1.
Scottish Rugby Union
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The Scottish Rugby Union, or Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic, is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the league system, known as the Scottish League Championship. The SRU is headed by the President and Chairman, with Mark Dodson acting as the Chief Executive Officer, the Scottish Football Union was founded on Monday 3 March 1873 at a meeting held at Glasgow Academy, Elmbank Street, Glasgow. Eight clubs were represented at the foundation, Glasgow Academicals, Edinburgh Academical Football Club, University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club, Royal High School FP, Merchistonians, Edinburgh University RFC, and Glasgow University. Five of these clubs were, at the time of founding the Scottish Football Union, although the RFU now represents exclusively English clubs, in its first few years it had members from outside England, there being no other national union. West of Scotland, Glasgow Academicals and Edinburgh University had joined the RFU in 1871 and Edinburgh Academicals and these five renounced membership of the RFU to join the SFU. The SFU was a member of the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, in 1886 with Ireland. In 1924 the SFU changed its name to become the Scottish Rugby Union, International games were played at Inverleith from 1899 to 1925 when Murrayfield was opened. The four traditional districts—the South, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the North & Midlands —were given the go-ahead to take part in Europe, for the first two seasons, players were still released to play for their clubs in domestic competition, but eventually the districts became full-time operations. Then financial difficulties—the SRUs high debt, partly as a result of the redevelopment of Murrayfield—called for retrenchment, after two seasons, financial difficulties forced the SRU to merge the four teams into two. Edinburgh merged with the Border Reivers to form a team to be known as Edinburgh Reivers, Glasgow merged with Caledonian to form a team to be known as Glasgow Caledonian. The Borders was resurrected in 2002 and joined the season of the Celtic League. As a consequence Edinburgh Reivers became simply Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow became Glasgow Rugby, in 2005, all three teams adopted new names. The Borders readopted the name Border Reivers, Edinburgh became Edinburgh Gunners, but would revert to Edinburgh in 2006, furthermore, the SRU planned to have a world class rugby side for each city or large town in Scotland, when financial circumstances permitted. In 2007, The Borders team was disbanded yet again as a result of continuing financial difficulties, in the same year, the SRU began organising the Scotland Sevens, first held in Edinburgh and later in Glasgow. For several years, it was the event in the annual Sevens World Series. On 21 November 2009 Scotland beat Australia 9–8 after 17 attempts in 27 years, in the Season 2010–11 the SRU had a contractual dispute with the Season Ticket Holders of Edinburgh Rugby
2.
Glasgow
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Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and third largest in the United Kingdom. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is now one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and it is situated on the River Clyde in the countrys West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as Glaswegians, Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Britain. From the 18th century the city grew as one of Great Britains main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America. Glasgow was the Second City of the British Empire for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Glasgow grew in population, reaching a peak of 1,128,473 in 1939. The entire region surrounding the conurbation covers about 2.3 million people, at the 2011 census, Glasgow had a population density of 8, 790/sq mi, the highest of any Scottish city. Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and is well known in the sporting world for the football rivalry of the Old Firm between Celtic and Rangers. Glasgow is also known for Glasgow patter, a dialect that is noted for being difficult to understand by those from outside the city. Glasgow is the form of the ancient Cumbric name Glas Cau. Possibly referring to the area of Molendinar Burn where Glasgow Cathedral now stands, the later Gaelic name Baile Glas Chu, town of the grey dog, is purely a folk-etymology. The present site of Glasgow has been settled since prehistoric times, it is for settlement, being the furthest downstream fording point of the River Clyde, the origins of Glasgow as an established city derive ultimately from its medieval position as Scotlands second largest bishopric. Glasgow increased in importance during the 10th and 11th centuries as the site of this bishopric, reorganised by King David I of Scotland and John, there had been an earlier religious site established by Saint Mungo in the 6th century. The bishopric became one of the largest and wealthiest in the Kingdom of Scotland, bringing wealth, sometime between 1189 and 1195 this status was supplemented by an annual fair, which survives as the Glasgow Fair. Glasgow grew over the following centuries, the first bridge over the River Clyde at Glasgow was recorded from around 1285, giving its name to the Briggait area of the city, forming the main North-South route over the river via Glasgow Cross. The founding of the University of Glasgow in 1451 and elevation of the bishopric to become the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1492 increased the towns religious and educational status and landed wealth. Its early trade was in agriculture, brewing and fishing, with cured salmon and herring being exported to Europe, Glasgow was subsequently raised to the status of Royal Burgh in 1611. The citys Tobacco Lords created a water port at Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde. By the late 18th century more than half of the British tobacco trade was concentrated on Glasgows River Clyde, at the time, Glasgow held a commercial importance as the city participated in the trade of sugar, tobacco and later cotton
3.
Old Anniesland
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Old Anniesland is a rugby union ground in Glasgow, Scotland, with a capacity of approximately 3,500. It is the home of Glasgow Hawks, who play in the Scottish Premiership. It is also used by Glasgow High Kelvinside, originally home to Glasgow Academicals in 1883, the playing fields were bought by Glasgow HSFP in 1919. It is situated just off Crow Road in Anniesland, in the west of Glasgow, home to Glasgow Hawks, it also hosts matches by Glasgow High Kelvinside. It is sometimes used to host Scotland Club XV matches, there is a main pitch for competitive games, and several other rugby pitches for play and training, some floodlit and one with Astroturf. Gym facilities are available to club members
4.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
5.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
6.
Glasgow Hawks RFC
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Glasgow Hawks are an amateur rugby union team in Glasgow, Scotland. They were Premiership Division One champions for three seasons from 2003–04 to 2005–06. In Paris on 27 August 1995 a meeting of the International Rugby Board declared that professionalism was to be allowed in rugby, although some thought it highly unlikely that Glasgow Academicals and GHK might merge, during season 1996–97 Brian Simmers decided it was worth looking at. Discussions had also taken place with West of Scotland to come on board, however the W in HAWKS still remains. Ownership of Glasgow Hawks RFC Limited would be one each held by Glasgow Academicals Sports Club. It was also agreed that Hawks 1st XV would play alternately at Old and this structure was presented to each of the founder clubs at EGMs, both held on 3 June 1997, and a massive majority at each club agreed the proposal. In June 2003 Glasgow Hawks became a member of the SRU. In season 1997–98 contracted players were playing for Premier 1 clubs and Hawks, the majority were Scottish representative players with eventual internationalists Glenn Metcalfe, Derek Stark and Murray Wallace joined by Cook Island internationalists Tommy Hayes and Mike Beckham. Hawks won the division league title, the Scottish Cup and were 2nd XV league champions. At the end of very successful season eight players moved out of Hawks to professional rugby in Scotland and beyond. 2001–02, Hawks are runners-up to Hawick in the Scottish Cup Final, 2003–04, Hawks win Premier 1 Championship, Scottish Cup and 2nd XV Championship. 2006–07, Hawks win the Scottish Cup for the third time, Scotland U19 Caps,11 Hawks Players awarded professional contracts,37 Hawks Coaches awarded professional contracts, Shade Munro, Peter Wright. Glasgow Award for Services to Rugby,2004 John Roxburgh 2005 Tom Howie Glasgow Player of the year,2004 Mark Sitch, Scottish Rugby Team of the year, Glasgow Hawks 1998 and 2004. Scottish Premier 1 Player of the year,2005 Richard Maxton
7.
West of Scotland F.C.
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West of Scotland Football Club are a Scottish Rugby Union club based at Burnbrae, Milngavie, just outside Glasgow. Founded in 1865, West of Scotland are one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world, during the 1960s and 1970s, West were a true powerhouse of British rugby - regularly fielding up to ten internationals. In the Open Era of professionalism, West have produced a significant number of players who have progressed to the professional and international levels, West of Scotlands First XV currently play in BT National League Division 2 – the third highest tier of Scottish club rugby. The Second XV play in the BT National Reserve League Division 2 -, the club also have a Womens team - and an occasional golden oldies team, known as the Burnbrae Bulls. Wests youth section was founded in the 1980s, and is now a development centre with over 200 players -. The clubs youth development programmes ethos is to look at the individuals and develop the person, notable recent graduates of Wests youth programme include, Rob Harley, Robert McAlpine, and Murray McConell. Wests midi sides play in the Presidents Conference, the top division in Scottish Youth Rugby, Wests youth set up is therefore extremely well regarded, and Wests youth teams have regularly competed for silverware, including the Scottish Cup on several occasions. Formed in 1865, West of Scotland played a role in establishing international rugby in Scotland. The club originated at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Glasgow as an offshoot of the Cricket Club, the bye laws of West of Scotland Football Club were agreed on 15 October 1865. Initially, West games were 20-a-side intra-club affairs, however, In November 1867, West took to the field against live opposition for the first time - beating Edinburgh Academicals, in one of the first ever rugby matches ever played. West lost the game at Raeburn Place in December 1867. This remains one of the oldest fixtures in world rugby, West have played in red and yellow coloured strips since 1871, having elected to discard their old navy strips. Interestingly, the local football club Partick Thistle decided to copy in the 1930s when they also switched from dark blue strips. West twice won the championship in 1883 and 1885. The club also won four consecutive Scottish Championships in 1899,1890,1891,1892, however, despite this outstanding on-field success, the club experienced some off-field strife at this time, largely pertaining the West of Scotland cricket clubs incessant demands for more money. The first world war not only curtailed the clubs playing activities - they also decimated many of the club sides. Nonetheless, despite issues with the cricket club over the lease, West thrived during this era, fielding up to 4XVs. In 1929 one of great personalities, W. H. Kidston died
8.
Zimbabwe
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Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west and southwest, Zambia to the northwest, although it does not border Namibia, less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates it from that country. The capital and largest city is Harare, a country of roughly 13 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most commonly used. Since the 11th century, present-day Zimbabwe has been the site of several organised states and kingdoms as well as a route for migration. The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes first demarcated the present territory during the 1890s, in 1965, the conservative white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. Zimbabwe then rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations—which it withdrew from in 2003 and it is a member of the United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980, when his ZANU-PF party won the following the end of white minority rule. Under Mugabes authoritarian regime, the security apparatus has dominated the country. Mugabe has maintained the revolutionary socialist rhetoric from the Cold War era, the name Zimbabwe stems from a Shona term for Great Zimbabwe, an ancient ruined city in the countrys south-east whose remains are now a protected site. Two different theories address the origin of the word, many sources hold that Zimbabwe derives from dzimba-dza-mabwe, translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as large houses of stone. The Karanga-speaking Shona people live around Great Zimbabwe in the province of Masvingo. Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia, and Zimbabwe Rhodesia, a further alternative, put forward by nationalists in Matabeleland, had been Matopos, referring to the Matopos Hills to the south of Bulawayo. In a 2001 interview, black nationalist Edson Zvobgo recalled that Mawema mentioned the name during a rally, and it caught hold. The black nationalist factions subsequently used the name the during the Second Chimurenga campaigns against the Rhodesian government during the Rhodesian Bush War of 1964-1979, major factions in this camp included the Zimbabwe African National Union, and the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union. Proto-Shona-speaking societies first emerged in the middle Limpopo valley in the 9th century before moving on to the Zimbabwean highlands, the Zimbabwean plateau eventually became the centre of subsequent Shona states, beginning around the 10th century. Around the early 10th century, trade developed with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast, the main archaeological site uses a unique dry stone architecture. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was the first in a series of sophisticated trade states developed in Zimbabwe by the time of the first European explorers from Portugal and they traded in gold, ivory, and copper for cloth and glass. From about 1300 until 1600, Mapungubwe was eclipsed by the Kingdom of Zimbabwe and this Shona state further refined and expanded upon Mapungubwes stone architecture, which survives to this day at the ruins of the kingdoms capital of Great Zimbabwe
9.
Matabeleland
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Modern-day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces, Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers, the region is named after its inhabitants the Ndebele people. Other ethnic groups who inhabit parts of Matabeleland include the Tonga, Kalanga, Venda, as for the Matabeleland Northern Province, it had a total population of 749,017 people out of the population of Zimbabwe of 13,061,239. The proportion of male and female population was 48 and 52 percent respectively within an area of just over 75,017 square kilometres, the remaining Bulawayo province had a population of 653,337 in an area of 1,706.8 square kilometres. Thus the region has a population of 2,086,247 in an area of just over 130,000 square kilometres. The major city is Bulawayo, other towns are Plumtree. The land is fertile but dry. This area has important gold deposits, industries include gold and other mineral mines, and engineering. There has been a decline in the industries in region as water is in short supply. Promises by the government to water for the region through the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project have not been carried out. The region is allegedly marginalised by the government and it is also the former name of all South Rodesia / Zimbabwe. Around the 10th and 11th centuries the Bantu-speaking Kalanga arrived from the north, later they moved north and both the San and the early ironworkers were driven out. By the 15th century, the Kalanga had established an empire, known as Munhumutapa. This empire was split by the end of the 15th century with southern part becoming the Rozvi Empire, in the late 1830s, some 20,000 Ndebele, descendants of the Zulus in South Africa and led by Mzilikazi Khumalo, invaded the Kalanga people Lozvi Empire. Many of the Kalanga people were incorporated and the rest of the tribes that comprise the Shona today were made satellite territories who paid tribute to the Ndebele Kingdom. He called his new nation Mthwakazi, a Zulu word which means something which became big at conception, in Zulu into ethe ithwasa yabankulu, Mzilikazi organised this ethnically diverse nation into a militaristic system of regimental towns and established his capital at Bulawayo. Mzilikazi was a statesman of considerable stature, able to weld the many conquered tribes into a strong, in 1852, the Boer government in Transvaal made a treaty with Mzilikazi. However, gold was discovered in the area known as Mashonaland, the home of the Ma-Shona, in 1867
10.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
11.
The Carolinas
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The Carolinas are the U. S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. Combining North Carolinas population of 10,042,802 and South Carolinas of 4,896,146, if the Carolinas were a single state of the United States, it would be the fifth-most populous state, behind California, Texas, Florida, and New York. The Carolinas were known as the Province of Carolina during Americas early colonial period, prior to that, the land was considered part of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, from 1609 to 1663. The province, named Carolina to honor King Charles I of England, was divided into two colonies in 1729, although the date is the subject of debate. The territory was declared as Spanish territory by Ponce de Leon in 1512, nor was it colonized by any Spaniards, it was largely just proclaimed for a future that never came. But as French settlers arrived in 1562, they were thrown out by the Spaniards. However it was during this time that the Carolina first was named. The territory was named after the English King instead, which however had no impact on the spelling, in 1729 British politicians regretted this gift and redeemed the heirs of the first eight British inhabitants. Now the Carolinas became divided into North Carolina and South Carolina, both the new colonies were among the thirteen first states of the United States. Sir Robert Heath was an English judge and politician who was also a member of the English House of Commons from 1621 to 1625, Sir Robert Heath was granted charter over the lands between latitudes 31° and 36° north, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Heaths patent required he plant a colony but that was never fully realized, the 1663 charter granted the Lords Proprietor title to all of the land from the southern border of the Colony of Virginia at 36 degrees north to 31 degrees north. The charter also granted all the land, between these northerly and southerly bounds, from the Atlantic Ocean, westward to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, the Charter of 1663 chartered the territory as an English Proprietary colony assigning rights to eight English Noblemen. These noblemen are known as the Lords Proprietors of Carolina forming the Province of Carolina, in 1729 the Province of Carolina was divided when the descendants of seven of the eight Lords Proprietors sold their shares back to the Crown. Only the heirs of Sir George Carteret retained their rights to what would become the Granville District. Both the Province of North Carolina and the Province of South Carolina became English Crown Colonies in 1729, the culture of the Carolinas is a distinct subset of larger Southern culture. Though the two states both form part of the South, there are historically a number of differences in the settlement patterns, political development, and economic growth of the two states. For example, during the Civil War, South Carolina was the first Southern state to secede from the Union, North Carolinians ultimately voted instead in all 100 counties to raise an army, join the Confederacy, and go to war. During the war, South Carolina was generally one of the strongest supporters of the Confederacy, the war began in Charleston, South Carolina, where Citadel Cadets fired the opening shots at the Union Ship Star of The West
12.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
13.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
14.
Budapest
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Budapest is the capital and most populous city of Hungary, one of the largest cities in the European Union and sometimes described as the primate city of Hungary. It has an area of 525 square kilometres and a population of about 1.8 million within the limits in 2016. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the Danube river with the unification of Buda and Óbuda on the west bank, the history of Budapest began with Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia. Hungarians arrived in the territory in the 9th century and their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–1242. The re-established town became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture by the 15th century, following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, the region entered a new age of prosperity, and Budapest became a global city after its unification in 1873. It also became the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a power that dissolved in 1918. Budapest was the point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Republic of Councils in 1919, the Battle of Budapest in 1945. Budapest is an Alpha- global city, with strengths in arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts the Budapest Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks and it is the highest ranked Central and Eastern European city on Innovation Cities Top 100 index. Budapest attracts 4.4 million international tourists per year, making it the 25th most popular city in the world, further famous landmarks include Andrássy Avenue, St. It has around 80 geothermal springs, the worlds largest thermal water system, second largest synagogue. Budapest is home to the headquarters of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the European Police College, over 40 colleges and universities are located in Budapest, including the Eötvös Loránd University, Central European University and Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Budapest is the combination of the city names Buda and Pest, One of the first documented occurrences of the combined name Buda-Pest was in 1831 in the book Világ, written by Count István Széchenyi. The origins of the names Buda and Pest are obscure, according to chronicles from the Middle Ages, the name Buda comes from the name of its founder, Bleda, brother of the Hunnic ruler Attila. The theory that Buda was named after a person is also supported by modern scholars, an alternative explanation suggests that Buda derives from the Slavic word вода, voda, a translation of the Latin name Aquincum, which was the main Roman settlement in the region. There are also theories about the origin of the name Pest. One of the states that the word Pest comes from the Roman times. According to another theory, Pest originates from the Slavic word for cave, or oven, the first settlement on the territory of Budapest was built by Celts before 1 AD
15.
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
16.
British and Irish Lions
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The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for any of the Home Nations – the national sides of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Lions are a Test side, and generally select international players, the side tours every four years, with these rotating among Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The 2009 Test series was lost 2–1 to South Africa, while the 2013 Test series was won 2–1 over Australia, from 1888 onwards combined rugby sides from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland toured the Southern Hemisphere. The first tour was a venture, and was undertaken without official backing. The six subsequent visits enjoyed a degree of support from the authorities, before the 1910 South Africa tour. In 1949 the four Home Unions formally created a Tours Committee and for the first time, the 1950s tours saw high win rates in provincial games, but the Test series were typically lost or drawn. The winning series in 1971 and 1974 changed this pattern, the last tour of the amateur age took place in 1993. The multi-nation team that is named the British and Irish Lions first came into existence in 1888 as the Shaw & Shrewsbury Team. It was then primarily English in composition but also contained players from Scotland, later the name British Isles became associated with the team. When the team first emerged in the century, it represented the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The team continued to exist after the Irish war of independence and civil war, from the 2001 tour of Australia, the official name British and Irish Lions has been used. The team is referred to simply as the Lions. As the Lions represent two states, they do not have a national anthem. For more than half a century, the Lions have been synonymous with the red jersey that sports the amalgamated crests of the four unions, however, prior to 1950 the strip went through a number of significantly different formats. In 1888, the promoter of the first expedition to Australia and New Zealand, Arthur Shrewsbury, demanded something that would be good material, the result was a jersey in thick red, white and blue hoops, worn above white shorts and dark socks. The tours to South Africa in 1891 and 1896 retained the red, white and blue theme but this time as red and white hooped jerseys and dark blue shorts and socks. The 1899 trip to Australia saw a reversion to red, white and blue jerseys, but with the used in thick hoops. The shorts remained blue, as did the socks although a white flash was added to the latter, in 1903, the South Africa tour followed on from the 1896 tour, with red and white hooped jerseys
17.
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
18.
John Arthur (rugby union)
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John W. Arthur was a Scottish rugby football player. John W. Arthur represented Scotland in 1871 in the first international match and he was capped again on the return fixture the following year. He also played for Glasgow Academicals and he was the brother of Allen Arthur who was also capped for Scotland. Bath, Richard The Scotland Rugby Miscellany
19.
Thomas Chalmers (rugby)
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Thomas Chalmers was a Scottish international rugby and cricket player. Thomas Chalmers was born in Glasgow, the son of a merchant draper and he married Marion Dun Carrick, sister of the famed James Stewart Carrick, in 1883 and they had one son, Archibald Patrick Chalmers, born in 1888. Thomas Chalmers died in Glasgow in 1926, one of the earliest Scottish players, he is sometimes considered the first great Scottish rugby fullback. He played in the first six international test matches, all of them against England and he was a solid tackler, good kicker and handy dribbler. He played club rugby for the Glasgow Academicals, which was the strongest club in Scotland at the time and he played in the worlds first inter-district provincial match on 23 November 1872. Chalmers represented Glasgow District in their match against Edinburgh District on that date, in October 1872, Chalmers took part in a trial match for the Scotland team for the first association football international match against England and was named in the list of 17 possible players. Chalmers was praised as a goalkeeper, albeit the rules were new to him. In the event, the entire Scottish team was made up of members of the Queens Park club. He was a cousin of the Neilson brothers, who played for Scotland and then became Presidents of the SRU and he also represented Scotland at cricket. He was an excellent batsman and a medium paced bowler. On one occasion playing for West of Scotland against Australia in 1878 he scored 38 against the bowling of Fred Spofforth, Garrett, list of Scottish cricket and rugby union players GlasgowHawks. com - CMS at www. glasgowhawks. com History of the Glasgow Hawks
20.
J. S. Thomson
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John Shaw Thomson was a rugby union international who represented Scotland in the first international rugby match in 1871. He is recorded as having played for Glasgow Academicals in 1871 and 1872, at that time the club did not have open membership and had only been formed three years previous as a club for old pupils of Glasgow Academy. The strong implication is that he therefore attended Glasgow Academy, and given this was not a boarding school, some records suggest he also played for St Andrews University and therefore may have attended that university also. Thomson was selected to play in the first international match in 1871 between Scotland and England. This was played on 27 March 1871 at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, certain records for the match indicate that he played for Glasgow Academicals at the time, whilst others suggest that he was a University of St Andrews RFC player. It is possible that he was not exclusive to one or the other and this was the inaugural inter-city match between Glasgow and Edinburgh, that today is known as the 1872 Cup and has the distinction of being the oldest inter-city rugby competition in the world
Andy Jackson (Head Coach), 
Tony Smith
JW Arthur (first capped 1871)
Louis Greig (first capped 1905) - 3 tests for British Lions (SA 1903)
Marty Berry (first capped 1986) - 1 cap - Glasgow Accies' first All Black
Andreas Nilserius (first capped 2015) - Swedish cap from Glasgow Accies' 2015-16 Championship-winning squad
