defected to play for the New South Wales rugby league team against a visiting rebel New Zealand rugby team. This was essentially the birth of rugby league in Australia, during World War I, the NSW Rugby Unions ceased senior competition. The Queensland body however would not reform until 1929, which saw NSW have more responsibilities for Australian rugby, in 1921 the Waratahs toured New Zealand again, and out of their 10 fixtures, won nine games, including the Test. They won 24 and drew two of their 31 official matches, seven members of this 1927/8 side were from the Drummoyne Rugby Club. Upon returning home, were greeted with a parade through Sydney, matches against Queensland would soon resume also. The 1930s were a successful time for NSW. The height of the success of NSW is best represented by the defeat of the South African Springboks in 1937 at the SCG, in 1963 the Sydney Rugby Union was established for the growth of the game in the city area. The NSW Rugby Union would celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1974, as part of the anniversary celebrations, a match was played at the SCG on 18 May against the All Blacks, though the Waratahs lost nil to 20. In their inaugural Super 12 season of 1996, the Waratahs won just under half of their games, finishing mid table, the following season of 1997 saw the Waratahs end in a 9th place, winning four fixtures. The Waratahs won four fixtures the next season and they won five games in the 2000 season and the Tahs finished their season in 9th place. In 2001 after replicating their 2000 performance, the Waratahs were still out of reach of finals contention, in 8th position. 2002 was a record breaking season for the Waratahs, as the team won eight out of their 11 season games, however, in the final game of the regular season the Waratahs lost 96–19
Australia