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Ben Blair
Ben Austin Blair (born 26 March 1979 in Westport, New Zealand) is a former rugby union footballer. He played four tests for New Zealand. He scored 37 points on his All Blacks debut against Ireland A in 2001 at Ravenhill in Belfast; however, as this was not a test match he was not capped. His first test match appearance came in November that year against Scotland. Blair made his Canterbury debut in 1999 and his Crusaders debut in 2001. He won the Super 12 with the Crusaders in 2002, as well as the NPC and the Ranfurly Shield with Canterbury. He also scored an NPC First Division record of 37 points for Canterbury, against Counties Manukau in only his fourth NPC game. In 2006, he moved to the Highlanders, before moving to the Cardiff Blues, with whom he played between 2007 and 2012. During his time in Cardiff he scored 1078 points, making him the all-time top points scorer for the team. He scored two tries for Cardiff Blues, in the EDF Energy Cup final against Gloucester ...
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Westport, New Zealand
Westport ( mi, Kawatiri) is a town in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. Established in 1861, it is the oldest European settlement on the West Coast. Originally named Buller, it is on the right bank and at the mouth of the Buller River, close by the prominent headland of Cape Foulwind. It is connected via State Highway 6 with Greymouth, to the south, and with Nelson in the northeast, via the Buller Gorge. The population of the Westport urban area was as of . The Buller District had a population of . Name The Māori language name for the river and the region is ''Kawatiri,'' meaning deep and swift. The town is thought to have been named after Westport, County Mayo in Ireland, although the choice of name was no doubt also guided by its location. History From an archaeological excavation site, near the mouth of the Buller River ''(Kawatiri)'', it is clear that Māori were living close to Westport by the early 14th century. Māori mostly lived in co ...
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Crusaders (rugby)
The Crusaders (formerly Canterbury Crusaders and BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the most successful team in the competition's history and have won 11 titles (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022), as well as two regionalised titles in 2020 and 2021. Formed in 1996 to represent the upper South Island of New Zealand in the Super 12, the Crusaders represent the Buller, Canterbury, Mid-Canterbury, South Canterbury, Tasman and West Coast provincial Rugby Unions. Their main home ground since 2012 is Rugby League Park (known for sponsorship reasons as Orangetheory Stadium). They formerly played out of Lancaster Park prior to it being damaged beyond repair in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The Crusaders struggled in the first season of the Super 12, 1996, finishing last. Their performance improv ...
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Canterbury Rugby Union Players
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion owing to the importance of St Augustine, who served as the apostle to the pagan Kingdom of Kent around the turn of the 7th century. The city's cathedral became a major focus of pilgrimage following the 1170 martyrdom of Thomas Becket, although it had already been a well-trodden pilgrim destination since the murder of St Alphege by the men of King Canute in 1012. A journey of pilgrims to Becket's shrine served as the frame for Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th-century classic ''The Canterbury Tales''. Canterbury is a popular tourist destination: consistently one of the most-visited cities in the United Kingdom, the city's economy is heavily reliant upon tourism. The city has been occupied si ...
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Living People
Related categories * :Year of birth missing (living people) / :Year of birth unknown * :Date of birth missing (living people) / :Date of birth unknown * :Place of birth missing (living people) / :Place of birth unknown * :Year of death missing / :Year of death unknown * :Date of death missing / :Date of death unknown * :Place of death missing / :Place of death unknown * :Missing middle or first names See also * :Dead people * :Template:L, which generates this category or death years, and birth year and sort keys. : {{DEFAULTSORT:Living people 21st-century people People by status ...
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1979 Births
Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song '' Chiquitita'' to commemorate the event. ** The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations. ** Following a deal agreed during 1978, French carmaker Peugeot completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's European operations, which are based in Britain's former Rootes Group factories, as well as the former Simca factories in France. * January 7 – Cambodian–Vietnamese War: The People's Army of Vietnam and Vietnamese-backed Cambodian insurgents announce the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge retreat west to an area along the Thai border, ending large-scale fighting. * January 8 – Whiddy Island Disaster: The Frenc ...
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Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Rugby Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16. The league is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership and the United Rugby Championship, which brings together top clubs from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa), from which the most successful European teams go forward to compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup, the pan-European championship which replaced the Heineken Cup after the 2013–14 season. The first ever final took place in 1892, between two Paris-based sides, S ...
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SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne
Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the Pro D2, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, Agen is one of the historic clubs in French rugby, having won the French Championship eight times. Its home ground is the 10,512-seat Stade Armandie and traditional club colours are navy blue and white. The club is renowned for its youth system and its academy structure. History The club was established in 1900. They made their first championship final in the 1930 season, where they met US Quillan, and defeated them 4 points to nil in Bordeaux, and thus capturing their first championship title. The club experienced some success in the coming years in the Challenge Yves du Manoir competition as well; winning it in the 1932 season and then becoming runners-up to Lyon OU in the 1933 season. Agen would have another successful run in the ...
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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. Overv ...
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Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of the border with Wales. Including suburban areas, Gloucester has a population of around 132,000. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary. Gloucester was founded by the Romans and became an important city and '' colony'' in AD 97 under Emperor Nerva as '' Colonia Glevum Nervensis''. It was granted its first charter in 1155 by Henry II. In 1216, Henry III, aged only nine years, was crowned with a gilded iron ring in the Chapter House of Gloucester Cathedral. Gloucester's significance in the Middle Ages is underlined by the fact that it had a number of monastic establishments, including: St Peter's Abbey founded in 679 (later Gloucester Cathedral), the nearby St Oswald's Priory, Glo ...
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EDF Energy Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs. The competition was replaced by the Premiership Rugby Cup, involving only the 12 English Premiership clubs, beginning with the 2018–19 season. History Background RFU Knockout Cup From 1971 to 2005, English clubs played in the RFU Knockout Cup. At its formation, it was the highest honour that a club could win, as there were no nationally organised leagues until merit leagues were introduced in 1984, followed by the full national league pyramid in 1987. It was an open tournament to any club that was a member of the Rugby Football Union. Previous Anglo-Welsh fixtures 2005–2018: Anglo-Welsh Cup 2005–09: Initial format Starting in the 2005–06 season, the Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup was formed as a successor tournament to the K ...
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Otago Highlanders
The Highlanders (formerly the Otago Highlanders) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Dunedin that compete in Super Rugby. The team was formed in 1996 to represent the lower South Island in the newly formed Super 12 competition, and includes the Otago, North Otago and Southland unions. The Highlanders take their name from the Scottish immigrants that helped found the Otago, North Otago, and Southland regions in the 1840s and 1850s. Their main ground through the 2011 Super Rugby season was Carisbrook in Dunedin, with home games occasionally being played in Invercargill and Queenstown. The Highlanders moved into Carisbrook's replacement, Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza, for the 2012 season; the stadium opened in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but after the Super Rugby season. They finished the inaugural season eighth, and the following season finished last after winning only three of eleven matches. However, in the 1998, 1999 and 2000 sea ...
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Counties Manukau Rugby Union
The Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union (CMRFU) is the governing body of rugby union in Southern Auckland and the Franklin District, Franklin district of New Zealand. Nicknamed the ''Steelers'', their colours are red, white, and black horizontal bands. The Steelers moniker is a reference to the Glenbrook steel factory, which is in the area. The union is based in Pukekohe, and plays at Growers Stadium, Navigation Homes Stadium. History The union was preceded by the "South Auckland Rugby Union (1926), South Auckland" sub-union of the Auckland Rugby Football Union, the sub-union being founded in 1926. This became a full union, with the name "South Auckland Counties", in 1955. The name was shortened to "Counties" just a year later. The name Counties Manukau was adopted in 1995. The history of Counties has been very much about adventurous football and taking risks, and this was certainly the case initially as the team strove to establish an identity and tradition. Counties' firs ...
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