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Lions (Super Rugby Franchise)
The Lions (known as the Sigma Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg in the Gauteng province. They competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020, and have competed in the United Rugby Championship since 2021. They are the successor of the teams known as Transvaal (1996), Gauteng Lions (1997) and the Cats (1998–2006). They had varied results in Super Rugby, finishing at the bottom of the table six times (in 1998, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2012), but reaching the semifinal stage five times (in 2000, 2001, 2016, 2017 and 2018). They reached their first final in 2016 – where they lost to the 20–3 in Wellington – and repeated the feat in 2017, losing 17–25 to the in Johannesburg. The team reached their 3rd consecutive final in 2018 when they lost against the 38–17 in Christchurch. The team plays its home matches at Ellis Park Stadium. The team faced relegation from the Super 14 after the Southern Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board and the non-racial South African Rugby Union (SACOS), and took up its current name in 2005. SARU organises several national teams, most notably the senior national side, the ''Springboks''. History The South African Rugby Board was the rugby union governing body of white South Africans between 1880 and 1992. The governing of white and coloured rugby union was handled separately during South Africa under Apartheid. On 23 March 1992 the non-racial South African Rugby Union and the South African Rugby Board were merged to form the South African Rugby Football Union. The unified body changed its name in 2005 to the current South African Rugby Union. The debacle of the 2003 World Cup saw the Springboks exit in the quarterfinals. Further, S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2006 Super 14 Season
The 2006 Super 14 season started on 10 February 2006. The Grand Final was held on 27 May 2006. Super 14 is a provincial rugby union competition with 14 teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This season was the first of the expansion, which saw two new teams, the Western Force and the Cheetahs, join the Super 12/14. The addition of two new teams led to the name change from the Super 12. It was also the first year for a new Super 14 trophy. At the start of round one, the Crusaders were the favourite to win this year's titl1with a return of A$3.25 for every $1 bet. The Blues were second favourite with a return of A$4.75 for every $1 bet and the Waratahs were third with a return of A$5.00 for every $1 bet. The Cats were favourites for the wooden spoon. These figures are the final odds. The season saw the first joint commercial by the three SANZAR unions since 1996. The commercial was filmed in Ukraine and is set in a laundromat. The ad was attempting to draw intere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pumas (Currie Cup)
The Pumas (known as the Airlink Pumas for sponsorship reasons) are a South African rugby union team that competes in the Premier Division of the Currie Cup and the Northern Section of the Vodacom Cup. The team draws their players from Mpumalanga Province (formerly known as the South Eastern Transvaal) and plays at the Mbombela Stadium in Mbombela, having previously also played at the Puma Stadium in Witbank. The Pumas are a well supported team throughout Mpumalanga Province, with large fan bases located in Witbank, Middelburg, Ermelo and Mbombela. History Formed in 1969 as South Eastern Transvaal, the Pumas are one of the younger unions in the country. The team won the Currie Cup for the first time in 2022. In 2006, they were coached jointly by Chris Grobler and Danie Gerber, but failed to win any of their 14 matches, finishing last on the log. They won the Currie Cup First Division (the second tier competition) in 2005 and 2009, both times earning promotion to the Currie Cup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering . New Zealand is about east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a Megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with Deserts of Australia, deserts in the centre, tropical Forests of Australia, rainforests in the north-east, and List of mountains in Australia, mountain ranges in the south-east. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately Early human migrations#Nearby Oceania, 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharks (rugby Franchise)
The Sharks (known as the Cell C Sharks as they are their title sponsor) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Durban in KwaZulu Natal. They compete internationally in the United Rugby Championship and Heineken Champions Cup, having competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020. They are centred on the union, also based in Durban and drawing players from all of KwaZulu-Natal Province. The team plays its home matches at the Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium in Durban. In 1993–1995 South Africa was represented in the Super 10 by their three top unions (top three teams from the previous years Currie Cup). Natal (as they were called then) qualified in 1993 and 1994. Natal were runners-up in 1994 after having lost to Queensland 21–10 in the final. In 1996 and 1997 South Africa was represented in the Super 12 by their four top unions rather than franchises, and Natal qualified and competed both years. They have never won the Super Rugby competition, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also involves sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. They competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020. They are centred on the Western Province Currie Cup side, but also draw players from the Boland Cavaliers (covering the Cape Winelands and West Coast districts, with home matches in Wellington). Through 2005, they also drew players from the SWD Eagles (George), which meant that they drew players from all three unions in the Western Cape Province. However, the general realignment of franchise areas resulting from the expansion of the competition resulted in the Eagles being moved to the area of the Southern Spears (later succeeded by the Southern Kings). Prior to 1998, South Africa did not use a franchise system for the Super 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crusaders (rugby)
The Crusaders (formerly Canterbury Crusaders and BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the most successful team in the competition's history and have won 11 titles ( 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022), as well as two regionalised titles in 2020 and 2021. Formed in 1996 to represent the upper South Island of New Zealand in the Super 12, the Crusaders represent the Buller, Canterbury, Mid-Canterbury, South Canterbury, Tasman and West Coast provincial Rugby Unions. Their main home ground since 2012 is Rugby League Park (known for sponsorship reasons as Orangetheory Stadium). They formerly played out of Lancaster Park prior to it being damaged beyond repair in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The Crusaders struggled in the first season of the Super 12, 1996, finishing last. Their performance impro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
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] |
Super 10
The Super 10 was a rugby union football tournament featuring ten teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Tonga, and Western Samoa. The competition ran for three years from 1993 to 1995 and was the predecessor of Super 12 and Super 14, now known as Super Rugby. History The Super 10 replaced the Super 6 and the previous South Pacific Championship and CANZ Series tournaments which had been organized by the Australian and New Zealand rugby unions during the 1980s and early 1990s. With South Africa being readmitted into international sport due to the dismantling of apartheid (both The Wallabies and the All Blacks toured South Africa during 1992), there was an opportunity to launch an expanded competition also featuring South Africa's top provincial teams. The South African Broadcasting Corporation's ''Top Sport'' channel committed to a three-year sponsorship of the competition, allowing it to be launched. The official declaration of professionalism in rugby union in A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
