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2012 Six Nations Championship
The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Including the competition's previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 118th tournament of the annual European championship. For the first time since 2008, there were no Friday night fixtures. Whilst Italy continued to play their home matches in Rome, they used the Stadio Olimpico instead of the Stadio Flaminio, which Italy had used for their home Championship fixtures since entering the competition in 2000. The Championship was won by Wales, who achieved their third Grand Slam in eight tournaments. Participants The teams involved were: Squads Table Results Round 1 * Nicolas Mas and Thierry Dusau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leigh Halfpenny
Stephen Leigh Halfpenny (born 22 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback (rugby union), fullback or wing (rugby union), wing for the Scarlets, Wales national rugby union team, Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Halfpenny is the List of leading rugby union test point scorers, third highest points scorer for Wales after Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones (rugby player), Stephen Jones. Early life Halfpenny is from Gorseinon, in Swansea. He attended Pontybrenin Primary School and Penyrheol Comprehensive School. Early career A Wing (rugby union), winger or Fullback (rugby union), fullback, Halfpenny was signed as a youth by the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys and played the 2005–06 season with the Ospreys U18s. Halfpenny then trained with Neath RFC during the 2006–07 season, before signing for the Cardiff Blues and spending the whole 2007–08 season playing for feeder club Cardiff RFC, before making his Introduction of regional rugby union teams in W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays home matches at the stadium. It is the world‘s largest rugby union stadium, the second largest in the United Kingdom, behind Wembley Stadium, and the fourth largest in Europe. The Middlesex Sevens, Premiership Rugby fixtures, Anglo-Welsh Cup matches, the Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities and European Rugby Champions Cup games have been played at Twickenham Stadium. It has also been used as the venue for rugby league Challenge Cup finals and American football, as part of the NFL London Games in 2016 and 2017. Twickenham Stadium has hosted concerts by Rihanna, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Genesis, U2, Beyoncé, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Eagles, R.E.M., Eminem, Lady Gaga, and Metallica. Overview T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul O'Connell
Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is an Irish former rugby union player and coach. When he stopped playing, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union history. During his career, O'Connell captained Munster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. He is now the forwards coach for the Ireland national men's team. Early life O'Connell was born in Limerick, Ireland to Mick and Sheila O'Connell. He attended the Model School and Ardscoil Rís, Limerick where he initially excelled at swimming and only started playing rugby at the age of 16, playing for the school in the Munster Schools Senior Cup and representing Irish Schools in 1997–98 along with international teammate Gordon D'Arcy. He also played five consecutive games with the Ireland U21s with Donncha O'Callaghan as his second row partner. O'Connell completed 3 out of 4 years of a Computer Engineering degree at the University of Limerick, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rory Best
Rory David Best (born 15 August 1982) is an Irish former rugby union player from Northern Ireland and was the captain of the Ireland national team from 2016 to 2019. He played hooker for Ulster and was registered for Banbridge RFC, having previously represented the Newcastle Agrics. Best earned 124 caps for Ireland, making his debut in 2005 and retiring at the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, his fourth World Cup. Best is one of the most capped rugby players of all time, as well as the most-capped forward to ever represent Ireland. Best toured with the British & Irish Lions side in 2013 and 2017. Early life Best was raised in Poyntzpass, County Armagh. His mother is English, from Middlesbrough, Yorkshire. He was educated at Tandragee Junior High School and Portadown College. He then studied agriculture at The University of Newcastle. Club career Best returned home to join Belfast Harlequins in 2002 where he captained the team and gained his first Ulster contract in 2004 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Declan Kidney
Declan Kidney (born 20 October 1959) is an Irish rugby union coach. He was the head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team from 2008 to 2013, where he won the 2009 Six Nations with a Grand Slam, winning the 2009 IRB Coach of the Year award. He was also the head coach at Munster, leading them to four Heineken Cup finals, winning twice in 2006 and 2008. He is currently Director of Rugby at London Irish. Early life Kidney was born in Bishopstown, County Cork. He played rugby for UCC and later for Dolphin RFC. He studied to become an accounting and mathematics teacher, in which position he was appointed at Presentation Brothers College, Cork, and later became the career guidance officer. He took on the role of rugby coach at the school, where he had initial success as coach of the junior and later senior side. Coaching career Youth and professional Following his coaching of the Irish Schools team, Kidney coached the Ireland under 19s team which won the FIRA World Cup in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census it had a population of 1,173,179, while the preliminary results of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census recorded that County Dublin as a whole had a population of 1,450,701, and that the population of the Greater Dublin Area was over 2 million, or roughly 40% of the Republic of Ireland's total population. A settlement was established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century, followed by the Vikings. As the Kings of Dublin, Kingdom of Dublin grew, it became Ireland's principal settlement by the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and replaced it as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland football team. The decision to redevelop the stadium came after plans for both Stadium Ireland and Eircom Park fell through. Aviva Group Ireland signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights in 2009. The stadium, located beside Lansdowne Road railway station, officially opened on 14 May 2010. The stadium is Ireland's first, and only, UEFA stadium categories, UEFA Category 4 Stadium and in 2011, it hosted the 2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Europa League final. It also hosted the inaugural 2011 Nations Cup, Nations Cup, as well as the regular home fixtures of the national rugby team, national football team and some home fixtures for Leinster Rugby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thierry Dusautoir
Thierry Dusautoir (; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed incredibly powerful and effective tackling. He broke the record for most tackles in a match, making 38 tackles against the All Blacks in the 2007 World Cup. He was considered one of, if not the best tackler in the world. He first played for Bordeaux-Bègles before moving to US Colomiers for one season, and then signed with Biarritz. He played in the final of the 2005-06 Heineken Cup at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which Biarritz lost to Irish team Munster 23–19. Despite losing the Heineken Cup, Biarritz did manage to win the final of the 2005-06 Top 14 40–13 against Toulouse. He was however part of the side that won the 2010 Heineken Cup Final. Dusautoir was the World Rugby Player of the Year in 2011, the second French player to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippe Saint-André
Philippe Georges Saint-André (; born 19 April 1967) is a former French rugby union footballer and currently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wing but he could also play at centre. After retiring, Saint-André has found success as a rugby coach in both England and France. He was serving as director of rugby at Toulon before being announced as the successful candidate for head coach of France from 2011 to 2015. He formally took charge of the national team on 1 December 2011, and left his post on 17 October 2015 following a 13–62 loss to New Zealand. Playing career Club Nicknamed ''Le Goret'' ("the piglet") for his shuffling style of running, Saint-André began his rugby career at US Romanaise before joining AS Montferrand in 1988. He played with the club until 1997, and while with the club Montferrand appeared in the 1993–9 French Championship final against Toulouse, with Toulouse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, gastronomy, and science. For its leading role in the arts and sciences, as well as its very early system of street lighting, in the 19th century it became known as "the City of Light". Like London, prior to the Second World War, it was also sometimes called the capital of the world. The City of Paris is the centre of the Île-de-France region, or Paris Region, with an estimated population of 12,262,544 in 2019, or about 19% of the population of France, making the region France's primate city. The Paris Region had a GDP of €739 billion ($743 billion) in 2019, which is the highest in Europe. According to the Economist Intelli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis (, ) is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis had a population of 112,091 as of 2018. It is a subprefecture (french: sous-préfecture) of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, being the seat of the arrondissement of Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis is home to the royal necropolis of the Basilica of Saint-Denis and was also the location of the associated abbey. It is also home to France's national football and rugby stadium, the Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Saint-Denis is a formerly industrial suburb currently changing its economic base. Inhabitants of Saint-Denis are called ''Dionysiens''. Name Until the 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a small settlement called ''Catolacus'' or ''Catulliacum'', probably meaning "estate of Catullius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. About 250 AD, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Denis, was martyred on Montmartre hill and buried in ''Catolacus''. Shortly aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stade De France
The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national football team and France rugby union team for international competition. It is the largest in Europe for track and field events, seating 78,338 in that configuration. Despite that, the stadium's running track is mostly hidden under the football pitch. Originally built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the stadium's name was recommended by Michel Platini, head of the organising committee. On 12 July 1998, France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final contested at the stadium. It will host the athletics events at the 2024 Summer Olympics. It will also host matches for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was announced that the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final would be moved from the Gazprom Arena ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
