Matt Proctor
Matthew Phillip Proctor (born 26 October 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a utility back for the Northampton Saints in the Premiership Rugby and for the in Super Rugby. Club career In October 2012, he was named in the Hurricanes squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season. He scored a try on debut against the Stormers on 27 April 2013, playing on the wing. After the departure of the Hurricanes' long-serving midfield combination, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith, Proctor became a regular starter for the club in 2016. At the end of the season, Proctor started for the Hurricanes in the 2016 Super Rugby Final, in which the team won Super Rugby for the first time. Proctor's form continued into the 2017 season, leading to rumours of an All Black call-up. However, Proctor lost his place in the starting lineup in 2017, after struggling with injury, while midfield team-mates, Vince Aso and Ngani Laumape, were the top two scorers of the competition for the year. A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metro area, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed. Legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the 10th century, with initial settlement by Māori iwi such as Rangitāne and Muaūpoko. The disruptions of the Musket Wars led to them being overwhelmed by northern iwi such as Te Āti Awa by the early 19th century. Wellington's current form was originally designed by Captain William Mein Smith, the first Surveyor General for Edward Wakefield's New Zealand Company, in 1840. The Wellington urban area, which only includes urbanised area ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conrad Smith
Conrad Gerard Smith (born 12 October 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who played predominantly at centre. He captained the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, and played for New Zealand from 2004 until 2015. He was a key member of New Zealand's 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup winning teams. Following the 2015 World Cup he retired from international rugby and took up a contract with in France, before retiring in 2018. After retiring, he began a defence coaching role with Pau, and extended his contract as the club's High Performance Manager in 2020. He eventually returned to New Zealand in 2021, but still worked for Dublin-based International Rugby Players. Early life Smith played in various Taranaki age group teams. He attended St Joseph's Catholic School and Francis Douglas Memorial College, both in New Plymouth. Besides rugby he also excelled in cricket and was known as a fast bowler; his current nickname "Snakey" originated from his fielding which his coac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dalton Papalii
Dalton Reece Papalii ("Pa-pa-lee-e") is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Counties Manukau in the Mitre 10 Cup and the in the Super Rugby competition. Papalii has played 22 tests for the All Blacks, New Zealand's international team, since his debut in 2018. His position of choice is flanker. Papalii has previously represented New Zealand at Under-20 level. Early life and education He played rugby league, his family's sport, in his early years but switched to rugby union as a youngster, when he had the chance to go to Saint Kentigern College. He went on to captain his school's First XV, and won the 2015 Grant Dalton Cup after captaining them to the title by beating Auckland Grammar School in the final. In 2015 he led the New Zealand national schoolboy rugby union team to victory over Australia. Domestic career After school, Papalii joined the Auckland development programme and also represented his local club Pakuranga. He played for the Blues under-18 squad ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gareth Evans (rugby Union, Born August 1991)
Gareth Evans (born 5 August 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a loose forward for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and the in Super Rugby. Early career Born in the town of Hastings (Hawke's Bay) in the north-east of New Zealand to a Zimbabwean mother and a father from Havelock North, Evans attended Napier Boys' High School in the nearby town of Napier, where he played first XV rugby alongside future teammates Brad Weber and Ihaia West. After graduating high school, he moved south to Dunedin to study environmental management at the University of Otago while also playing for Dunedin in the local club rugby competition. Senior career 2011-2013 Aged just 20, Evans broke into the ITM Cup squad for the 2011 ITM Cup season and played all 10 games for the Razorbacks to help them to 3rd place on the Championship log, just outside of the playoff places due to the domestic season being shortened to accommodate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steve Hansen
Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief Of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen. He was the head coach of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, from 2012 to 2019, and won the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He stepped down at the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Hansen is also part owner of 2021 Everest winning horse Nature Strip. Early life Hansen was born in Mosgiel, to Desmond and Lauriss Hansen, who were dairy farmers on the Taieri Plain. He was educated at Outram Primary School, The Taieri High School, and Christchurch Boys' High School. Hansen also spent six years in the New Zealand Police, working at the Hornby Police Station where he met his first wife. A rugby union centre, he represented Canterbury at first-class level on 21 occasions. Coaching career Hansen began his coaching career with the Canterbury provincial rugby union team from 1996 to 20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2018 End-of-year Rugby Union Internationals
The 2018 end of year rugby union tests, also referred to as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a number of rugby union test matches played during October and November, primarily involving countries from the Northern Hemisphere hosting those from the Southern Hemisphere. Also involved in matches are those from second-tier teams. These international games count towards World Rugby's ranking system, with a team typically playing from two to four matches during this period. Matches October ---- Notes: * Sonny Bill Williams (New Zealand) earned his 50th test cap. * Sekope Kepu (Australia) became the ninth Australian to earn his 100th test cap and the first in his position for his country. * New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewashing of Australia for the first time since 2016. 2/3 November Notes: * Hiroshi Yamashita (Japan) earned his 50th test cap. * Jamie Henry, Isileli Nakajima (both Japan), George Bridge, Brett Cameron, Mitchell Drummond, Gareth Evans ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2012 IRB Junior World Championship
The 2012 IRB Junior World Championship was the fifth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. This competition replaced the now defunct Under 19 and Under 21 world championships. The event was organised in South Africa between 4 and 22 June 2012 by rugby's governing body, the IRB. A total of 12 nations played in the tournament. New Zealand came into the tournament as defending champions. South Africa were crowned 2012 champions after defeating New Zealand 22 - 16 in the final on the 22 June at Newlands Stadium. After finishing last at the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship, Tonga had been relegated to the IRB Junior World Trophy and therefore didn't participate in this year's event. They had been replaced with Samoa, who won the 2011 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy. Italy were relegated to the IRB Junior World Trophy for 2013 after losing the last place play-off to Fiji. They were replaced in 2013 with the United States, winner of the 2012 IRB ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brad Shields
Bradley David Fenner Shields (born 2 April 1991) is a rugby union player for USA Perpignan in the Top 14. He played 8 times for the England national rugby union team in 2018 and 2019. He previously played for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and was captain of the in the Super Rugby competition. In November 2017 he signed with Wasps. Early career Born in the town of Masterton, New Zealand, Shields attended Taita College in the suburb of Lower Hutt where he played first XV rugby and served as deputy head boy. After finishing high school, he began playing for Petone in Wellington's local club rugby competition while also captaining at under-20 level. Senior career Shields made his provincial debut aged just 19 in 2010. Taking advantage of injuries to established players Rodney So'oialo and Serge Lilo, he played in a 52–23 victory away to . That was to be his only appearance during the season, however the following year, he became much more of a regular, featur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2018 Mitre 10 Cup
The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season was the thirteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 16, when North Harbour hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Mitre 10 Cup and it was the third season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Waikato was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Taranaki was relegated to the Championship. Format The Mitre 10 Cup standings were sorted by a competition points system. Four points were awarded to the winning team, a draw equaled two points, whilst a loss amounted to zero points. Unions could also win their side a respectable bonus point. To receive a bonus point, they must have scored four tries or more or lose by seven or fewer points or less. Each team was placed on their total points received. If necessary of a tieb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2018 Super Rugby Season
The 2018 Super Rugby season was the 23rd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. After two seasons in which 18 teams participated, the 2018 season reverted to a 15-team competition, consisting of three geographical conferences. The South African Rugby Union announced that the and would be dropped for the 2018 season, while the Australian Rugby Union, now known as Rugby Australia, announced the exclusion of the . The South African franchises thereafter entered the newly renamed Pro14 competition, while the Western Force took part in the National Rugby Championship, the domestic Australia competition, while preparing to enter the new Global Rapid Rugby competition in 2019. Competition format The 15 participating teams are divided into three geographical conferences: the Australian Conference (consisting of four Australian teams and the Japanese ), the New Zealand ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national team, although they can pick uncapped players who are eligible for any of the four unions. The team currently tours every four years, with these rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in order. The most recent test series, the 2021 series against South Africa, was won 2–1 by South Africa. From 1888 onwards, combined British rugby sides toured the Southern Hemisphere. The first tour was a commercial venture, undertaken without official backing. The six subsequent visits enjoyed a growing degree of support from the authorities, before the 1910 South Africa tour, which was the first tour representative of the four Home Unions. In 1949 the four Home Unions formally created a Tours Committee and for the first time, every ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |