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John Smit
John William Smit, OIS, (born 3 April 1978) is a former South African rugby union player and former chief executive officer of the Sharks. He was the 50th captain of the South Africa national team, and led the team to win the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He played most of his senior career as a hooker, but also won 13 caps as a prop, where he had also played for South Africa's under-21 team. He retired from international rugby following the 2011 Rugby World Cup as the most-capped South African player ever, with 111 appearances. Smit was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011 (while still active at club level), alongside all other World Cup-winning captains and head coaches from the tournament's inception in 1987 through 2007 (minus the previously inducted John Eales). Early life Born 3 April 1978 in Pietersburg, South Africa, Smit attended Fields College (then Fields Primary School) in Rustenburg and then went on to Pretoria Boys High School where he was head pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polokwane
Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province. City of Polokwane official website. Retrieved on October 15, 2009.), also known by its former name, Pietersburg, is a city and the capital of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. It is South Africa's largest urban centre north of Gauteng. Polokwane was one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. History In the 1840s, Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter established Zoutpansbergdorp, a town to the northwest. This settlement had to be abandoned because of clashes with the local tribes.( Langa & Ledwaba clans) They founded a new town in 1886 and named it "Pietersburg" in honour of Voortrekker leader Petrus Jacobus Joubert. The British Empire, British b ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IRB Hall Of Fame
The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other individuals. The Hall of Fame recognises the history and important contributions to the game, through one or more induction ceremonies that have been held annually except in 2010. The permanent physical home of the Hall of Fame was based at the Rugby Art Gallery, Museum & Library in Rugby, Warwickshire from 2016 until 2021. History The Hall of Fame was introduced by the International Rugby Board (as World Rugby was then known) during the 2006 IRB Awards ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland. The inaugural inductees were William Webb Ellis, who apocryphally caught the ball during a football game and ran with it, and Rugby School, which has left a huge legacy with the game in a number of ways. The second induction to the Hall of Fame took place i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Matfield
Victor Matfield (born 11 May 1977) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for and South African rugby union captains, captained the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team (Springboks) as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Bulls (rugby union), Bulls franchise in Super Rugby. He is generally considered one of the best Lock (rugby union), locks to have ever played for South Africa and had a long successful partnership with Springbok and Blue Bulls teammate Bakkies Botha. Matfield was known for his success at disrupting opposition line-out (rugby union), line-outs – this skill was a cornerstone of their 2007 World Cup success, where he was crowned IRB (International Rugby Board) player of the Rugby World Cup. In 2008 he captained the first team to beat the All Blacks in New Zealand since England in 2003. Matfield initially retired after the 2011 World Cup, leaving the game as the record Springbok cap holder, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brad Thorn
Bradley Carnegie Thorn (born 3 February 1975) is a rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Born in New Zealand, he represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a 22-season career as a player. He is currently the head coach of the Queensland Reds and their second longest coach in history. Thorn played rugby league for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League competition for a total of ten seasons in two spells, and represented Queensland in the State of Origin series. He played eight times for Australia - five for the Kangaroos, and three games for the Super League Australia team. His preferred position in rugby league was in the , though he was equally effective as a . In 2000 Thorn was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league. He first moved to rugby union in 2001 and, over two spells in the sport, became one of the most successful rugby union ... [...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] |
Peter De Villiers
Peter de Villiers (born 3 June 1957) is a South African professional rugby union coach and Good Party politician. He was coach of the South Africa national rugby union team from 2008 to 2011, after successes with the South African U19 and U21 squads, and the first-ever non-white to be appointed to the position. He enjoyed mixed successes. He initially managed South Africa to success, winning the 2009 Tri Nations, a 2009 test series win over the British & Irish Lions and a first victory over New Zealand in Dunedin in 2009. However he also became known for his controversial off-field comments. South Africa finished bottom in the 2010 and 2011 Tri Nations, and following a quarter final defeat to Australia in the 2011 Rugby World Cup did not renew his contract. On 12 September 2021, De Villiers was announced as the Good Party's mayoral candidate for the Drakenstein Local Municipality ahead of the upcoming municipal elections scheduled for 1 November. Playing and early coaching ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Web Ellis
William Webb Ellis (24 November 1806 – 24 January 1872) was an English Anglican clergyman who, by tradition, has been credited as the inventor of rugby football while a pupil at Rugby School. According to legend, Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it during a school football match in 1823, thus creating the "rugby" style of play. Although the story has become firmly entrenched in the sport's folklore, it is not supported by substantive evidence, and is discounted by most rugby historians as an origin myth. The Webb Ellis Cup is presented to the winners of the Rugby World Cup. Biography William Webb Ellis was born in Salford, Lancashire, the younger of three sons of James Ellis, a cornet in the 7th Dragoon Guards. The eldest son, James, died aged three and the second son, Thomas, of Dunchurch, Warwickshire, became a surgeon. Third son William was made a Lieutenant of the 3rd Dragoon Guardsin 1809, joining them in Portugal,Notices of the Ellises of England, Scotland a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2007 Tri Nations Series
The 2007 Tri Nations (rugby union), Tri Nations Series was an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia national rugby union team, Australia, All Blacks, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa. The series began in South Africa on 16 June, with a Test match (rugby union), Test between South Africa and Australia at Newlands Stadium, Newlands, Cape Town and ended on 21 July in Eden Park, Auckland with a Test between New Zealand and Australia. The winners, for the third consecutive year, were New Zealand. The 2007 series consisted of six matches (two home matches each), three fewer than the 2006 Tri Nations Series, 2006 series, because of the 2007 Rugby World Cup which would commence on 7 September. The draw was scheduled to ensure that no team played more than two matches in a row, the early finish allowing each team seven full weeks before the start of the World Cup. The competition reverted to a nine-Test series from 2008 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jake White
Jake White (born 13 December 1963 as ''Jacob Westerduin'') is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the ''Springboks'' – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri Nations. White also coached the Under-21 Springbok side to victory in the Under-21 World Cup in 2002. He was coach of the Brumbies in the Super Rugby from 2012, but resigned with two years remaining on his contract in 2013 to return to South Africa. On returning to South Africa, he coached the Sharks for a single season, explaining he wanted to seek international opportunities. This arose in a technical role with the Tongan national team. After assisting Tonga in their 3 Test European Tour, White was announced as Montpellier's new boss, overseeing all coaching aspects for the club. On 24 October 2011, he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, alongside other World Cup-winning head coaches and captains through the 2007 World Cup. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East London, Eastern Cape
East London ( xh, eMonti; af, Oos-Londen) is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. , East London had a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the metropolitan area. History Early history John Bailie, one of the 1820 Settlers, surveyed the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River mouth and founded the town in 1836. There is a memorial on Signal Hill commemorating the event. The city formed around the only river port in South Africa and was originally known as Port Rex. Later it was renamed London in honour of the capital city of the United Kingdom, hence the name East London. This settlement on the West Bank was the nucleus of the town of East London, which was elevated to city status in 1914. During the early to mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil Kenyon Stadium
Buffalo City Stadium (also known as the BCM Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in East London, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for Rugby Union matches and is the home stadium of Border Bulldogs. The stadium holds 16,000 people. The stadium has undergone three name changes. Originally, it was named Border Rugby Union Grounds, which was changed to the Basil Kenyon Stadium, after the Springbok player who captained the Springboks on a successful 3-month tour of England in 1951. It has also been called ABSA Stadium, for sponsorship reasons. On 26 June 2010, The BCM Stadium hosted a Test match between Italy and South Africa. South Africa won 55–11. Notable matches In August 1978, 5,500 spectators at the stadium watched the South African Country Districts XV beat the touring American Cougars 44–12. 1995 Rugby World Cup The stadium was one of the host venues for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It hosted 3 first round matches in Pool B during the tournament. References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canada National Rugby Union Team
The Canada national rugby union team (french: Équipe du Canada de rugby à XV) represents Canada in men's international rugby union competitions and is governed by Rugby Canada. Canada is classified by World Rugby as a tier two rugby nation and has competed in competitions such as the Americas Rugby Championship and the Rugby World Cup. Canada traditionally plays in red and white. Canada has been playing international rugby since their 1932 debut against Japan. Canada competed at every World Cup from the inagurual tournament in 1987 until its elimination at the hands of Chile during the 2023 qualifying process, breaking the 3 decades long record of uninterrupted attendance. Canada achieved their best result at the World Cup in 1991, where they reached the quarterfinals. Canada was once the dominant power of North American rugby and was the second-best team in the Americas. Before the professionalization of rugby, Canada were known to upset stronger teams, having defeated Fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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