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Fetuʻu Vainikolo
Fetu'u Moana Vainikolo (born 30 January 1985) is a Tongan rugby union player who for the Utah Warriors in Major League Rugby (MLR). His regular playing position is Wing. Early life Born in Tonga, Vainikolo's family moved to New Zealand in 1997 when he was 12. He moved through rugby age group levels in Auckland before moving to the Wellsford club in Northland in 2007. Club career New Zealand Vainikolo made his debut in the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup, scoring five tries in just 10 matches to earn himself a Super Rugby contract. He repeated the feat with another five tries in 2008. Vainikolo transferred to Otago to join many of his Highlanders teammates for the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. However, he was unable to duplicate his success for Northland, missing much of 2009 through injury and then struggling with poor form throughout the 2010 ITM Cup. On the heels of his success with Northland, Vainikolo was drafted into the Highlanders squad for the 2008 Super 14 season. While the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tofoa
Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the national population, on . Based on Google Earth Pro, its maximum elevation is at least above sea level along Liku Road at 21 degrees 15 minutes and 55.7 seconds south 175 degrees 08 minutes 06.4 seconds west, but could be even higher somewhere else. Tongatapu is Tonga's centre of government and the seat of its monarchy. Tongatapu has experienced more rapid economic development than the other islands of Tonga, and has thus attracted many internal migrants from them. Geography The island is (or including neighbouring islands) and rather flat, as it is built of coral limestone. The island is covered with thick fertile soil consisting of volcanic ash from neighbouring volcanoes. At the steep coast of the south, heights reach an average of , an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super Rugby
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] |
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] |
2011 Super 15 Season
The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16th season for the Southern Hemisphere's premier transnational club competition. The season kicked off in February 2011, with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished in early July to allow players a recovery period for the 2011 Rugby World Cup to be held in September and October; in future non-World Cup years, the competition will extend into August. This season saw the arrival of the Melbourne Rebels, admitted to the competition as Australia's fifth team after entry by the Southern Kings from South Africa was denied. This was also the first season of a revamped competition format, with a greater focus on matches within each participating country and an expanded finals series. During this season, the first ever Super Rugby gam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Israel Dagg
Israel Jamahl Akuhata Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team, and represents Hawkes Bay in the ITM Cup. Dagg played international rugby for New Zealand's All Blacks from 2010 to 2017, before repeated knee injuries cut his career short. Dagg scored 26 tries during his international career and is one of the most-capped outside backs in All Black history. Dagg announced his retirement from rugby on 4 April 2019 in an Instagram post citing continued issues with an injury to his right knee. He has continued to be an integral member of the Crusaders' coaching and advisory staff. Following his untimely retirement, he joined the Sky Sport NZ rugby union commentary team. Early life Dagg was born in Marton, New Zealand and attended Lindisfarne College in Hastings, Hawke's Bay. Dagg is of Māori ( Ngāti Kahungunu) and Samoan descent through his grandmother. Ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Paterson (rugby Union)
James Douglas Patersonborn in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a former rugby union player with dual United States and New Zealand citizenship (born in New Zealand, mother is American). Paterson played Super Rugby for the Highlanders between 2010 and 2011. Paterson played for the United States at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Youth Paterson's first introduction to rugby was in 1999 after returning from 8 years living in Budapest, Hungary where his father developed and directed an Agricultural Trading and Consultancy business. He returned to Christchurch, his home town and enrolled in Medbury Intermediate School where he played for the First XV. He then enrolled at Christchurch Boys' High School where he went on to play for the First XV in his 5th form (now known as Year 11). After four years he was on the move again to Colorado, USA where he ended up playing high school football. Paterson impressed in a short period of time, achieving Colorado State recognition for the most running y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2010 Super 14 Season
The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3½ months, featured a total of 94 matches, with each team playing one full round-robin against the 13 other teams, two semi-finals and a final. Every team received one bye over the 14 rounds. Table Referees The referees for this tournament came from all three of the participating nations. Referees are ranked by Merit and Reserve Panels. They can be promoted or demoted to another panel. At least eighty Percent of the Super 14 games will be refereed by the Merit Panel Referees. Australian Referees * Stuart Dickinson (Merit Panel) * Steve Walsh (Reserve Panel) * Ian Smith (Reserve Panel) * Nathan Pearce (Reserve Panel) * Paul Marks (Reserve Panel)- Stood down from panel, following reviews of his performances at the end of Week 4. He was re-included ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kendrick Lynn
Kendrick Graeme Lynn (born 30 November 1982) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A versatile utility back, he last played for Lyon in the French Top 14 competition. Playing career Provincial Rugby Lynn was educated at St Peters School in Cambridge, New Zealand and played in Waikato age group teams while at school. He then studied at the University of Otago, completing a BPhEd degree in 2006. After graduation, Lynn chose to stay in the South Island, playing his club rugby for the Invercargill Rugby Club and making his provincial debut for Southland in the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup. By the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Lynn had developed into one of the Stags' top performers, starting 14 games and scoring 4 tries as Southland claimed the Ranfurly Shield that year. In the 2010 ITM Cup, Lynn missed substantial time through injury but still recorded 3 tries in only 8 starts. After 6 seasons with Southland, Lynn moved north to sign with Bay of Plenty for the 2012 ITM Cup. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2009 Super 14 Season
The 2009 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2009 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 30 May, when the Bulls won their second Super Rugby title with a decisive 61–17 victory over the Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. The 2009 season was the fourth of the expansion, which led to the name change to the Super 14. The schedule, which covered 3½ months, featured a total of 94 matches, with each team playing one full round-robin against the 13 other teams, two semi-finals and a final. Every team received one bye over the 14 rounds. Table Results Round 1 * Todd Clever Todd Stanger Clever (born January 16, 1983) is an American retired rugby union player. He became the first American to play Super Rugby. At the international level, he was a member of the United States national team, served as captain, and is t ... came off the bench for the Lions to become the first American ever to play in Super Rugby. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008 Super 14 Season
The 2008 Super 14 season started in February 2008 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 31 May, when the Crusaders won their seventh Super Rugby title with a 20–12 victory over the Waratahs in front of the Crusaders' home fans at AMI Stadium. The 2008 season was the third of the expansion, which led to the name change to the Super 14. The schedule, which covered 3½ months, featured a total of 94 matches, with each team playing one full round robin against the 13 other teams, two semi-finals and a final. Every team received one bye over the 14 rounds. Introduction of Experimental law variations The 2008 competition is currently the highest level competition to trial any of the International Rugby Board's (IRB) Experimental law variations (ELVs). The laws had been trialled in various competitions in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The highest level competition the laws had previously been introduced to was the 2007 Australian Rugby Champio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
