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Bismarck Du Plessis
Bismarck Wilhelm du Plessis (born 22 May 1984) is a South African professional rugby union player, who plays for the in the United Rugby Championship and for the in the Currie Cup. He played for the in 2003, before moving to the in 2005 where he spent the bulk of his career, and then to Montpellier in the French Top 14. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best "Hookers" of his time, both in club and country performances. Career A native of the town of Bethlehem in the Free State province, Bismarck du Plessis made his debut for the Sharks in Super Rugby (then the Super 12) in 2005. As he plays hooker and played in the same team as South Africa's past captain, John Smit, for much of his career he had been a backup to Smit; however, this changed when Smit moved to tighthead prop. Before Smit's change of position, Du Plessis nonetheless played in Super Rugby and the Currie Cup whenever Smit was unavailable, and in 2007 was selected to play for South Africa in the Tri N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bethlehem, Free State
Bethlehem is a town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river (also called Liebenbergs Vlei) along a fertile valley just north of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 road. It is the fastest growing town in the Free state province, with its target of being the third largest city after Bloemfontein and Welkom. It is a wheat growing area and named after the biblical Bethlehem, from he, בֵּית לֶחֶם ("Beit Lechem"), meaning "house of bread". The town lies at an altitude of and this contributes to its cool climate with frosty winters and mild summers. The average annual temperature is around . Bethlehem is situated approximately north-east of Bloemfontein, east of Kroonstad and west of Harrismith. The town is strategically situated in the heart of the picturesque north-eastern Free State and originally developed as a service centre. Bethlehem is the seat of the Dihlabeng Local Municipality (this municipality is situate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free State (South African Province)
The Free State, known as Orange Free State until the 28th of June 1995 when its name was changed, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later Orange Free State Province. History The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans were abolished and reincorporated into South Africa. It is also the only one of the four original provinces of South Africa not to undergo border changes, apart from the reincorporation of Bantustans, and its borders date from before the outbreak of the Boer War. Law and government The provincial government consists of a premier, an executive council of ten ministers, and a legislature. The provincial assembly and premier are elected for five-year terms, or until the next national election. Political parties are awarded assembly seats based on the percentage of votes each party receive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eye-gouging (rugby Union)
Eye-gouging is a serious offence in rugby union where a player uses hands or fingers to inflict pain in an opponent's eyes. The game's laws refer to it as ''"contact with eyes or the eye area of an opponent"'' but such incidents are usually referred to as "eye-gouging" among players and in the media. Definition The laws of rugby union, as written by World Rugby, define foul play as: "''Anything a player does within the playing enclosure that is against the letter and spirit of the Laws of the Game. It includes obstruction, unfair play, repeated infringements, dangerous play and misconduct which is prejudicial to the Game".'' Specifically, they state that ''"A player must not do anything that is dangerous to the opponent"''. WR Regulations provide for punishment for contact with eyes or the eye area of an opponent. Although this is usually called "eye-gouging" by the media, fans and players, the term "gouging" is not used in World Rugby's laws or regulations, which do list degre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008 Tri Nations Series
The 2008 Tri Nations Series was the thirteenth annual Tri Nations competition between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The All Blacks won the series on 13 September 2008 after defeating Australia in the last match of the series. Background This was the first Tri Nations tournament after South Africa's 2007 Rugby World Cup victory, and they went into the competition as the top team in the IRB World Rankings (having ended a 175-week run for New Zealand). On 30 June 2008, before the tournament began, New Zealand and Australia were ranked second and third in the world respectively. The All Blacks went into the series with a world record 29 successive home victories, and South Africa with a 13 match winning streak. By the end of the tournament New Zealand had retaken top place in the IRB World Rankings. After 26 weeks at number one, South Africa slipped to second. Australia remained third. The final match of the Bledisloe Cup series betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008 End Of Year Rugby Tests
The 2008 end of year rugby tests, also known as the Autumn internationals saw Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, the Pacific Islanders and Canada tour the northern hemisphere. The tour ended with the traditional 'final challenge' Barbarians match, against Australia, which was the first rugby union Test at the new Wembley Stadium. New Zealand and Australia also contested a Bledisloe Cup match outside of either country for the first time; the match was played in Hong Kong with the hope of raising rugby's profile in China. The test matches took on added significance, with seedings for the 2011 Rugby World Cup draw to take place on 1 December at stake. For the first time in the history of the Rugby World Cup, the International Rugby Board used the IRB World Rankings to seed teams in the World Cup draw. Teams will be assigned to four-strong seeding pots based on their rankings; each team within a pot will be drawn into a different pool for the World Cup finals. New Zealan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States National Rugby Union Team
The United States men's national rugby union team represents the United States in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed the Eagles, it is controlled by USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. USA Rugby is a member of Rugby Americas North, one of six regional governing bodies under World Rugby. Until rugby returned to Olympic competition, with sevens at the 2016 Rio Games, the United States was the reigning Olympic rugby champion, having defeated the one other competitor in 1920 and the two other competitors at the 1924 Summer Olympics. , the men's Eagles are ranked 19th in the world by the World Rugby Rankings. Their previous highest ranking was 12th, achieved ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The team's lowest ranking was 20th, first following a winless campaign in the 2008 Churchill Cup and second for a single week in 2022 during the 2023 World Cup qualifying tournament. The highest profile tournament in which the men' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BJ Botha
Brendon James Botha, better known as BJ Botha (born 4 January 1980) is a South African former rugby union player. He played as a prop. Professional career Sharks Botha played in the Currie Cup and Super 14 the Sharks. He played in all 13 Super 14 matches in 2006 and was one cap shy of a half-century in the domestic Currie Cup. Ulster He signed for Ulster on Thursday 14 August 2008 on a three-year deal, and left the province in May 2011. Munster Botha signed for the Irish province Munster on a two-year contract in February 2011, starting in the 2011–12 season. He made his Munster debut against Scarlets on 17 September 2011. His first Heineken Cup game for Munster was against Northampton Saints in November 2011. He scored his first try for Munster in January 2012, in the Heineken Cup Round 6 game against Northampton. Botha scored a match-winning try for Munster in their final Pro12 game against Zebre on 3 May 2013. He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Pierre Spies
Pierre Johan Spies (born 8 June 1985 in Pretoria) is a retired South African rugby union player. He usually played as a Number 8, but could also play as a flanker and at times was deployed on the wing. Between 2005 and 2015, he spent the majority of his career playing Super Rugby for the and domestic South African rugby for the , followed by stints in the Japanese and French rugby championships. He represented internationally between 2006 and 2013. Personal Spies was born on 8 June 1985 in Pretoria and attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a public school located in Pretoria. He attended alongside future Springbok teammates Fourie du Preez and Wynand Olivier, professional rugby players Derick Kuün, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Gerhard van den Heever, Adriaan Fondse and cricketers AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn and Faf du Plessis. After school, he completed his first year in B.Sc. Construction Management at the University of Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cap (sport)
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the early days of football, the concept of each team wearing a set of matching shirts had not been universally adopted, so each side would distinguish itself from the other by wearing a specific sort of cap. An early illustration of the first international football match between Scotland and England in 1872 shows the Scottish players wearing cowls, and the English wearing a variety of school caps. The practice was first approved on 10 May 1886 for association football after a proposal made by N. Lane Jackson , founder of the Corinthians: The act of awarding a cap is now international and is applied to other sports. Although in some sports physical caps may not now always be given (whether at all or for each appearance) the term ''cap'' for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia National Rugby Union Team
The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the touring British Isles team. Australia have competed in all nine Rugby World Cups, winning the final on two occasions and also finishing as runner-up twice. Australia beat England at Twickenham in the final of the 1991 Rugby World Cup and won again in 1999 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff when their opponents in the final were France. The Wallabies also compete annually in The Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri-Nations), along with southern hemisphere counterparts Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa. They have won this championship on four occasions. Australia also plays Test matches against the various rugby-playing nations. More than a dozen former Wallabies players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tri Nations (rugby Union)
The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a similar tournament in the Northern Hemisphere. Prior to the 2012 tournament, when Argentina joined, it was known as the Tri Nations. The Tri Nations name was temporarily revived for the 2020 tournament due to the withdrawal of South Africa owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition is administered by SANZAAR, a consortium consisting of four national governing bodies: the South African Rugby Union, New Zealand Rugby Union, Rugby Australia and the Argentine Rugby Union. The inaugural Tri Nations tournament was in 1996, and was won by New Zealand. 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 Afric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
