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Gavin Thomas
Gavin Michael Thomas (born 22 October 1977) is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played as a Flanker (rugby union), flanker. He played his club rugby for Tondu RFC, Tondu, Bridgend Ravens, Bridgend, Bath Rugby, Bath, the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys, the Scarlets and the Dragons (rugby union), Newport Gwent Dragons, and was capped 24 times for Wales national rugby union team, Wales. Career Club career Born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, Thomas moved to Wales at a young age and attended Ogmore Comprehensive School in Bridgend. He began his rugby career with Tondu RFC before joining Welsh Premiership side Bridgend Ravens. In 1999, he moved to England to play for Bath Rugby, Bath; in four years there, he made over 100 appearances before moving back to Wales to join the newly founded Swansea-based regional side, the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys. In February 2004, Thomas was transfer-listed by the Ospreys, and after only a year in Swansea, he moved to their Llan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following the popularisation of its water which was reputed to have medicinal qualities. In the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England. It is named after the River Leam, which flows through the town. The town contains especially fine ensembles of Regency architecture, particularly in parts of the Parade, Clarendon Square and Lansdowne Circus. In the 2021 census Leamington had a population of 50,923. Leamington is adjoined with the neighbouring towns of Warwick and Whitnash, and the village of Cubbington; together these form a conurbation known as the "Royal Leamington Spa Built-up area" which in 2011 had a population of 95,172. Leamington lies around south of Coventry, south-east of Birmingham, and nort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Easterby
Simon Easterby (born 21 July 1975 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire) is an Irish former rugby union player. He is currently the defence coach for the Irish national team. Early life Easterby's father is English and his mother Irish. He is the younger brother of Guy Easterby, also an Ireland international. He was educated at Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire and was a member of St Hughs house. Club career Easterby captained the Scarlets for five consecutive seasons and played more than 50 European games, 201 games (19 tries) for Llanelli and the Scarlets. He had been part of the West Wales region since signing from Leeds Tykes in 1999. In August 2010, Easterby was forced to retire through a knee injury at the age of 35. International career Ireland Easterby made his first international appearance in a Six Nations victory over Scotland at Lansdowne Road in 2000 and then became a regular in the side, being ever-present for the remainder of that Six Nations competition. Easterby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romania National Rugby Union Team
The Romania national rugby union team ( ro, Echipa națională de rugby a României) represents Romania in men's international rugby union competitions, nicknamed Stejarii (''The Oaks''), is long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations. They have participated in all but one Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the European Nations Cup, which they won recently in 2017. Rugby union in Romania is administered by the Romanian Rugby Federation. France first played rugby against Romania in 1924 when they tried to establish a rival to the Five Nations championship. Romania holds with 25 matches the record for the longest unbeaten run. Although not regarded as a first-tier team in more recent times, their history includes an away draw against Ireland, and wins against four (France, Italy, Scotland, Wales) of the other Six Nations Championship teams. Romania played in every Rugby World Cup through to 2015, but were disqualified fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2001 British & Irish Lions Tour To Australia
The 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a series of matches played by the British & Irish Lions rugby union team in Australia. The Lions squad was captained by Martin Johnson, the first player to lead the Lions on two tours. The head coach was New Zealander Graham Henry. After winning the first of their matches against Australia, the Lions lost the remaining two matches of the test series. This was the first time that Australia defeated the Lions in a series. The tour was noted for tension between the test squad and the midweek squad as well as controversial newspaper columns written by scrum-halves Matt Dawson and Austin Healey, accusing the coaching staff of poor scheduling and training regimes and lack of team spirit. Squad Results Tests First Test Jason Robinson scored the first try of the match, putting the Lions up 5–0. Andrew Walker successfully kicked a penalty for Australia's first points. The Lions scored through Dafydd James, which was converted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan National Rugby Union Team
The Japan national rugby union team, often known as the Cherry Blossoms, Sakura, and more recently The Brave Blossoms (''ブレイブ・ブロッサムズ - Bureibu burossamuzu'') is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years. Rugby union in Japan is administered by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), which was founded in 1926. They compete annually in the Pacific Nations Cup and previously in the Asia Rugby Championship. They have also participated in every Rugby World Cup since the tournament began in 1987. Rugby was first played in Japan's treaty ports as early as 1866. Popular participation by local university teams was established in 1899 and Japan's first recorded international match was a match against a Canadian team in 1932. Notable games for Japan include a victory over the Junior All Blacks in 1968, and a narrow 6–3 loss to England in 1971. Famous wins by Japan include a 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2001 Wales Rugby Union Tour Of Japan
The 2001 Wales rugby union tour of Japan was a series of matches played in June 2001 in Japan by the Wales national rugby union team. With their best players involved in the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, the squad featured a blend of youth and experience. Although they won just one of their non-test matches on tour, Wales won both tests against the Japan national team. Squad Results ''Scores and results list Wales' points tally first.'' Wales v Barbarians Before embarking on their tour, Wales played an uncapped match against the Barbarians, the first match of three for the Barbarians on their own tour of Great Britain. Much of the discussion regarding Wales' team selection for the match centred around fly-half Gavin Henson, who at , would be the youngest Wales player to appear at the position since Llewellyn Lloyd in 1896. Henson ultimately started the game on the bench, as coach Graham Henry preferred Neil Jenkins, one of eight Wales players in the team w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloucester Rugby
Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches at Kingsholm Stadium, on the fringes of the city centre. Their biggest successes are winning the Anglo-Welsh Cup five times: in 1971–72, 1977–78, 1981–82, 2002–03 and 2010–11; and the European Challenge Cup twice: in 2005–06 and 2014–15. The club has no official nickname but are often referred to as the Cherry and Whites by supporters and the media in reference to the traditional Cherry and white hooped shirts worn by the team. Matches with local rivals Bath and Bristol Bears are referred to as West Country derbies. History Formation & Early Years The club was formed in 1873 after a meeting at the Spread Eagle Hotel with the announcement in the Gloucester Journal: '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the nickname Sharks in 1999. Since 2012 they have played their home games at the A.J. Bell Stadium in Barton-upon-Irwell, Salford. Between 1905 and 2003 they played at Heywood Road in Sale, before moving to Edgeley Park in Stockport where they stayed until 2012. Their traditional colours are blue and white. Sale have won four major trophies. They were Premiership Rugby Champions in 2005–06, won the European Rugby Challenge Cup in 2001–02, 2004–05 and the Premiership Rugby Cup in 2019/20. They also won the RFU Championship in 1994. In the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby season Sale finished sixth, which entitled them to compete in the 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup. The Director of Rugby is Alex Sanderson who was appointed in J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2010–11 LV Cup
The 2010–11 LV Cup (styled as the LV= Cup) was the 40th season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the sixth to follow the Anglo-Welsh format. The competition consisted of the four Welsh Magners League teams and the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs arranged into pools consisting of three English and one Welsh team. Teams were guaranteed two home and two away pool matches, with teams in Pools 1 and 4 playing each other and teams in Pools 2 and 3 playing each other. The competition took place on international fixture dates during the Autumn Internationals and Six Nations, thus allowing teams to develop their squad players. The competition made history this season when London Wasps announced that their Round 3 match against Harlequins would be played in Abu Dhabi on January 30, 2011 – making it the first competitive game between two English clubs to take place abroad. Gloucester claimed the cup with a comprehensive 34–7 victory over Newcastle Falcons in the f ... [...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] |
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] |
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) 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's Munster Branch, which is responsible for rugby union throughout the Irish province of Munster. The team motto is "To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible." This is derived from the motto of the MacCarthy clan – "Forti et Fideli nihil difficile". Their main home ground is Thomond Park, Limerick, though some games are played at Musgrave Park, Cork. History Foundation and early years Munster was officially founded in 1879, at the same time as Leinster and Ulster, with Connacht being founded ten years later in 1889. The first interprovincial matches between Leinster, Ulster and Munster, however, were held in 1875. The founding of the Munster branch of the IRFU was intended to organise and oversee the game within the province and prevent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
