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Doug Howlett
Douglas Charles Howlett (born 21 September 1978) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He was primarily a wing, but he also sometimes played as a fullback. He played for Auckland, and the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Blues in Super Rugby. He finished his career with Munster in Ireland. With 49 tries in 62 tests, Howlett is currently the seventh-highest try scorer in rugby union history and the top try scorer for New Zealand. Early life Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Howlett attended May Road School and Mt Roskill Intermediate School. Howlett is of Tongan descent, with roots in the small coastal village of Kolonga. He started playing rugby at Auckland Grammar School, where he was also a star sprinter, captain of athletics and, during his final year in 1996, Head Prefect. He calls upon his speed as a sprinter (he once clocked a personal best 10.94 seconds for the 100 meters in an under 20 athletics championship in 1998) to great effect in his rugby career. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", which gave them the nickname ''Saints'' from the 1880s. The team play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, in the west of the town, which has a capacity of 15,250 and play in black, green, and gold colours. At the conclusion of the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby season, Saints finished 4th which entitled them to compete in the 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup. The current director of rugby is Phil Dowson, who was promoted to director of rugby in the summer of 2022. Northampton has won six major titles. They were European Champions in 2000 and English Champions in 2014. They have also won the secondary European Rugby Challenge Cup twice, in 2009 and 2014, the Anglo Welsh Cup in 2010, and, most recently, the inaugural Premiershi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air New Zealand Cup
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for liquid water to exist on the Earth's surface, absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night (the diurnal temperature variation). By mole fraction (i.e., by number of molecules), dry air contains 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere. Air composition, temperature, and atmospheric pressure vary with altitude. Within the atmosphere, air suitable for use in photosynthesis by terrestrial plants and breathing of terrestrial animals is found only in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Ulster Branch, which is one of the four primary branches of the IRFU and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Ulster, comprising Northern Ireland ( Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone) and three counties in the Republic of Ireland which are Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan. History Foundation (1868–1879) A number of clubs were operating in Ulster prior to the foundation of the Irish Rugby Football Union and the Ulster branch. The Belfast-based Northern Ireland F.C., founded in 1868, was the earliest club to operate in the province. Clubs from this era still in existence include Dungannon and Queen's University. The first Irish inter-provincial game took place in 1875 between Ulster and Leinster, with Ulster b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denis Leamy
Denis Patrick Leamy (born 27 November 1981) is an Irish former rugby union player who is currently part of the coaching team with Munster. He was a back-row forward who could play either flanker or at number 8, and occasionally played at centre. He ended his club rugby career for Munster in the Pro12 and Heineken Cup, and internationally for Ireland. He officially announced his retirement in May 2012 due to a long-standing hip injury. Schools career Leamy's first sport was hurling and he initially dreamed of following in the footsteps of his heroes Nicky English or Pat Fox. He played for his local GAA side, Boherlahan-Dualla, where his early physical strength was noted. His initial introduction to rugby was somewhat accidental, and occurred when he accompanied his two brothers, Ed and Kev, along to a trial game with his local rugby club, Cashel RFC. He harboured some initial reservations, but despite that he joined in the game and kept going back to play at the club. A neigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wasps RFC
Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in relegation to the RFU Championship, and all staff being made redundant. They exited administration on 16 December 2022. Founded in 1867 as Wasps FC, Wasps Football Club, from 1923 to 1996 they were based at Repton Avenue in Sudbury, London. From 1996 to 2002 the team played at Loftus Road in Shepherd's Bush and from 2002 to 2014 they played at Adams Park in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. From 2014 and 2022 their home ground was the Coventry Building Society Arena in north Coventry. From 2023 they will play at the Damson Park, ARMCO Arena in Solihull. Wasps won 12 major titles. They were European Champions twice, in 2004 Heineken Cup Final, 2004 and 2007 Heineken Cup Final, 2007; won six English Championships including three in a row from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lifeimi Mafi
Lifeimi Mafi (born 15 August 1982) is a Tongan-born, New Zealand former rugby union player. Career in New Zealand Born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, Mafi initially played his club rugby with Kia Toa (Kia Toa is a Māori term which translates to "be brave"), based in the suburb of Awapuni, Palmerston North. It is one of the oldest clubs in Manawatu, and produced former Munster fullback Christian Cullen, Bristol number 8 Dan Ward-Smith, and former Black Ferns captain Farah Palmer. He represented Manawatu in 2003, before moving to Taranaki in 2004 in time to play the British and Irish Lions in 2005. He made 25 appearances for Taranaki, and was named their "Back of the Season" in 2006. Mafi was also called into the Hurricanes squad in 2006 as replacement for the injured Conrad Smith, although he never took the field in a Super Rugby match. Mafi represented New Zealand at U19 and U21 level. He played alongside players of the calibre of Ben Atiga, Jimmy Cowan, John Afoa, Stephen Donald an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ASM Clermont Auvergne
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French champions in 2009-10 and 2016-17. The rugby section is a part of a multi-sport club called AS Montferrand (also known as ASM Omnisports), which was founded in 1911 and adopted that name in 1919. Although the rugby section changed its name to the current ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2004, it is still frequently referred to as Montferrand both within and outside France. The team play at the 19,022-seat Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin, also known by its nickname, The Bib Park. Clermont wear yellow and blue, the colours of the French tyre manufacturer Michelin, taken from the colours of Montferrand when the firm was created there in 1889. The city is where Marcel Michelin, the son of the founder of the French tyre manufacturer, decided to imple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues (English Premiership, French Top 14, and United Rugby Championship) or via winning the second-tier Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup. Between 1995 and 2014, the equivalent competition was known as the Heineken Cup and was run by European Rugby Cup. Following disagreements between its shareholders over the structure and governance of the competition, it was taken over by EPCR and its name was changed to the European Rugby Champions Cup, without title sponsorship. Heineken returned as sponsor for the 2018–19 season, resulting in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Cullen
Christian Mathias Cullen (born 12 February 1976) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. He played most of his rugby at fullback for New Zealand (the All Blacks), for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and for Manawatu, Wellington and later Munster at provincial level. He was nicknamed the '' Paekakariki Express'' and was considered to be one of the most potent running fullbacks rugby has ever seen. With 46 tries scored in 58 tests, Cullen is the 9th-highest try-scorer in international rugby. Youth and early career Cullen was born in Paraparaumu and grew up in Paekākāriki, a small town north of Wellington. He is the youngest of three children. He has an elder twin brother named Shane and a sister named Anita. Cullen is of Irish descent; he also has Samoan and German ancestry. His rugby talent emerged in his high school years and he was selected in the New Zealand secondary schools team in 1993 and 1994. He played senior rugby for Manawatu in 1995 and scored 70 points ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbarians (rugby Team)
The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, players from 31 countries had played for them. Traditionally at least one uncapped player is selected for each match. Until rugby union became a professional sport, the Barbarians usually played six annual matches: with Penarth, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport at Easter; a game with Leicester on 27 December and the Mobbs Memorial Match against East Midlands in the spring. In 1948, the Barbarians were invited to face Australia as part of the Wallabies' tour of Britain, Ireland and France. Although initially designed as a fundraiser towards the end of the tour, the encounter became a popular and traditional fixture. Initially played every three years, it has become more frequent in the professional era, with the Barbarians now often playing o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003 Super 12 Season
The 2003 Super 12 season was the eighth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2003, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams entered the playoff semi finals, with the first placed team playing the fourth and the second placed team playing the third. The winner of each semi final qualified for the final, which was contested by the Blues and the Crusaders at Eden Park, Auckland. The Blues won 21 – 17 to win their third Super 12 title. Table Results Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Round 10 Round 11 Round 12 Finals Semi finals Grand final Attendances References External links2003 Super 12 season at www.rugby.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Super 12 Season 2003 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super 12
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hemisphere competitions dating back to the South Pacific Championship in 1986, with teams from a number of southern nations, the Super Rugby started as the Super 12 in the 1996 season with 12 teams from 3 countries: Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The Super 12 was established by SANZAR after the sport became professional in 1995. At its peak the tournament featured the top players from nations representing 16 of the 24 top-three finishes in the history of the Rugby World Cup. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the competition to split into three, the reformed competition in 2021 and beyond will only include Oceanian clubs representing Australia, New Zealand and from the Pacific islands (specifically a Fijian team, and a New Zealand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
