John Gainsford
John Leslie Gainsford (August 4, 1938 – November 18, 2015) was a South African rugby union player. He was born in Germiston. Gainsford played in 71 matches for South Africa (the Springboks), including tour games, and was known for being the most-capped Springbok centre until his record was overtaken by Japie Mulder in 2001. Early life Gainsford grew up in Lansdowne, Cape Town. He was the eldest of four children. His mother, Enid Francis Gainsford, was Australian. She was a former Sydney swimming champion who came out to South Africa with her mother, when her mother was sent to South Africa to help train women factory workers for the Second World War effort. She met his South African father, John Cecil Gainsford, and moved to South Africa permanently. Gainsford attended Lansdowne High School (now Windsor High School) from 1951-1955. He was a versatile and dedicated young sportsman throughout his school career, earning full colours for both rugby and athletics. He played cric ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people of all genders, ages and sizes. In 2014, there were more than 6 million people playing worldwide, of whom 2.36 million were registered players. World Rugby, previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, and currently has 101 countries as full members and 18 associate members. In 1845, the first laws were written by students attending Rugby School; other significant even ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ireland National Rugby Union Team
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions. The Ireland national team dates to 1875, when it played its first international match against England. Ireland reached number 1 in the World Rugby Rankings for the first time in 2019. Eleven former Ireland players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. History Early years: 1875–1900 Dublin University was the first organised rugby football club in Ireland, having been founded in 1854. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain. During the third quarter of the nineteenth century, and fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch) and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington. It is situated about northeast of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province and is known for its scenic environment and viticulture and fruit-growing heritage. Paarl is the seat of the Drakenstein Local Municipality; although not part of the Cape Town metropolitan area, it falls within its economic catchment. Paarl is unusual among South African place-names, in being pronounced differently in English than in Afrikaans; likewise unusual about the town's name is Afrikaners customary attachment to it, saying not ''in Paarl'', but rather ''in die Paarl'', or ''in die Pêrel'' (lite ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jan Pickard
Jan Albertus Jacobus Pickard (25 December 1927 – 30 May 1998) was a South African rugby union international who played as a lock. Born in Paarl and a product of Stellenbosch University, Pickard made his provincial debut for Western Province in 1951. He was the grandfather of Francois Louw, who also played for Western Province and South Africa. Pickard was selected to represent South Africa on the 1951–52 tour of Great Britain and France, although he was not selected for any of the Test matches. His first appearance in a Test match came in September 1953, against Australia in Durban. South Africa won the game 18–8, this was followed by a further victory over Australia a week later—a 22–9 victory in Port Elizabeth, which Pickard also took part in. The next time Pickard was selected for South Africa was for the 1956 tour of Australia and New Zealand. He was selected to play in the second Test of the four match series against New Zealand and played as a number eight in an 8 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dugald MacDonald
Dugald Alexander MacDonald (born 20 January 1950) is a South African former rugby union player of Scottish origins. He played for against the 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa.Bath, p139 His younger brother Donald was capped for seven times. Biography Based in Cape Town, MacDonald played provincial rugby in South Africa for from 1972 to 1975. He acted as the President of the University of Cape Town Rugby Club for 15 years with his tenure coming to an end during the first quarter of 2019. His elder son, Dugald MacDonald, plays flanker for the Oxford Greyhounds, while his younger son, Alexander MacDonald, played flanker for the University of Cape Town 1st team in 2011 and 2012. Test history See also *List of South Africa national rugby union players South Africa national rugby union team players hold several international records. Several players from the South Africa national rugby union team have joined the IRB and International Hall of Fame. Individual recor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Cockrell
Robert James Cockrell (4 April 1950 – 26 May 2000) was a South African rugby union player who played eleven test matches for the South Africa national rugby union team. Playing career Cockrell made his provincial debut for Western Province in 1972 and played in 102 matches for the union. He made his test debut for the Springboks on 23 November 1974 at Stade Municipal in Toulouse against France. Cockrell scored his first and only test try during his third test match on 21 June 1975 in Bloemfontein against the touring French team captained by Richard Astre. His last test match, was the Springboks’ first ever test match against the USA on 20 September 1981 at the Owl Creek Polo ground in Glenville, New York. Cockrell also played in 14 tour matches for the Springboks and scored one try. Test history See also *List of South Africa national rugby union players South Africa national rugby union team players hold several international records. Several players from the Sou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Johan Oosthuizen
Jacob Johannes 'Johan' Oosthuizen (born 4 July 1951) is a former South African rugby union player. Playing career Born in Worcester and a police officer by occupation, Oosthuizen made his provincial debut for Western Province in 1973. He made his test debut for the Springboks in the first test against the 1974 British Lions at Newlands in Cape Town. His second test for the Springboks was against France during the end of the year tour to that country. He also played against France in 1975 and against the All Blacks in 1976. Along with his nine tests he played in five tour matches, scoring fifteen points for the Springboks. Test history See also *List of South Africa national rugby union players South Africa national rugby union team players hold several international records. Several players from the South Africa national rugby union team have joined the IRB and International Hall of Fame. Individual records Career South Africa's '' ... – Springbok no. 460 Referen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Whipp
Peter John Milton Whipp (born 22 September 1950) was a South African rugby union player. Playing career Whipp made his provincial debut for Western Province in the Currie Cup match against South Western Districts at Mossel Bay in 1971. He went on to gain 71 caps over a ten-year period for Western Province. He made his international debut on 8 June 1974 against the British Lions on his home ground of Newlands in Cape Town. He played eight test matches and scored his only international try against France on 21 June 1975 in Bloemfontein. Whipp also played in two tour matches for the Springboks. His career was brought to a premature end in 1981 when he suffered a severe injury. Test history See also *List of South Africa national rugby union players South Africa national rugby union team players hold several international records. Several players from the South Africa national rugby union team have joined the IRB and International Hall of Fame. Individual records Career ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dawie Snyman
Dawid Stefanus Lubbe Snyman (born 5 July 1949) is a former South African rugby union player and coach. Playing career Snyman represented the Free State schools at two consecutive Craven Week tournaments. After school and completing his military training he enrolled at Stellenbosch University. In 1971, before playing provincial rugby, he was selected for the Springboks to tour Australia. Although he did not play in any test matches during the tour, being selected for the team made him only the third player, after JC van der Westhuizen and Danie Craven to represent the Springboks before playing for a province. He made his provincial debut for Western Province later during the 1971 season. Snyman's test debut was in 1972 at Ellis Park against the touring English side captained by John Pullin. Playing flyhalf, Snyman scored all the point for the Springboks in the 9–18 defeat to the English. During September to November 1972, Snyman toured with Gazelles, a South African under- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morné Du Plessis
Morné du Plessis Order of Ikhamanga, OIS (; born 21 October 1949) is a former South African rugby union player often described as one of the South Africa national rugby union team, Springboks' most successful captains. During the five years from 1975 to 1980 that he served as captain, the Springboks won 13 of 15 matches, giving Du Plessis an 86.66% success rate as captain. Du Plessis's father, Felix du Plessis, Felix, was also the captain of a Springbok rugby team, and his mother, Pat, captained the South African women's field hockey, hockey side. Felix and Morné are the only father-and-son duo so far to have both been Springbok rugby captains, and Morné is the only Springbok captain born to parents both of whom captained national sports sides. Morné du Plessis was appointed manager of the 1995 Springbok team which won the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Du Plessis co-founded with Tim Noakes both the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Cape Town, and the Bioenergetics of Exerci ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Currie Cup
The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franchises also compete in the United Rugby Championship competition, including for the 'South African Shield'. for the highest placed South African team. Steeped in history and tradition, the Currie Cup dates back to 1891. The tournament is regarded as the cornerstone of South Africa's rugby heritage, and the coveted gold trophy remains the most prestigious prize in South African domestic rugby. History The Currie Cup is one of the oldest rugby competitions, with the first games played in 1889 but it was only in 1892 that it became officially known as the Currie Cup. The competition had its humble beginnings as an inter-province competition in 1884, but when the South African Rugby Board was f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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France National Rugby Union Team
The France national rugby union team () represents France in men's international rugby union and it is administered by the French Rugby Federation. They traditionally play in blue shirts emblazoned with the national emblem of a golden rooster on a red shield, with white shorts and red socks; thus they are commonly referred to as or . The team's home matches are mostly played at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. Rugby was introduced to France in 1872 by the British, and on New Years Day 1906, the national side played its first test match – against New Zealand in Paris. France played sporadically against the Home Nations until they joined them to form the Five Nations Championship (now the Six Nations) in 1910. France also competed in the rugby competitions at early Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in 1900 and two silver medals in the 1920s. The national team came of age during the 1950s and 1960s, winning their first Five Nations title outright ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |