Andy Ellis (rugby Union)
Andrew Ellis (born 21 February 1984) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays the position of scrum-half for Rugby New York in Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for the Kobelco Steelers in Japan, the Crusaders in Super Rugby and Canterbury in provincial rugby. Career In 2005 Ellis played in the New Zealand under-21 side. His Super 14 rookie year saw him oust All Black Kevin Senio from the Crusaders starting line-up. Ellis missed the 2006 Super 14 Final after sustaining a knee injury in the semi-final against the Bulls. Although injury meant Ellis was unavailable for the 2006 All Blacks tests against Ireland and Argentina, he was later named to make his All Black debut against England at Twickenham. For the 2007 Rugby World Cup Ellis was selected ahead of Wellington halfback Piri Weepu. After the 2011 Rugby World Cup Ellis wasn't selected for the All Blacks Squad again until 2015 against Samoa in Apia, as Tawera Kerr-Barlow was out for the 2015 Super Rug ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park along its banks. The city's territorial authority population is people, and includes a number of smaller urban areas as well as rural areas. The population of the urban area is people. Christchurch is the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland. It is the major urban area of an emerging sub-region known informally as Greater Christchurch. Notable smaller urban areas within this sub-region include Rangiora and Kaiapoi in Waimakariri District, north of the Waimakariri River, and Rolleston and Lincoln in Selwyn District to the south. The first inhabitants migrated to the area sometime between 1000 and 1250 AD. They hunted moa, which led ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tawera Kerr-Barlow
Tawera Narada James Kerr-Barlow (born 15 August 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand rugby union rugby player . His regular playing position is scrum-half. He plays for La Rochelle in the Top 14. Kerr-Barlow represented New Zealand under 20 in the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship. He is a key member of 2015 Rugby World Cup winning team. Career Kerr-Barlow began his professional rugby career in 2009 when he made his debut for Waikato at 18 years old. Kerr-Barlow was eventually signed to the Chiefs, making his debut for them in 2011 and became a regular starter for both teams. Kerr-Barlow was first selected for the All Blacks to go on the end-of-year tour in 2012. Kerr-Barlow made his international debut in a 51-22 win over Scotland, replacing veteran Piri Weepu in his 69th test with 19 minutes to go. Kerr-Barlow also came off the bench to replace Aaron Smith in a win against Italy the following week. Kerr-Barlow cemented his spot as a regular back-up for Smith off the ben ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated France 8–7 in the final. The defending champions, South Africa, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals. The result marked the third time that the tournament was won by the country that hosted the event (following New Zealand in 1987 and South Africa in 1995). It was the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 America's Cup. Overseas visitors to New Zealand for the event totalled 133,000, more than the 95,000 that the organisers expected. However, there was a drop in non-event visitors, meaning the net increase i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Piri Weepu
Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu (born 7 September 1983) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eighth on occasion. He has represented the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, between 2004 and 2013. He first won national honours against Wales in 2004. In 2005 was called back into the All Blacks squad for the first Tri Nations test against South Africa, having missed selection for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour. He represented the and in Super Rugby, and Wellington and Auckland in the Mitre 10 Cup. He also had brief spells with several clubs in Europe. In October 2017, Weepu announced his retirement as a rugby player. Early life Of Māori and Niuean descent, Weepu hails from Wainuiomata. He attended Te Aute College where he was Head Boy in 2001. After leaving school he played senior rugby with Hutt Old Boys Marist, under the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003, beating a bid from England. The competition consisted of 48 matches over 44 days; 42 matches were played in ten cities throughout France, as well as four in Cardiff, Wales, and two in Edinburgh, Scotland. The eight quarter-finalists from 2003 were granted automatic qualification, while 12 other nations gained entry through the regional qualifying competitions that began in 2004 – of them, Portugal was the only World Cup debutant. The top three nations from each pool at the end of the pool stage qualified automatically for the 2011 World Cup. The competition opened with a match between hosts France and Argentina on 7 September at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. The s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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England National Rugby Union Team
The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions (as well as sharing 10 victories) – winning the Grand Slam 13 times and the Triple Crown 26 times – making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three other occasions. The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official test match, losing 1–0 to Scotland. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations) which started in 1883. Following the schism of rugby football in 1895 into union and league, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. They first played aga ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Argentina National Rugby Union Team
The Argentina national rugby union team (Spanish: ''Selección de rugby de Argentina'') represents Argentina in men's international rugby union; it is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby). Nicknamed the Pumas (''Los Pumas'' in Spanish), they play in sky blue and white jerseys. They are ranked 6th in the world by World Rugby, making them the highest-ranked nation in the Americas. Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British Isles team. Argentina has competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament of 1987, and the country are considered the strongest team within the Americas, being undefeated against all but Canada, against whom they have suffered three losses. The Pumas' impressive results since the 1999 World Cup have seen rugby's popularity in Argentina grow significantly. Argentina has achieved several upset victories, and are capable of regularly defeating Six Nations sides. In the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ireland National Rugby Union Team
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions. The Ireland national team dates to 1875, when it played its first international match against England. Ireland reached number 1 in the World Rugby Rankings for the first time in 2019. Eleven former Ireland players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. History Early years: 1875–1900 Dublin University was the first organised rugby football club in Ireland, having been founded in 1854. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain. During the third quarter of the nineteenth century, and fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011 and 2015. They were the first country to win the Rugby World Cup 3 times. New Zealand has a 76 per-cent winning record in test-match rugby, and has secured more wins than losses against every test opponent. Since their international debut in 1903, New Zealand teams have played test matches against 19 nations, of which 12 have never won a game against the All Blacks. The team has also played against three multinational all-star teams, losing only eight of 45 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. They jointly hold the record for the most consecutive test match wins for a tier-one ranked nation, along with England. The A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bulls (rugby Club)
The Bulls, for sponsorship reasons known as the Vodacom Bulls, is a South African professional rugby union team based in Pretoria and they play their home matches at Loftus Versfeld. They compete in the United Rugby Championship, having competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020. Prior to 1998, the Bulls competed in the then-Super 12 as Northern Transvaal, as in those years South Africa was represented in the competition by its top four Currie Cup sides from the previous season, instead of the modern Super Rugby teams. The side won the Super 14 in 2007, 2009 and 2010, placing them among the most successful teams in Super Rugby history with three titles. They were the most successful team of the Super 14 era (2006–10), winning three out of the five titles. They are the most successful South African team, and the only South African team to win a Super Rugby title. History Early history Prior to the professional Super Rugby competition, Northern Transvaal competed i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |