2011 Six Nations Championship
The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby union tournament was contested by England, Ireland, Italy and Wales, was won by England. Ireland played their first Six Nations games at the Aviva Stadium, having played their first matches at the new stadium in November 2010. For the first time in its history, the tournament opened with a Friday night fixture. For the first time in a decade, all of the teams had the same head coach as in the previous year's tournament; this tournament was notable for a major upset, with Italy beating 2010 champions France. Despite this upset, Italy still finished last, was awarded the wooden spoon as a result; the champions were England, who won their first four matches, but were denied the Grand Slam and the Triple Crown by a defeat to Ireland. Italy's Andrea Masi was named the Six Nations Player of the Championship, becoming the first Italian player to win the award with 30% of the voting.
The runners up were Sean O'Brien in third and Toby Flood in fourth. England won the championship after winning four out of their five matches. Due to France defeating Wales in the final match of the tournament, England ended the tournament at the top of the table. Had England beaten Ireland it would have led to their first Grand Slam since 2003. Italy lost their final match against Scotland to claim the wooden spoon for the ninth time since entering the competition in 2000; the teams involved are: See 2011 Six Nations Championship squads. Tom Wood made his international debut. Fergus McFadden made his international debut. Chris Ashton's four-try performance marked a number of milestones: He became the first player of any nation to score four tries in a Six Nations match since the competition expanded in 2000, he became the first England player to have scored four tries in a Six Nations, Five Nations, or Home Nations match since Ronald Poulton-Palmer scored four against France in 1914. His six tries in the tournament equalled the single-season record in the Six Nations era, shared by Will Greenwood of England and Shane Williams of Wales.
Carlo Del Fava earned his 50th cap Alex Corbisiero and Fabio Semenzato made their international debuts. Josh Turnbull and Rhys Priestland made their international debuts. Alessandro Zanni and James Hook each earned their 50th caps. Dimitri Yachvili earned his 50th cap. Jonny Wilkinson's 52nd-minute penalty for England made him the leading point scorer in international rugby, overtaking Dan Carter. Carlo Festuccia earned his 50th cap This was the first time Italy had beaten France at home, the first time they had won the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy. Mike Phillips earned his 50th cap. Brian O'Driscoll's try gave him 24 career tries in the Championship, equalling the all-time record of Ian Smith of Scotland, amassed in the Five Nations and Home Nations between 1924 and 1933. Ronan O'Gara became the fifth player in rugby history with 1,000 career Test points, reaching the mark with his conversion of O'Driscoll's try; the officials were criticised for allowing the Wales try as it was scored following a quick throw-in after the ball went out on the full, with a different ball.
A quick throw-in must be taken with the same ball without it being touched after going over the touchline. In the 58th minute, referee Poite was replaced by Jérôme Garcès due to injury. Andrew Small replaced Garcès as touch judge. Scotland's victory lifted them from the bottom of the table and condemned Italy to a fourth consecutive wooden spoon. De Luca's try was the first for Scotland at Murrayfield for nearly two years. Brian O'Driscoll's try against England took his all-time championship tally up to 25, breaking the record held by Ian Smith since 1933. Denis Leamy and Mark Cueto each earned their 50th caps. Wales needed to beat France by 27 points to clinch the title. Ryan Jones earned his 50th cap. In the United Kingdom, BBC channels televised; the matches were televised by France 2 in France, RTÉ Two in Ireland, Sky Sport in Italy and ESPN in Australia and New Zealand. In Wales, Welsh language channel S4C televised Wales matches live. In the United States and the Caribbean, Premium Sports televised the matches live while in the United States, BBC America televised some matches.
Official Site
New Zealand
New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia and Tonga; 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 and plant life; the country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington. Sometime between 1250 and 1300, Polynesians settled in the islands that 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 the United Kingdom 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 and in 1907 it became a dominion. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.9 million is of European descent. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration; the official languages are English, Māori, NZ Sign Language, with English being dominant. A developed country, New Zealand ranks in international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, economic freedom. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy; the service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, agriculture. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament, while executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
Queen Elizabeth II is the country's monarch and is represented by a governor-general Dame Patsy Reddy. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes; the Realm of New Zealand includes Tokelau. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ASEAN Plus Six, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and named it Staten Land "in honour of the States General", he wrote, "it is possible that this land joins to the Staten Land but it is uncertain", referring to a landmass of the same name at the southern tip of South America, discovered by Jacob Le Maire in 1616. 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 whole country before the arrival of Europeans, with Aotearoa referring to just the North Island. Māori had several traditional 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 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, names and alternative names were formalised in 2013. This set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, South Island or Te Waipounamu. For each island, either its English or Māori name can be used. New Zealand was one of the last major landmasses settled by humans. Radiocarbon dating, evidence of deforestation and mitochondrial DNA variability within Māori populations suggest New Zealand was first settled by Eastern Polynesians between 1250 and 1300, concluding a long series of voyages through the southern Pacific islands.
Over the centuries that followed, these settlers developed a distinct culture now known as Māori. The population was divided into iwi and hapū who would sometimes cooperate, sometimes compete and sometimes fight against each other. At some point a group of Māori migrated to Rēkohu, now known as the Chatham Islands, where they developed their distinct Moriori culture; the Moriori population was all but wiped out between 1835 and 1862 because of Taranaki Māori invasion and enslavement in the 1830s, although European diseases contributed. In 1862 only 101 survived, the last known full-blooded Moriori died in 1933; the first Europeans known to have reached New Zeala
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team competes in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Scotland and Wales. They have won this championship on a total of 28 occasions, 13 times winning the Grand Slam and 25 times winning the Triple Crown, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history, they are ranked fourth in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 18 March 2019. England are to date the only team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, when they won the tournament back in 2003, they were 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 try. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship which started in 1883. Following the schism of rugby football in 1895 into union and league, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. England first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, Australia in 1909.
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, they again contested the final in 2007. England players traditionally wear a white shirt with a rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts, navy blue socks with a white trim, 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. Seven other former players are members of the IRB Hall—four for their accomplishments as players, two for their achievements in other roles in the sport, one for achievements both as a player and administrator; the expansion of rugby in the first half of the 19th century was driven by ex-pupils from many of England's Public Schools Rugby, upon finishing school, took the game with them to universities, to London, to the counties.
England's first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871. Not only was this match England's first, but it proved to be the first 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, a drop goal and two tries to one drop 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, but from 1876 the number of tries scored could be used to decide a match if teams were level on goals. 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. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup.
Their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardson's Field in Blackheath. England recorded their largest victory, defeating the Welsh by seven goals, six tries, one drop goal to nil and scoring 13 tries in the process; the subsequent meeting the following year at St Helens in Swansea was a closer contest. 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. The following year, they played France for the first time, that year they first faced South Africa; the match was drawn 3–3. England first played France in 1905, Australia in 1909 when they were defeated 9–3; the year 1909 saw the opening of Twickenham as the RFU's new home, which heralded a golden era for English rugby union.
England's first international at Twickenham was in 1910 and brought them victory over Wales, England went on to win the International Championship for the first time since the great schism of 1895. Although England did not retain the title in 1911, they did share it in 1912. A Five Nations Grand Slam was achieved in 1913 and 1914 as well as in 1921 following the First World War. England subsequently won the Grand Slam in 1924 and as well as in 1925; this was despite having started 1925 with a loss to the All Black Invincibles in front of 60,000 fans at Twickenham. After winning another Grand Slam in 1928, England played the Springboks in front of 70,000 spectators at Twickenham in 1931. Following the ejection of France due to professionalism in 1930, which thus reverted The Five Nations back to the Home Nations tournament, England went on to win the 1934 and 1937 Home Nations with a Triple Crown, in 1935 achieved their first victory over the All Blacks; when the Five Nations resumed with the re-admission of France in 1947 after the Second World War
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, Ireland and Scotland. Wales have won its predecessors 27 times outright. Wales' most recent championship and Grand Slam victory came in 2019; 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, 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 second'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 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 three more Grand Slams in 2008, 2012 and 2019. In 2011, they came fourth in the Rugby World Cup, their home ground is the Millennium Stadium known for sponsorship reasons as the Principality Stadium, completed in 1999 to replace the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park. 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 David's College and introduced the sport there. Wales played their first international on 19 February 1881. On 12 March 1881, the Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Neath. Two years the Home Nation Championship – now the Six Nations Championship – was first played and Wales did not register a win. 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 universally at international and club level.
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, to last until 1911, they won two more Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905, were runners up in 1901, 1903 and 1904. When Wales faced New Zealand's All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905 they had not lost at home since 1899; this New Zealand team – now referred to as the Original All Blacks – was the first of the southern hemisphere national teams to visit the British Isles, were undefeated on their tour up until that point. Before the match, the All Blacks performed a haka. Wales' wing Teddy Morgan scored a try to give Wales a 3–0 lead, but in the match All Black Bob Deans claimed to have scored a try, only to be dragged behind the try-line before the referee arrived; 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, that year played the South African national side, the Springboks for the first time.
Wales were favourites to win the match, but instead South Africa dominated in the forwards and won 11–0. Two years on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring Australians, known as the Wallabies, who they defeated 9–6. In 1909, Wales won the Home Championship and in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first Five Nations. In 1911, Wales took the first Five Nations Grand Slam by winning all their matches in the Five Nations, it would be nearly 40 years. England's defeat of Wales at Cardiff in 1913 was Wales' first home loss to one of the Home Nations since 1899, their first home loss to England since 1895; the Great War came in 1914 and rugby was suspended for the duration. The post-First World War years marked a decline in Welsh rugby. An industrial recession struck the principality, hurt South Wales in particular. Welsh international results in the 1920s mirrored the performance of the economy: of their 42 matches they won only 17, with three drawn. Half a million people emigrated from Wales to find work elsewhere during the depression.
Between 1923 and 1928, Wales managed only seven victories – five of them against France. However France managed to defeat Wales that decade. Welsh selection policy reflected the upheavals of the mid-1920s. In 1924, 35 different players were selected for Wales' four matches, with a different captain for each. A resurgence of both econo
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005; the tournament was won by New Zealand. The defending champions, South Africa, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals; the result marked the third time. It was the largest sporting event held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 America's Cup. Overseas visitors to New Zealand for the event totalled 133,000, more than the 95,000 that the organisers expected. However, there was a drop in non-event visitors, meaning the net increase in visitors over the previous year was less than 80,000; the games ran over six weeks, commencing on 9 September 2011 with the Opening Ceremony showcasing New Zealand's history and diverse cultures.
The final was played at Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday 23 October 2011, a date chosen because it fell on a long weekend of New Zealand's Labour Day holiday. After speculation that the number of participating teams would be reduced to 16, the IRB announced on 30 November 2007 that the 2011 tournament would again feature 20 teams. Twelve teams qualified as a result of finishing in the top three in each pool in the 2007 tournament; the remaining eight berths were determined by regional qualifying tournaments. Of the 20 countries that competed in the previous World Cup in 2007, there was only one change – Russia replaced Portugal. Three nations bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup — New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand had co-hosted the first Rugby World Cup with Australia in 1987, had been set to co-host the 2003 World Cup with Australia before a disagreement over ground signage rights resulted in New Zealand being dropped and Australia became the sole host; the 2011 New Zealand bid contained plans to enlarge the size of Eden Park and other stadiums to help increase the commercial viability of the bid.
Japan was bidding to become the first Asian nation to host the first Rugby World Cup. Japan had the necessary infrastructure in place, by virtue of its co-hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup. South Africa had hosted the tournament in 1995; the 2011 South African bid, led by former national captain Francois Pienaar, had strong support from their national government. South Africa had won the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup; the IRB Council meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005 announced that New Zealand had been selected after IRB inspections of each applicant host nation during June and July 2005. After winning the bid, the New Zealand Rugby Union, expressed disappointment towards their Australian counterparts who voted against New Zealand hosting the event, due to the misplaced expectation that the "Anzac spirit" would result in a vote for New Zealand; the event was expected to cost about NZ$310 million to run and to generate NZ$280 million in ticket sales. In Auckland, the city where many of the most important games took place, the costs to the local ratepayers alone was estimated at $102 million.
Ticket sales exceeding NZ$285 million, accommodation-related spending of another NZ$260 million, NZ$236 million spent on food and drink was expected to provide a significant fiscal stimulus, of nearly 1.4% of the quarterly GDP. In the years between winning the bid and the staging of the event, New Zealand news media and social agencies cast aspersions on the nation's readiness and appropriate use of national funds for sports infrastructure, as has happened with most large, quadrennial, multi-location sporting events of recent decades such as the 2012 Olympics, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Concerns were raised about the process of upgrading Eden Park to expand the capacity to the 60,000 required by the IRB. In late 2008 Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully said the remaining consent process might need to be overridden by legislation for the work to be completed on time. A July 2009 report by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, released under the Official Information Act, warned of lack of readiness and complacency, despite the fact that "the levels of patron movement and operational standard are in reality above what is delivered."
The report was dismissed by Michael Barnett, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO and planning co-coordinator for RWC events in Auckland, who characterised it as a case of "a Wellington media organisation us an outdated report". The nation's largest hospitality workers' union, which represents 25% of hotel and casino workers in New Zealand, demanded that workers share in windfall profits and said there was the possibility of a strike during the tournament; the construction of Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium, known during the tournament as Otago Stadium, was a source of concern as the project was operating in a tight time frame. An April 2010 progress report stated that the project remained on target for completion prior to the Rugby World Cup, although there was a medium level of risk with some significant and damaging concerns. If the project had not been completed on time, organisers would have reverted to Carisbrook as the backup option. Forsyth Barr Stadium was opened on 6 August 2011. Damage caused by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake forced the relocation of a number of cup matches, including the quarter finals.
The 2011 Tri Nations Series was shortened to include only six games instead of the usual nine. It served as the primary preparatio
Rugby union positions
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", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players"; the scrum must consist of eight players from each team: the "front row", the "second row", a "back row". The players outside the scrum are called "the backs": half back, first five, second five, two wings, a fullback. Early names, such as "three-quarters" and "outside-halves" are still used by many in the Northern Hemisphere, while in the Southern Hemisphere the fly-half and inside centre are colloquially called "first five-eighth" and "second five-eighth" while the scrum-half is known as the "half-back"; the backs play behind the forwards and are more built and faster. Successful backs are skilful at kicking.
Full-backs need to be good defenders and kickers, have the ability to catch a kicked ball. The wingers are among the fastest players in a team and score many of the tries; the centres' key attacking roles are to break through the defensive line and link with wingers. The fly-half can be a good kicker and directs the backline; the scrum-half retrieves the ball from the forwards and needs a quick and accurate pass to get the ball to the backs. Forwards compete for the ball in scrums and line-outs and are bigger and stronger than the backs. Props push in the scrums. Locks 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 and play an important role in securing possession of the ball for their team. 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 are indicated by the numbers on the back of their shirts, 1 to 15. The positions are divided into two main categories.
In international matches, there are eight substitutes. The substitutes, numbered 16 to 23, can either 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; 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 versatile player's position and number may change from one game to the next. Players can change positions with players on the field during the match, and, as long as the laws are followed, any player can change positions with another player during the match. Common examples are the fly-half playing the full-back's position in defence or a prop taking the hooker's position at line-outs. Different positions on the field suit certain skill sets and body types leading to players specialising in a limited number of positions; each position has certain roles to play on the field, although most have been established through convention rather than law.
During general play, as long as they are not offside, the players may be positioned anywhere on the field. It is during the set pieces and line-out, when the positions are enforced. During early rugby union games there were only two positions; the attacking possibilities of playing close behind the scrimmage were recognised. The players who stationed themselves between the forwards and tends became known as "half-tends", it was observed that the players outside scrimmage were not limited to a defensive role, so the tends and half-tends were renamed "backs" and "half-backs". As the game became more sophisticated, the backs positioned at different depths behind the forwards, they were further differentiated into half-backs, three-quarter-backs, full-back. Specialised roles for the scrum evolved with "wing-forward" being employed to protect the half-back; the first international between England and Scotland was played in 1871 and consisted of twenty players on each side: thirteen forwards, three half-backs, one three-quarter and three full-backs.
The player numbers were reduced to fifteen in 1877. Numbers were added to the backs of players' jerseys in the 1920s as a way for coaches and selectors to rate individual players; the various positions have changed names over time and many are known by different names in different countries. Players in the flanker positions were known as "wing forwards", while in the backs, "centre three-quarter" and "wing three-quarter" were used to describe the outside centre and wing The names used by World Rugby tend to reflect Northern Hemisphere usage although fly-half is still known as "outside-half" or "stand-off" in Britain, "outhalf" in Ireland. In New Zealand, the scrum-half is still referred to as the "half-back", the fly-half is referred to as the "first five-eighth", the inside centre is called the "second five-eighth" and t
Delon Armitage
Delon Anthony Armitage is a rugby union footballer who plays at wing or fullback for Lyon OU and is capped for England. He occasionally plays centre, he sometimes does place kicking from a distance or if the regular kicker is unable to take it. He left Toulon at the end of the 2015/2016 season to join French Top 14 side Lyon. From 1996 to 2002, Armitage lived in Roquefort-les-Pins on the French Riviera and from the age of 12 Armitage began playing for Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur Université-Racing. Armitage was rejected by the France Under-16s, who claimed he was too skinny. On his return to London, Armitage joined Richmond before London Irish offered him a professional apprenticeship. Armitage joined the Academy in 2002, where he played for the England U19's and was involved in the team that won the U19's National Cup. From there he progressed to the U21 squad, his talent was recognised and Armitage played for England in the IRB World Sevens tournament 2005. In August 2009 he took part in the Middlesex Sevens tournament in Twickenham where he helped London Irish to victory over Samerai International to take the championship.
In May 2013 he scored Toulon's only try of the match as they won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16-15 against Clermont Auvergne. On 8 November 2008 Armitage made his full England debut against the Pacific Islanders at fullback following injuries to Mathew Tait and Nick Abendanon, he put in a man of the match winning performance setting up a try for winger Paul Sackey. English Rugby legend and team manager Martin Johnson described Armitage's debut performance as outstanding. Armitage was one of the few England players to warrant any praise during the 2008 Autumn Internationals in which England lost three out of their four matches. Armitage scored his first international points with a 45-meter drop goal against Australia. On 3 February 2009, Armitage and his brother, Steffon Armitage, were both named in England's starting XV to take on Italy in the opening game of the 2009 Six Nations; the ninth pair and the first time since Rory Underwood and Tony Underwood stepped onto the field together in 1995 that two brothers have played in the same England team.
In the next match, in the 2009 Six Nations Championship he scored his first try against Wales at the Millennium Stadium. He scored a penalty and a try in England's 14–13 loss against Ireland at Croke Park. Armitage scored his third England try in as many games when he touched down against France at Twickenham, in a match England went on to win 34–10, he celebrated his try by kissing the England badge on his shirt, quite to highlight his snub by the France Under-16s. He played in England's two test matches against Argentina. Armitage's stepfather John played rugby for Hatfield and encouraged his sons to such an extent that four of them are now professional players. Guy plays for Wasps RFC. Bevon left RFU Championship club Doncaster Knights in 2010 for his brothers' youth club Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur Université-Racing. Armitage was the first native, he has two children with Jemma, whom he married in a son Cameron and a daughter Chloe. He is a Queens Park Rangers fan. Away from rugby, Armitage enjoys tennis.
His hero is former All Blacks blindside flanker Jerry Collins. December 2014: Delon Armitage lands 12-week ban after Toulon full back is found guilty of verbally abusing Leicester fans May 2013: Calls former England hooker Brian Moore a ‘fat p***k’ and tells him to ‘Go write another s*** book’ in response to criticism of his goading try celebration in the Heineken Cup final. January 2012: Arrested for an alleged altercation outside a Torquay nightclub in the early hours of a Sunday morning. A local man was left with a split lip after the run-in. November 2011: Banned for five weeks after striking Bath lock Dave Attwood and committing a dangerous tackle on winger Tom Biggs - his third ban for foul play within six months, including a suspension in the World Cup quarter final. January 2011: Banned for eight weeks after verbally abusing and pushing a doping official following London Irish’s 25-24 defeat by Bath on New Year’s Day. London Irish profile Delon Armitage at the World Rugby Men's Sevens Series
