1.
Fiji Rugby Union
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Fiji Rugby Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions, the Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, along with Samoa and Tonga. There are approximately 80,000 registered players from a population of around 950,000. They sit 13th in the IRB world rankings as of 6 July 2013, Fiji has won the Rugby World Cup Sevens twice, in 1997 and the 2005. They also play in the IRB Sevens World Series, a circuit of eight tournaments around the world, winning the series in 2006. However, they lost the title to New Zealand in 2007, Fiji has shone in rugby sevens, finishing the 2013 HSBC Sevens World Series third behind New Zealand and South Africa. There is also an Indo-Fijian team, to compete in the Asian Games, the national provincial championship is the Digicel Cup competition. A professional six team competition, the Colonial Cup, ran from 2004 to 2008. Before this, Fiji had 12 Division One teams, the FRU also has developed a base pay for players at international level. Domestic competitions include the Farebrother-Sullivan Cup, and a domestic 7s tournament
2.
Samoa Rugby Union
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The Samoa Rugby Union are the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Samoa. They were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji, there are 12 provincial unions made up of around 120 clubs and boasting nearly 5,000 senior and twice as many junior players in a country with a population of just under 175,000 people. The Western Samoa Rugby Football Union was formed in 1924 and it joined the International Rugby Board in 1988. In 2009 Samoa traveled to the Northern Hemisphere to play Wales, France, Samoa national rugby union team Samoa national rugby sevens team Official website Website for supporters of the Manu Samoa
3.
Tonga Rugby Union
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The Tonga Rugby Union are the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Tonga. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji, there is a rugby union playing population of less than 800 out of a total population of 100,000. They were formed in 1923 and joined the International Rugby Board in 1987 when they were invited to play in the inaugural World Cup, Tonga national rugby union team Official site Pacific Islanders Rugby Team Supporters site Tonga Rugby – World Cup 2007
4.
Tonga
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Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands of which 36 are inhabited. The total surface area is about 750 square kilometres scattered over 700,000 square kilometres of the southern Pacific Ocean and it has a population of 103,000 people of whom 70% reside on the main island of Tongatapu. Tonga stretches across approximately 800 kilometres in a north-south line and it is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, Niue to the east, Kermadec to the southwest, and New Caledonia and Vanuatu to the farther west. Tonga became known in the West as the Friendly Islands because of the reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit in 1773. He arrived at the time of the festival, the yearly donation of the First Fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga. According to the writer William Mariner, the wanted to kill Cook during the gathering. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had British protected state status, the country never relinquished its sovereignty to any foreign power. In many Polynesian languages including Tongan, the word tonga means south, the name of Tonga is cognate to the Hawaiian region of Kona. In Malay, the name of Tonga is also cognate to the word Tenggara, an Austronesian-speaking group linked to the archaeological construct known as the Lapita cultural complex reached and inhabited Tonga around 1500–1000 BCE. Scholars have much debated the exact dates of the settlement of Tonga. Not much is known before European contact because of the lack of a writing system, in the 15th century and again in the 17th, civil war erupted. The Tongan people first encountered Europeans in 1616 when the Dutch vessel Eendracht, captained by Willem Schouten, later came other Dutch explorers, including Jacob Le Maire, and in 1643 Abel Tasman. In 1845, the young warrior, strategist, and orator Tāufaʻāhau united Tonga into a kingdom. He held the title of Tuʻi Kanokupolu, but had been baptised by Methodist missionaries with the name Siaosi in 1831. Tonga became a state under a Treaty of Friendship with Britain on 18 May 1900. The treaty posted no higher permanent representative on Tonga than a British Consul, under the protection of Britain, Tonga maintained its sovereignty, and remained the only Pacific nation to retain its monarchical government. The Tongan monarchy follows a succession of hereditary rulers from one family. The 1918 flu pandemic, brought to Tonga by a ship from New Zealand, killed 1,800 Tongans, the Treaty of Friendship and Tongas protection status ended in 1970 under arrangements established by Queen Salote Tupou III prior to her death in 1965
5.
Fiji
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Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealands North Island. Fiji is an archipelago of more than 330 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 860,000. The capital, Suva on Viti Levu, serves as Fijis principal cruise port, about three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levus coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres like Nadi or Lautoka. Viti Levus interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain, Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the sources of foreign exchange are its tourist industry. The countrys currency is the Fijian dollar, Fijis local government, in the form of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development. The majority of Fijis islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago, today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, and was settled first by Austronesians and later by Melanesians, Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as a Commonwealth realm, a republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups détat. In a coup in 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power, later in 2009, Iloilo was replaced as President by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. After years of delays, an election was held on 17 September 2014. Bainimaramas FijiFirst party won with 59. 2% of the vote, Fijis main island is known as Viti Levu and it is from this that the name Fiji is derived, though the common English pronunciation is based on that of their island neighbours in Tonga. Its emergence can be described as follows, Fijians first impressed themselves on European consciousness through the writings of the members of the expeditions of Cook who met them in Tonga. They were described as warriors and ferocious cannibals, builders of the finest vessels in the Pacific. They inspired awe amongst the Tongans, and all their Manufactures, especially bark cloth and clubs, were highly valued and much in demand. They called their home Viti, but the Tongans called it Fisi, and it was by this foreign pronunciation, Fiji, first promulgated by Captain James Cook, that these islands are now known. Feejee, the Anglicised spelling of the Tongan pronunciation, was used in accounts and other writings until the late 19th century, by missionaries and other travellers visiting Fiji. Pottery art from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled before or around 3500 to 1000 BC, the first settlements in Fiji were started by voyaging traders and settlers from the west about 5000 years ago
6.
Mosese Rauluni
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Mosese Nasau Rauluni is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer. He usually plays at half, and played for Saracens in the Guinness Premiership in England. He has played for Fiji, including captaining them and he is the younger brother of Jacob Rauluni and first cousin of Waisale Serevi. Rauluni was brought up in Brisbane and played his rugby for Easts from 1995 to 2004. He represented the Australian U-19s in 1993–94 and he made his test debut for Fiji on 1 November 1996 in a match against the New Zealand Māori. The following season he was capped three times for Fiji, playing in test matches against Tonga, the Cook Islands and Samoa. The following season he played in a Test against the Wallabies and he returned to the international scene for Fiji in May 1999, playing against the United States and then playing subsequent matches against Spain and Italy. He was included in Fijis 1999 Rugby World Cup squad, after the World Cup, he earned another five caps during the subsequent season for Fiji. He played only one test in 2001, on 25 May against Tonga, in 2003 Rauluni played in a match against Tonga and in fixtures against Argentina and Chile. He was selected for Fijis squad at the 2003 Rugby World Cup and he represented Fiji in four matches at the World Cup. In 2004 he was capped twice for Fiji in games against Samoa and Tonga, in July of that year he was selected as part of the Pacific Islanders side, which was a touring team composed of the best Fijian, Samoan and Tongan players. The Pacific Islanders played matches against South Africa, Australia and the All Blacks and he was capped nine times during 2005. In May 2006 he re-signed with the Saracens until the 2007/08 season. He was a key to help Fiji to reach the final at the 2007 RWC. Some regarded him as the back of the tournament. In June 2010 he coached the Saracens academy side, with Kevin Sorrell, before becoming coach of Harrow School. He returned to Fiji in 2014, joining the new coaching set up under John McKee of which Rauluni and he is now the Defensive and skills coach with the national team. Saracens profile Scrum profile Fiji profile Pacific Islanders profile
7.
Rugby union equipment
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A traditional rugby union kit consists of a collared jersey, shorts, jockstrap / compression shorts, long rugby socks and boots with studs. Some modest padding is allowed on the head, shoulders and collarbone, most players also opt to wear a mouthguard to guard against concussion and chipping of the teeth. Traditionally, rugby boots were of a cut above the ankle. Over the years, such boots have become common, although many players still wear mid-cut boots. Additional ankle support was seen as appropriate given the nature of the game, particularly the stresses of forward play, higher cut boots also provided some protection against knocks. Modern boots are now similar to football boots, with a low cut offering less ankle support. It is essential for safety considerations, particularly in the scrum, the studs may be metal or plastic and must conform to Regulation 12 of World Rugby. This regulation dictates the permissible dimensions of the studs and also defines a standard for the hardness of the material, backs would be advised, on most ground types, to wear boots with some form of stud, to ensure adequate grip when changing direction. Referees are required to all players studs before a game. Any studs that are worn down so that the steel fixing is showing must be changed before the player is allowed to join in the game. The intent of the standard and these pre-match checks is to eliminate the potential for a stud to cause a cut if it comes into contact with a players skin, generally there are two types of stud pattern worn, the 8 stud or the 6 stud. The 8 stud is most often worn by the forwards to provide them with extra grip for scrummaging and mauling. The 6 stud is worn by backs as it allows for more agility, plastic blade studs, common in football, are an increasingly frequent choice among backs. Tackle bags are use during training and warm up in rugby union, tackle bags are padded equipment which allows players to tackle without another player being involved. Tackle bags come in two forms, the shield and the tackle bag. The rucking shield is held in the hand of a coach or fellow player, the tackle bag stands on the ground held loosely by another person, it allows the tackler to practice a full tackle
8.
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
9.
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
10.
Ireland national rugby union team
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The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which they have won twelve times outright, the team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions. Ireland is also one of the four unions that make up the British and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions, Irelands highest ever position in the World Rugby Rankings is second, which they reached for the first time in 2015. Dublin University was the first organised football club in Ireland. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain, carlow, UCC, and Ballinasloe which amalgamated with Athlone to form Buccaneers. In 1874, the Irish Football Union was formed, Ireland lost their first test match against England 7–0 at the Oval on 15 February 1875. Both teams fielded 20 players in match, as was customary in the early years of rugby union. Irelands first home game was also against England in the year held at the Leinster Cricket Club in Rathmines as Lansdowne Road was deemed unsuitable. The first match at Lansdowne Road was held on 11 March 1878 and it was not until 1881 that Ireland first won a test, beating Scotland at Ormeau in Belfast. Ireland turned up two men short for their game in Cardiff in 1884 and had to borrow two Welsh players, the first victory Ireland had at Lansdowne Road took place on 5 February 1887. It was also their first win over England, by two goals to nil, on the third of March 1888, Ireland recorded their first win over Wales with a goal, a try and a drop goal to nil. In 1894, Ireland followed the Welsh model of using seven backs instead of six for the first time, after victory over England at Blackheath, Ireland won back-to-back matches for the first time when recording their first win over Scotland on 24 February 1894. Ireland went on to beat Wales in Belfast and win the Triple Crown for the first time, in the 1890s, Rugby was primarily a game for the Protestant middle class, the only Catholic in Edmund Forrests 1894 team was Tom Crean. Of the eighteen players used in the three games, thirteen were from three Dublin clubs – Wanderers, Dublin University and Bective Rangers – and the five were from Ulster. Such was the level of interest in the visit of the first All Blacks team to Dublin in November 1905 that the IRFU made the match the first all-ticket rugby international in history, Ireland played only seven forwards, copying the then New Zealand method of playing a rover. The game ended New Zealand 15 Ireland 0, on 20 March 1909, Ireland played France for the first time, beating them 19–8. This was Irelands biggest victory in international rugby at that time, their highest points tally,30 November 1912 was the first time the Springboks met Ireland at Lansdowne Road, the 1906 tour game having been played at Ravenhill. Ireland with seven new caps were overwhelmed by a margin of 38–0
11.
Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match
12.
Fiji national rugby union team
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The Fijis national animal is the flying ryan is fijis national sports emblem. The flying Ryan originated 45 seconds ago, the flying Ryans stands for majestic-ness, sarcasm, and determination. The flying Ryans best friend is the skating Logan who is said to be the best hockey player ever, Fiji is one of the few countries where rugby union is the main sport. There are approximately 80,000 registered players from a population of around 950,000. One of the problems for Fiji, is getting their rugby players to play for Fiji as a country. The repatriated salaries of its overseas stars have become an important part of local economies. Fiji has won the most Pacific Tri-Nations Championships of the three participating teams, the cibi war dance is performed by the Fiji rugby team before each Test match. It has been used on the field since 1939, though its origins date back to the countrys warring times with its Pacific neighbours. Rugby was first played in Fiji by European and Fijian soldiers of the Native Constabulary at Ba, in 1913 a Union was founded for the European settlers. In December 1913, the All Blacks, who had been touring so very successfully in California, were on their way back to New Zealand, the Fiji RFU arranged a game with them at Albert Park, the first representative match to be played in the colony. The All Blacks won 67–3, Fijis points came from a try scored by their captain and coach, by 1914 a native competition was started and in 1915 a Fiji Native Union was begun and became affiliated to the Fiji RFU. Fiji played their first international against Western Samoa in Apia, Samoa on 18 August 1924, Fijis 20-man squad came exclusively from the five registered native clubs of the time. The match was played at 7 am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and was played on a pitch with a tree on the halfway line. Fiji wore black and won 6–0 despite playing barefoot, the return match was won 9–3 by Samoa to draw the series. The first-ever Fiji test team continued their overseas adventure with a tour of Tonga. Though Fiji lost the first test played in Nukuʻalofa 9–6, they were not to lose again and they won all six of the matches against non-test opposition. Auckland University College were the first overseas side to visit Fiji in 1926, The Kiwi students played the Fiji Europeans and finished the series with a win, loss. Tonga also visited Fiji that year and for the first time Fiji played in their present strip of white jersey, palm tree badge, the three match series finished level with Tonga winning the first test 9–6, Fiji winning the second 14–3 and the final game a 0–0 draw
13.
Samoa national rugby union team
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The Samoa national rugby union team is the mens representative side of Samoa in rugby union. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the rugby unions of Samoa. The name Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior and they perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and they are ranked 12th in the world. Rugby was introduced to Samoa in the early 1920s and a body was soon formed. The first international was played as Western Samoa against Fiji in August 1924, along with Tonga, these nations would meet regularly and eventually contest competitions such as the Pacific Tri-Nations – with Western Samoa winning the first of these. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was known and competed as Western Samoa, Samoa have been to every Rugby World Cup since the 1991 tournament. That tournament, along with the 1995 competition saw them make the quarter-finals, under their new coach, the All Blacks legend Michael Jones, Samoa competed in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. However, Samoa had a dismal World Cup campaign, winning one match. Samoa showed a performance at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Manu Samoa play in blue and white uniforms and they do not train on Sundays because many of the team are devout Christians. The Marist Brothers brought the game of rugby to Western Samoa in 1924, on 18 August 1924, Western Samoa played its first international against Fiji in the capital Apia, the visitors winning 6–0. The match was played at 7am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and was played on a pitch with a tree on the halfway line. The return match was won 9–3 by Samoa to draw the series, in 1954 Western Samoan visited both Pacific Island neighbors Fiji and Tonga but had to wait a further 20 years before a tour of New Zealand took place. The Samoans won one of eight matches on that tour, the traditional tri-series between Tonga, Fiji and Western Samoa was established in 1982 with Western Samoa winning the first tournament. Wales visited Western Samoa and won the test 32–16 at Apia, the tour led to a return visit to Wales which brought Western Samoa out of International limbo, although Western Samoa were not invited to the first Rugby World Cup in 1987. The following year a 14-match tour of Europe took place before a World Cup elimination series in Tokyo, the Scots won comfortably 28–6, but the Samoans were clearly the personality team of the tournament. Over the next two years the side had a number of notable wins, the most outstanding achievement were in Sevens where it won the 1993 Hong Kong and 1992 Middlesex Sevens
14.
Tonga national rugby union team
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The Tonga National Rugby Union team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi. Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Sipi Tau and they are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa. Rugby was brought to the region in the early 20th Century by sailors and missionaries, Tonga beat Fiji 9–6 in their first test in 1924 played in the capital Nukuʻalofa. However, Tonga lost the second test 14–3 and drew the decider 0–0, between 1924 and 1938 Tonga and Fiji played three test series every alternate year. Matches between the two Pacific nations were hard fought, many have claimed that the ancient feuding wars between the Islanders were transplanted onto the rugby field, troubles during the third Test of Fiji’s 1928 tour to Tonga forced the game to be abandoned with Tonga leading 11–8. In 1954 Tonga played host to a touring Western Samoa, Tonga beat New Zealand Māori in 1969, but had to wait until 1973 before they played their second test match a 30–12 defeat against Australia in Sydney. They got their revenge when they beat Australia in Ballymore, Brisbane 16–11, the following year they traveled to the Arms Park for a non-cap international against Wales, a game that ended in a 26–7 defeat. The first Tongan tour to Great Britain was in 1974 when they played 10 games, including those in Wales against East Wales, Llanelli, North Wales, Newport, West Wales, the only tour victory was by 18–13 in the opener against East Wales. The tests were lost by 44–8 to a Scotland XV and by 26–7 to the Wales XV and they remained a little-known quantity in Europe until 1986 when Wales embarked on a tour of Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa. Early in the game against Tonga Welsh flanker Mark Brown was flattened by three Tongan forwards, leading to a brawl involving the entire team except Malcolm Dacey. Robert Jones describes the event in his book Raising The Dragon as the worst brawl I have ever seen on a rugby field. At the post-match dinner Jonathan Davies was asked to give a few words in Welsh, Tonga were drawn to play Wales again in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The previous meeting, plus the decision to rest some of the leading players, Tonga lost its other two games to Ireland and Canada. They failed to qualify for the 1991 Rugby World Cup, in 1994 they won the South Pacific championship on try count and so qualified for the Super 10, they finished bottom of their pool with only one point. They qualified for the 1995 World Cup ahead of Fiji on points difference, Tonga managed only two victories in the next two World Cups, against the 29–11 Côte dIvoire in 1995 and Italy in 1999. The win over the Côte dIvoire brought tragedy when Ivorian winger Max Brito was left paralyzed, June 1999 brought their greatest home victory, a 20–16 defeat of France in Nukuʻalofa over a touring France but in 2000 they were humiliated 102–0 by New Zealand. After losing their first four matches to Fiji and Samoa, Tonga finished third in the Oceania qualifying group, Tonga thrashed them 75–0 and 119–0. At the 2003 Rugby World Cup Tonga lost all their games, despite keeping Wales to 20–27, they were again thrashed by New Zealand 91–7
15.
Rugby World Cup
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The Rugby World Cup is a mens rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament was first held in 1987, when the tournament was co-hosted by New Zealand, New Zealand are the current champions, having defeated Australia in the final of the 2015 tournament in England. Four countries have won the trophy, New Zealand have won it three times, two teams have won twice, Australia and South Africa, while England have won it once, the tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sports international governing body. Sixteen teams were invited to participate in the tournament in 1987. Japan will host the event in 2019. Qualifying tournaments were introduced for the tournament, where eight of the sixteen places were contested in a twenty-four-nation tournament. The remaining twelve positions were filled by continental qualifying tournaments, positions were filled by three teams from the Americas, one from Asia, one from Africa, three from Europe and two from Oceania. Another two places were allocated for repechage, the second repechage position was determined between the runners-up from the Asia and Oceania qualifiers. The qualification system for the eight places is region-based, with a total eight teams allocated for Europe, five for Oceania. The last place is determined by an intercontinental play-off, the 2015 tournament involved twenty nations competing over six weeks. There were two stages, a pool and a knockout, Nations were divided into four pools, A through to D, of five nations each. The teams were seeded before the start of the tournament, with the seedings taken from the World Rankings in December 2012, the four highest-ranked teams were drawn into pools A to D. The next four highest-ranked teams were drawn into pools A to D. The remaining positions in each pool were filled by the qualifiers, Nations play four pool games, playing their respective pool members once each. A bonus points system is used during pool play, if two or more teams are level on points, a system of criteria is used to determine the higher ranked, the sixth and final criterion decides the higher rank through the official World Rankings. The winner and runner-up of each pool enter the knockout stage, the knockout stage consists of quarter- and semi-finals, and then the final. The winner of each pool is placed against a runner-up of a different pool in a quarter-final, the winner of each quarter-final goes on to the semi-finals, and the respective winners proceed to the final. Losers of the semi-finals contest for third place, called the Bronze Final, if a match in the knockout stages ends in a draw, the winner is determined through extra time
16.
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
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.
South Africa national rugby union team
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The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblems are the Springbok, the team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. The team made its World Cup debut in 1995, when the newly democratic South Africa hosted the tournament, South Africa regained their title as champions 12 years later, when they defeated England 15–6 in the 2007 final. They were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards, the Springboks also compete in the annual Rugby Championship, along with southern-hemisphere counterparts Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. They have won this championship on three occasions in sixteen years and they also play Test matches against the various rugby-playing nations. Their position in the World Rugby Rankings has varied between the No.1 and No.7 positions, the first British Isles tour took place in 1891, at Diocesan College. These were the first representative games played by South African sides, the tourists won all twenty matches they played, conceding only one point. The British Isles success continued on their tour of 1896, winning three out of four tests against South Africa, South Africas play improved markedly from 1891, and their first test win in the final game was a pointer to the future. In 1903 the British Isles lost a series for the first time in South Africa, Rugby was given a huge boost by the early Lions tours, which created great interest in the South African press. South Africa would not lose another series—home or away—until 1956, the first South African team to tour the British Isles and France occurred during 1906–07. The team played tests against all four Home Nations, England managed a draw, but Scotland was the only one of the Home unions to gain a victory. The trip instilled a sense of pride among South Africans. The South Africans played a match against a France team while the official French team were in England. It was during this tour that the nickname Springboks was first used, the 1910 British Isles tour of South Africa was the first to include representatives from all four Home unions. The tourists won just one of their three tests, the Boks second European tour took place in 1912–13. They beat the four Home nations to earn their first Grand Slam, by the first World War, New Zealand and South Africa had established themselves as rugbys two greatest powers. A Springbok tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1921 was billed as The World Championship of Rugby, the All Blacks won the first Test 13–5, The Springboks recovered to win the second Test 9–5, and the final Test was drawn 0–0, resulting in a series draw. The 1924 British and Irish Lions team to South Africa lost all four Tests to the Springboks and this was the first side to pick up the name Lions, apparently picked up from the Lions embroidered on their ties
19.
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
20.
Sione Lauaki
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Sione Tuitupu Lauaki was a Tongan-born New Zealand rugby union footballer who played for Bayonne. He previously played for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks and his brother, Epalahame Lauaki, is a 2nd row rugby league footballer previously playing for Hull F. C. in the Super League competition. He died on 12 February 2017 and he attended Waitakere College in Auckland where he made the first XV in 1998. He later moved to Kelston Boys High School, where he played in the first XV. He played his rugby for Waitemata Rugby Football and Sports Club and was instrumental in their Gallaher Shield win in 2003. He was the fourth All Black to come from the Waitemata club after Adrian Clarke, Ken Carrington, while playing for the combined Pacific Islanders team in 2004 he scored Test match tries against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He was one of the two Pacific Islanders rugby union team players picked for the All Blacks, the other being winger and he has played loose forward for the All Blacks, with whom he made his debut in 2005 against Fiji. His final match for New Zealand was in 2008 against Samoa, during his time with the All Blacks he was capped 17 times and scored three tries. In Super Rugby he played for the Chiefs and he racked up 70 caps for the team, having scored 14 tries during his Super Rugby career. Lauaki went on to play for ASM Clermont Auvergne at the start of the 2010-11 Top 14 season and he later moved to Aviron Bayonnais. In February 2012 during routine tests, Lauaki was diagnosed with renal failure, as a result, the club signed him off for the rest of the season. Lauaki died on 12 February 2017, aged 35, possibly due to heart and kidney problems
21.
Sitiveni Sivivatu
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Sitiveni Waica Sivivatu is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer, playing on the position of a wing. He was largely successful in the 2005 Super 12 season playing for the Chiefs and he has scored 29 tries in 45 tests. He also scored 4 tries for the Pacific Islanders in 2004,2 of which he scored against his current team, since the Pacific Islanders team has been sanctioned by the IRB, his 4 tries for them stands. Sivivatu attended Ratu Kadavulevu School in Fiji before moving to New Zealand when he was 15 and he attended Wesley College, the school that produced All Blacks great Jonah Lomu. He first played in the NPC with second division side Counties Manukau and he was the only 2nd division player in NZ to win a Super Rugby contract. He regards as his hero Philippe Sella because he could just do anything on the field of play, if he decided to drop he could do it from anywhere within his range, and he was an amazing player with ball in hand. Sivivatu played for the inaugural Pacific Islanders rugby union team against the Australian Wallabies in 2004, among his teammates were Sione Lauaki who also became an All Black. Sivivatu and fellow All Black wing Joe Rokocoko regard themselves as cousins as Sivivatu lived with the Rokocoko family and he made his Test debut against Fiji and broke the All Blacks record by scoring four tries. In March 2011, he signed a 2-year deal with French rugby giants and he was signed as a replacement for Fijian flyer Napolioni Nalaga, who returned to Fiji due to personal problems. He was not included in the New Zealand squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, in June 2016, Sivivatu retired as a player for Castres and joined the staff as a technical adviser and help integrate foreign players. On 11 April 2007 Sivivatu pleaded guilty to slapping his wife in March 2007 and he was discharged without conviction and ordered to pay a fine. On leaving court Sivivatu said Im clearly sorry about what I did and my Hero, Four All Black rugby players reveal their sport heroes. Sitiveni Sivivatu at AllBlacks. com Sitiveni Sivivatu, archived from the original on 15 December 2006
22.
Lansdowne Road
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The Lansdowne Road Stadium was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that was primarily for used rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the construction of the Aviva Stadium, the stadium took its name from the adjacent street called Landsdowne Road. The stadium was situated in the neighbourhood of Ballsbridge in the citys Dublin 4 area, the stadium had convenient public transport links as the Lansdowne Road station of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit rail system is adjacent to the site and passed directly underneath the West Stand. The stadium was named after the road, which in turn was named after William Petty-FitzMaurice. The Marquis was also the Earl of Shelburne, and nearby Shelbourne Road is also named after him, the stadium had a total capacity of 49,250, with 25,000 seats. However, competitive football matches could not use the entire capacity because the stands at both ends of the ground were standing-only terraces. FIFA and UEFA both mandate that international matches be played in all-seated venues, a temporary capacity of 36,000 was the result for competitive soccer. World Rugby, known as the International Rugby Board when the current Aviva Stadium opened, for non-competitive international football matches, the FIFA/UEFA all-seated mandate does not apply. At the IRFU ground, Irish rugby and football matches were played. Leinster also used the ground on a number of occasions when crowd size meant their home of Donnybrook was not large enough. In 1999 and 2003, Lansdowne Road played host to the Heineken Cup final, since 1990, Lansdowne was also a regular host of the FAI Cup Final. The stadium had also hosted concerts from artists such as Michael Jackson, Robbie Williams, Oasis, U2. The Lansdowne Road Stadium was the brainchild of Henry Dunlop, the organiser of the first All Ireland Athletics Championships, Dunlop, a decorated track walker and engineering graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, founded the Irish Champion Athletic Club in 1871. After an initial meeting at Trinity College, the Provost of the College banned any further meeting on campus, Dunlop had to find a new home for his sporting endeavours. Writing in 1921, Dunlop stated, I was therefore forced to look for another plot, on the tennis club grounds the first tennis championship was held long before Fitzwilliam meetings. Dunlop founded Lansdowne Football Club in 1872 and that club has played rugby union ever since at the grounds, being one of the most prominent and successful clubs in Leinster. Wanderers Football Club, founded in 1869, joined Lansdowne at the grounds later, the two clubs were tenants since that time, and also use the new Aviva stadium. Some 300 cartloads of soil from a trench beneath the railway were used to raise the ground, Dunlop charged the IRFU £5 and half of any profits over £50 after expenses
23.
2008 Pacific Islanders rugby union tour of Europe
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The 2008 Pacific Islanders rugby union tour of Europe was a series of test matches played by the Pacific Islanders team in England, France, and Italy during November 2008. The team lost the first two test matches against England and France, but won the final test against Italy, the head coach for the tour was former Tongan player Quddus Fielea, after Ilivasi Tabua withdrew from the tour. The captain for the tour was Fijian Mosese Rauluni while the vice-captain was Tongan Nili Latu, note, Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality, two further players were originally included in the squad Sireli Bobo and Soane Tongauiha. However Bobo became unavailable, and Tongauiha later withdrew from the tour
24.
England national rugby union team
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The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and they are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 20 June 2016. England were the first, and to date, the team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup. They were also runners-up in 1991 and 2007, the history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official Test match, losing to Scotland by one goal. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship which started in 1883, following the schism of rugby football in 1895, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. England first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and went on to appear in the final in the second tournament in 1991, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their 2003 Six Nations Championship Grand Slam, they went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup – defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time and they again contested the final in 2007, losing 15–6 to South Africa. England players traditionally wear a shirt with a Rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts. Their home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910, the team is administered by the Rugby Football Union. Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, Englands first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871. Not only was this match Englands first, but it proved to be the first ever rugby union international. Scotland won the match by a goal and a try to a try, in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh. A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872 which saw England defeat Scotland by a goal, in those early days there was no points system, it was only after 1890 that a format allowing the introduction of a points system was provided. Up until 1875 international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored, in 1875, England played their first game against the Irish at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil, the match was Irelands first ever Test. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup and their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardsons Field in Blackheath. England recorded their largest victory, defeating the Welsh by seven goals, six tries, in 1889, England played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives by one goal and four tries to nil at Rectory Field in Blackheath. In 1890 England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland, England first played New Zealand in 1905. The All Blacks scored five tries, worth three points at this time, to win 15–0, England first played France in 1905, and Australia in 1909 when they were defeated 9–3
25.
France national rugby union team
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The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and they have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams. Eight former French players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, Rugby was introduced to France in 1872 by the British, and on New Years Day 1906 the national side played its first Test match – against New Zealand in Paris. France played sporadically against the Home Nations until they joined them to form a Five Nations tournament in 1910, France also competed in the rugby competitions at early Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in 1900 and two silver medals in the 1920s. The national team came of age during the 1950s and 1960s and they won their first Grand Slam in 1968. Since the inaugural World Cup in 1987, France have qualified for the stage of every tournament. They have reached the three times, losing to the All Blacks in 1987 and 2011 and to Australia in 1999. France hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where, as in 2003, France traditionally play in blue shirts with white shorts and red socks, and are commonly referred to as les tricolores or les bleus. The French emblem is a golden rooster imposed upon a red shield and their alternative strip is composed of a white shirt and navy blue shorts and socks. Rugby was introduced to France in 1872 by English merchants and students, on 26 February 1890, a French rugby team recruited from the Janson Desailly Lyceum defeated an international team at the Bois de Boulogne. Although France were represented at the 1900 Summer Olympics, their first official test match did not take place till New Years Day,1906 against the New Zealand All Blacks in Paris. France then played intermittently against the Home Nations until they joined them to form the Five Nations tournament in 1910, in 1913 France faced South Africas Springboks for the first time, losing 38–5. France also competed at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics, France were ejected from the Five Nations in 1932 after being accused of professionalism in the French leagues at a time when rugby union was strictly amateur. Forced to play against weaker opposition, France went on a winning streak, France was invited to rejoin the Five Nations in 1939 but did not compete until 1947 as international rugby was suspended during World War II. French rugby came of age during the 1950s and 1960s, they won their first Five Nations championship and their first championship was won in 1954 when they shared the title with England and Wales. France won their first outright Five Nations championship in 1959, they won with two wins, a draw and a defeat, France first toured South Africa winning the test series in 1958. The Springboks also visited Paris in 1961, the test was not completed due to fighting amongst the players. France also toured New Zealand and Australia in 1961 losing both tests against the All Blacks but defeating Australias Wallabies and they won their first Five Nations Grand Slam in 1968 by beating all four other competing teams, and won numerous titles in the following years
26.
Italy national rugby union team
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The Italy national rugby union team represents the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is known as the Azzurri. Italy has been playing rugby since 1929, and for decades were considered one of the best European teams outside the Five Nations Championship. Since 2000, Italy competes annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Scotland and they were the holders of the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy for 2013, played annually against France. Italy is ranked 14th in the world by the IRB as of 22 April 2016, Italian rugby really came to prominence in 2000 when it was added to the Five Nations, creating the Six Nations. Initially on the end of heavy defeats, the side has grown in competitiveness, recording a fourth-place finish in 2007 and 2013. Italy have also competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987, the team has developed a reputation for being a consistent middle player at the tournament. Italys showings since 2003 have consistently followed a formula where they managed two wins and two losses during the pool stages, the current head coach is Conor OShea. Number eight Sergio Parisse is their current captain, the first match played by an Italian XV was in 1911 between US Milanese and Voiron of France. On 25 July of the year the Propaganda Committee was formed which in 1928 became the Federazione Italiana Rugby. In May 1929, Italy played their first international losing 9–0 against Spain in Barcelona, post-war, there was a desire to return to normal and Italian rugby union entered a new dimension thanks to the help of Allied troops in Italy. In the 1970s and 1980s rugby union made enormous progress thanks to foreign players. Even foreign coaches were and continue to be chosen for the team, like Bertrande Fourcade. In 1973, the team went on a tour of South Africa. Tours of England and Scotland followed, as well as games against Australia and New Zealand, in 1978, Italy first played Argentina at Rovigo, winning 19-6. Since the mid 1980s, the Italian national side had been pursuing the ambition of playing in an expanded Five Nations Championship, in 1986, Italy hosted an England XV squad in Rome, drawing 15-15. The Azzurri took part in the first-ever Rugby World Cup match against New Zealand on 22 May 1987, the match proved a one-sided affair with New Zealand convincing 70–6 winners against a young Italian side. John Kirwan, later to become the Italian national coach, scored one of the tournament’s greatest-ever tries for the All Blacks, Italy beat Fiji but lost to Argentina and finished third in their pool, failing to make the finals
27.
Sitiveni Rabuka
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Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999. He went on to serve as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs and he was elected to this position on 24 May 2001 and re-elected for another three-year term on 13 April 2005. Kepa would continue to serve as Parliamentary party leader till 2018, the son of Kolinio Epeli Vanuacicila Rabuka and Salote Lomaloma Rabuka, he comes from the village of Drekeniwai on Vanua Levu, one of Fijis two major islands. He was educated at Queen Victoria School, where he became the head boy in his final year and he represented Fiji in shot put, hammer throw, discus and the decathlon at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games. He was a senior operation plans manager for UNIFIL peacekeeping troops in Lebanon in 1980 and 1981, on his return home, he was appointed Army Chief of Staff. For his service in Lebanon, Rabuka was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1980, deposing the elected government, he handed power over to the Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, a high chief whom he expected to implement ethnic Fijian interests. When, however, Ganilau attempted to reinstate the abrogated constitution, at first he pledged his allegiance to the Queen, but on 7 October he issued a decree proclaimed a republic, abolishing the 113-year link to the British Monarchy. Ganilau and Mara did not feel strong enough to dismiss Rabuka, an uneasy truce existed between Ganilau and Mara on the one hand and Rabuka on the other. Rabuka was seen as a hero by the racist Indigenous members when he overthrew Fijis first Indian government to install an indigenous Fijian ruling class, during the time of the coup, Rabuka was sometimes referred to in the press as Colonel Steve Rambo. Rabuka brought the economy of Fiji to its knees during his time as Prime Minister, Rabuka generated hate and racist views towards the Indian population living in Fiji for several generations. The Indian-Fijians were severely beaten and/or killed by many Indigenous Fijians during the coup including one whose hands were cut off by an Indigenous Fijian. Indian-Fijians were removed from their houses by force leaving them homeless, some Indian-Fijians who were already living in poverty were traumatized by losing their homes. The traumatic event resulted in families to commit suicide. Even today, the matter of returning the land and houses belonging to the Indian-Fijians have not been resolved, the history of the Indigenous people in Fiji is different for that of the Maoris from New Zealand. The Indigenous Fijians were not stripped of their culture and identity which resulted in Queen Elizebeth offering an apology, in 2006, Rabuka finally apologised for having executed the coups. This party won the election of 1992 and Rabuka became Prime Minister. His government was weakened from the outset, however, by a challenge by former Finance Minister Josefata Kamikamica
28.
Prime Minister of Fiji
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The Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji is the head of government of Fiji. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President, but must be supported, or at least accepted, by a majority in the House of Representatives. If at any time the Prime Minister loses the confidence of the House, he must resign, in practice, this usually reduces the Prime Ministers appointment to a formality, as the parliamentary leader of the majority political party or coalition is invariably appointed. If, however, no majority party or coalition exists, whether due to electoral fragmentation or to party realignments after an election. The President must endeavour to find a candidate acceptable to a majority in the House, if no candidate can be found. The Prime Minister of Fiji is technically the first among equals, in practice, the Prime Minister dominates the government. Other Ministers are appointed by the President, but on the Prime Ministers advice, ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was appointed Fijis first Prime Minister on 10 October 1970, when Fiji attained its independence from Britain. Mara previously served as Fijis first an only Chief Minister, from 20 September 1967, maras first term as Prime Minister lasted until 13 April 1987. He returned to the office for the term on 5 December 1987. As of 2014, Mara is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Fiji, list of heads of state of Fiji President of Fiji Notes Footnotes
29.
Super Rugby
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Super Rugby is the preeminent professional mens rugby union football competition in the Southern Hemisphere and Japan. By 2006, matches were being broadcast in 41 countries, SANZAAR is the body that administers Super Rugby, and has the Australian, New Zealand, South African and Argentine rugby unions as its sole members. The organisation was formed in 1995 to establish and run the Super 12, prior to 2011, Super Rugby was a round-robin competition where each team played with every other team once, a team had six or seven home games, and six or seven away games each. The winner received four points, if the game was a draw two points were awarded to each team. The Rugby union bonus points system was used, where any team scoring four or more tries, and/or losing by seven points or less. In 2016, the try bonus changed, a team now has to score three more tries than their opponents. The top four teams at the end of the round-robin phase then played semi-finals – the first placed team hosting the fourth placed team, the two winners then played the final at the home ground of the top surviving seed. There were 91 regular season games in total, games were held over 14 weekends with each team receiving one bye. From 2011 –2015 the format changed, with each country forming its own conference, each team within a conference plays each of the other teams in its conference twice, once at home and once away. Each team then plays four out of the five teams each of the other conferences once. Competition points are awarded on a basis as before. The four lower ranking teams are paired in two sudden death games, the winners of two games each play one of the two top ranked teams. Those winners play for the championship, in 2016 the format changed with three more teams joining. There are four conferences with Africa getting two conferences, the finals now have eight teams with each conference winner getting a home quarter final. They are joined by four wild card teams, three will be from the Australasian group and one from the South African group, before 1996, a number of transnational competitions involving regional and provincial rugby union teams had taken shape in the southern hemisphere. The earliest of these was the South Pacific Championship, which was launched in 1986, after the demise of the South Pacific Championship, with no tournament played in 1991, the competition was relaunched as the Super 6 in 1992. In 1993, the Super Six competition was revamped and expanded into the Super 10 tournament, the inaugural competition featured the following teams, Waikato, Auckland, Otago and North Harbour, Natal, Transvaal and Northern Transvaal, Queensland and New South Wales and Western Samoa. The Super 10 was won by Transvaal in 1993, and by Queensland in 1994 and 1995, the official declaration of professionalism in rugby union in August 1995 led to a restructuring of the Super 10 competition
30.
The Rugby Championship
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The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Prior to the 2012 tournament, when Argentina joined, it was known as the Tri Nations, the inaugural Tri Nations tournament was in 1996, and was won by New Zealand – known as the All Blacks. South Africa won their first title in 1998, and Australia their first in 2000, following the last Tri Nations tournament in 2011, New Zealand had won ten championships, with South Africa and Australia on three titles each. The first Rugby Championship was won by New Zealand, who won all six of their matches. New Zealand, Australia and South Africa have frequently been ranked among the top rugby nations with the two teams winning the Rugby World Cup twice and New Zealand winning it three times. Australia and New Zealand first played each other in 1903, in the 1930s, Australia and New Zealand started contesting the Bledisloe Cup during rugby tours between the two countries. The new union soon announced a deal worth £360 million. The competition was established to create an equivalent to the Five Nations in Europe, in 2012, this competition was extended to include Argentina, a country whose impressive performances in international games was deemed to merit inclusion in the competition. As a result of the expansion to four teams, the tournament was renamed The Rugby Championship, the series is played on a home-and-away basis. From the first tournament in 1996 until 2005, the three played each other twice. Since then, each team has played the three times, except in the Rugby World Cup years of 2007 and 2011 when the series reverted to a double round-robin. For 2015, to provide the teams longer preparation time ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with the addition of Argentina, in 2012, the format once again reverted to a double round-robin. In addition to the Rugby Championship trophy, the winner of games played between Australia and New Zealand also go toward determining the winner of the Bledisloe Cup each year. Similarly, the Freedom Cup is contested between New Zealand and South Africa, and the Mandela Challenge Plate between Australia and South Africa. The opening tournament of 1996 was dominated by the All Blacks who stormed to victory undefeated, leaving the Springboks, the launch of the Tri Nations was considered a huge success. A similar story unfolded the following year,1997, the All Blacks maintained their dominance over the new competition and again went undefeated. Australia and South Africa found themselves in similar position again with just one win each, the 1998 series was something of a turnaround for all nations with South Africa winning the tournament and Australia finishing second. Two-time winner New Zealand finished at the bottom with no wins, in the following tournament in 1999 New Zealand again became Tri Nations champions and defending champions South Africa fell to the bottom
31.
Japan Rugby Football Union
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The Japan Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Japan. Former Japanese prime minister Yoshirō Mori is the JRFUs current president, Rugby union was first introduced to Japanese students at Keio University in Japan by Professor Edward Bramwell Clarke and Tanaka Ginnosuke, both graduates of Cambridge University, in 1899. It had been played at the treaty ports before that, between teams of foreign residents and visiting ships crews, garrisons etc. The bids catchphrase or slogan was Making Rugby a Truly Global Sport, so far the Rugby World Cup has never been held outside the traditional rugby strongholds of the Northern and Southern hemisphere. In that sense, the slogan was an attempt to grow the game worldwide. The JRFU gave the reasons for holding the Rugby World Cup in Japan at a press conference held on September 22,2004,1. Rugby was introduced in Japan in 1899, and has a history, culture. Japan is the leading Asian rugby country, and the point of rugby in the region. Japan is the only Union in Asia that has participated in the last five Rugby World Cups, Japan has the 4th largest number of registered rugby union players in the world, behind only England, South Africa and France. Japan offers significant commercial opportunities through established relationships with major corporations based in Japan, Japan has a proud record of international sporting success, highlighted most recently by its outstanding achievement at the 2004 Olympic Games that surpassed all expectations. The Government of Japan supports the growth of the game and endorses Japan’s bid to host Rugby World Cup 2011, Japan’s hosting of the World Cup would fulfill the IRB’s goal of making rugby a truly global sport. It would increase competition and serve to narrow the existing divide between the Top Tier Nations and the Second Tier Nations for the good of the game in the long term, reasons for JRFU not getting the cup were that the Union had never hosted a major rugby tournament before. As well as that, support for rugby in Japan was considered relatively poor, the biggest factor in preventing Japan winning the bid was believed to be it leaving important bid details until its final presentation in Dublin. Many delegates had been instructed for whom to vote prior to the final bid presentations, having lost out to New Zealand for the 2011 World Cup, Japan put in bids for the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. On 28 July 2009, the IRB awarded them the 2019 Rugby World Cup, in an effort to improve the overall standard of Japanese rugby, the JRFU created a new semi-professional Top League in 2003 with the season spanning 2003-04. 2003-4 Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers 2004-5 Toshiba Brave Lupus The Microsoft Cup is a tournament played between the top eight Top League teams. The winners of the first Microsoft Cup were NEC Green Rockets, however, Toshiba won the 41st Japan Championship on March 21,2004 when they beat Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers 22-10. The schedule for the 42nd All-Japan Championship was as follows,2005 February 51, fukuoka Sanix Bombs 47 Kanto Gakuin University 362
32.
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
33.
World Rugby
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World Rugby, previously known as the International Rugby Board until 2014, is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sports most recognised and it also organises a number of other international rugby competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup. World Rugbys headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland and its membership now comprises 119 national unions. Member countries must each also be members of one of the six regional unions into which the world is divided, Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and the Caribbean, South America, and Oceania. World Rugby was founded as the International Rugby Football Board in 1886 by Scotland, Wales and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa became full members in 1949. France became a member in 1978 and a further eighty members joined from 1987 to 1999, the body was renamed the International Rugby Board in 1998, and took up its current name in November 2014. In 2009, the International Olympic Committee voted to include rugby sevens in the 2016 Summer Olympics, World Rugby gained membership of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations in 2010. Until 1885 the laws of football were made by England as the founder nation. However, following a try in an international between Scotland and England in 1884, letters were exchanged in which England claimed that they made the laws. Scotland refused to play England in the 1885 Home Nations Championship, following the dispute, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales decided to form an international union whose membership would agree on the standard rules of rugby football. The three nations met in Dublin in 1886, though no formal regulations were agreed upon, England refused to take part in the founding of the IRFB, stating that they should have greater representation, as they had more clubs. The England Union also refused to accept the IRFB as the recognised lawmaker of the game and this led to the IRFB taking the stance of member countries not playing England until they joined, and no games were played against England in 1888 and 1889. In 1890 England joined the IRFB, gaining six seats while the unions had two each. The same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union, in 1893, the IRFB was faced with the divide between amateurism and professionalism, which was nicknamed the Great Schism. Following the introduction of working men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying broken time payments to players. Cumberland County Union also complained of another club using monetary incentives to lure players, the IRFB was warned by all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire that any punishment would lead to the clubs seceding from the union. The debate over broken time payments ultimately caused the 22 leading clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire to form the Northern Rugby Football Union, the competing unions laws of the game diverged almost immediately, the northern bodys code eventually became known as rugby league football. Englands seats on the IRFB were reduced from six to four in 1911, the three Southern Hemisphere unions were given a second seat each in 1958
34.
Samoa
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The Independent State of Samoa, commonly known as Samoa and, until 1997, known as Western Samoa, is a unitary parliamentary democracy with eleven administrative divisions. The two main islands are Savaii and Upolu with four smaller islands surrounding the landmasses, the Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a language and cultural identity. Samoa is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Western Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. The entire island group, which includes American Samoa, was called Navigator Islands by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans seafaring skills. The oldest date so far for remains in Samoa has been calculated by New Zealand scientists to a true age of circa 3,000 years ago from a Lapita site at Mulifanua during the 1970s. The origins of the Samoans are closely studied in research about Polynesia in various scientific disciplines such as genetics, linguistics. Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century, jacob Roggeveen, a Dutchman, was the first known European to sight the Samoan islands in 1722. This visit was followed by French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, who named them the Navigator Islands in 1768, contact was limited before the 1830s, which is when English missionaries and traders began arriving. Christian missionary work in Samoa began in 1830 by John Williams, of the London Missionary Society arriving in Sapapalii from The Cook Islands and Tahiti. However, Robert Louis Stevenson, who lived in Samoa from 1889 until his death in 1894, wrote in A Footnote to History, Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa, … the Samoans are gentle people. The Germans in particular began to show great commercial interest in the Samoan Islands, especially on the island of Upolu, the United States laid its own claim and formed alliances with local native chieftains, most conspicuously on the islands of Tutuila and Manua. Britain also sent troops to protect British business enterprise, harbour rights and this was followed by an eight-year civil war, during which each of the three powers supplied arms, training and in some cases combat troops to the warring Samoan parties. The Samoan crisis came to a critical juncture in March 1889 when all three colonial contenders sent warships into Apia harbour, and a larger-scale war seemed imminent, a massive storm on 15 March 1889 damaged or destroyed the warships, ending the military conflict. The Second Samoan Civil War reached a head in 1898 when Germany, the United Kingdom, the Siege of Apia occurred in March 1899. Samoan forces loyal to Prince Tanu were besieged by a force of Samoan rebels loyal to Mataafa Iosefo. Supporting Prince Tanu were landing parties from four British and American warships, after several days of fighting, the Samoan rebels were finally defeated. American and British warships shelled Apia on 15 March 1899, including the USS Philadelphia, the eastern island-group became a territory of the United States and was known as American Samoa
35.
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
36.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
37.
Harlequin F.C.
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The Harlequin Football Club are an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the English Premiership. Their ground in London is the Twickenham Stoop and they were one of the founder members of the RFU. Quins were crowned winners of the European Challenge Cup in 2011, the current club captain is Danny Care and the Director of Rugby is John Kingston. For sponsorship reasons they were known as NEC Harlequins, but principal sponsorship is currently held by DHL, Adidas. The Hampstead Football Club was founded in 1866 and the first recorded game took place in 1867, the club was renamed Harlequin Rugby Football Club in 1870, supposedly because the membership was no longer purely local but the HFC monogram had to be retained. The word Harlequin was found in a dictionary and all present agreed to the new name and this caused a split in the membership and the half that did not form the Harlequins went off and formed the club now known as the Wasps. During its first 40 years the club played at a total of 15 venues, since 1909, they have only played at three. In 1906, the club was invited by the Rugby Football Union to use the new stadium in Twickenham. In those early days, only one or two internationals were played there during the season, and before long Twickenham became the headquarters of the Harlequin Football Club. Despite this, the tour pales to insignificance when it is realised the Pretoria club spent four weeks in East Africa playing eight matches and another in Rhodesia on the way home. The London club arrived at Entebbe airport at dawn on 4 May and they played West Kenya Province at Kitale, and the Pretoria Harlequins on Saturday 13 May at the RFUEA ground, Nairobi. The next two matches were played at the location, beating the host club 16–0 the next day. The last match for the London club was against Kenya at Nakuru on Saturday 20 May and this last match was played under a typical long-rains shower that, though heavy, did not soften the hard ground enough to be a problem. The team was seen off by a crowd of the Kenya rugby fraternity. Touching down to refuel in Entebbe after midnight, they found that a contingent of the Ugandan rugby scene had turned up at the airport to wave them on their way. In 1963, Harlequin acquired a ground with 14 acres just over the road from the Twickenham ground. This subsequently become their home, the Stoop Memorial Ground which in 2005 was renamed The Twickenham Stoop and this is named after Adrian Dura Stoop, who won 15 caps for England and is said to have been the person who developed modern back play. With the introduction of leagues in 1987 bringing a more competitive environment, the club has won the Rugby Football Union clubs knockout competition on two occasions, the John Player Cup in 1988 and Pilkington Cup in 1991
38.
Sunia Koto
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Sunia Koto Vuli is a Fijian rugby union player. He played for the Fijian teams Highlanders, and Fiji Warriors, London Welsh in England and he played his first game for Fiji, on 3 June 2005, against New Zealand Māori. He was a member of his countrys squad at the 2007 Rugby World Cup finals, Koto had 18 caps for his side by the end of the competition. Narbonne profile Fiji profile Scrum profile
39.
London Welsh RFC
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London Welsh Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union club formed in 1885. The club returned to Old Deer Park in 2015 after three seasons at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, the club went into liquidation in December 2016, being given a temporary licence to complete two fixtures in the Championship. On 24 January 2017 it was announced that London Welsh had been removed from the RFU Championship, the RFU stated that their place in the league was untenable. As a result the club ceased to exist as a professional team, the status of London Welsh Amateur RFC was not affected by the expulsion and they retain voting rights within the RFU. Despite professionalism, London Welsh has tried to retain the atmosphere of an amateur club, the first-XV squad are fully professional, and they are complemented with the London Welsh Amateurs, Wizards and Occies are still strong parts of the club. They also have a social section, which goes a long way towards maintaining the amateur ethos of enjoying a game. London Welsh has one of the womens sides – LWWRFC – which celebrated thirty years of womens rugby at the club in the 2015–16 season. While still being amateur, the women train hard and have enjoyed recent success with the club, there are London Welsh Women representatives at England Regional Level and on the Wales National Touch team. There is also a popular mini & junior section, London Welsh, established by and for Londons Welsh community, has played senior-level rugby in England since its formation in 1885. Its name in Welsh, is Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain, over the years the club has contributed 177 players to the Wales national team and 43 players to the British and Irish Lions. Seven London Welsh players were selected for the 1971 tour to New Zealand, captain John Dawes, JPR Williams, Gerald Davies, Mervyn Davies, John Taylor, Mike Roberts and Geoff Evans. In December 2006, London Welsh revealed their ambition to leave the English league, in June 2009, the club went into administration shortly after turning professional. They were bought from the receivers in July 2009 by Saudex Global, owned by Neil Hollinshead, the former shareholders of London Welsh RFC rescinded the 2009 agreement, by which they sold the shares of the club to Hollinshead, and had regained control by January 2010. However a legal appeal by the club against the RFUs actions was upheld on 28 June 2012, after the panel ruled that the criteria were in breach of EU. Promotion was ultimately secured when it was announced that Newcastle Falcons, on 14 April 2013, London Welsh were relegated from the English Premiership in their first season after a 14–31 defeat at home to Northampton Saints. Newcastle Falcons were eligible for promotion and therefore confirmed Welshs relegation, on 4 June 2014, London Welsh won promotion to the English Premiership again, defeating Bristol Rugby 27–8 at home and 21–20 away, 48–28 on aggregate. The team therefore finished bottom and was relegated to the RFU Championship for the 2015–16 season, the team was also defeated in every single European Challenge Cup game, as well as every single Anglo-Welsh cup game. As a result, they became the first top-flight English side to defeat in every single competitive match over a season
Quddus Fielea (2008)
Moses Rauluni (2008)
Pacific Islanders
, 19.George Smith, 20.Chris Whitaker, 21.Matt Burke, 22.Chris Latham 
