Nick De Luca
Nick De Luca (born 1 February 1984 in Dumfries, south west Scotland) is a retired, former Scottish international professional rugby union player. Early years De Luca was born in Dumfries and grew up in Lockerbie. Club rugby De Luca's position of choice is as a Centre. He can also operate at Full back and Wing. In his early career he caught the eye with his notable 'outside breaks', opening up defences and creating chances. His creative play has been noted for deceptive strength, slick handling and quick foot work. At club level De Luca began as an apprentice with Edinburgh in 2005 before joining Border Reivers for the 2006–07 season. Following the region's dissolution in 2007 he returned to Edinburgh. De Luca's debut season was marked by memorable try against Toulouse in the Heineken Cup where he stood up the famed Yannick Jauzion to touch down, and he also contributed a spellbinding effort during the dramatic win at Ospreys later on that year. He was named in the Pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the Anglo-Scottish border and just away from Cumbria by air. Dumfries is the county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire. Before becoming King of Scots, Robert the Bruce killed his rival the Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in the town on 10 February 1306. The Young Pretender had his headquarters here during a 3-day sojourn in Dumfries towards the end of 1745. During the Second World War, the bulk of the Norwegian Army during their years in exile in Britain consisted of a brigade in Dumfries. Dumfries is nicknamed ''Queen of the South''. This is also the name of the town's professional football club. People from Dumfries are known colloquially in Scots language as ''Doonhamers''. Toponymy There are a number of theories on the etymo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ospreys (rugby Union)
The Ospreys ( cy, Y Gweilch), formerly the Neath-Swansea Ospreys ''www.walesonline.co.uk'', accessed 22 October 2020 is one of the four professional teams from . They compete in the and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The tea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated France 8–7 in the final. The defending champions, South Africa, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals. The result marked the third time that the tournament was won by the country that hosted the event (following New Zealand in 1987 and South Africa in 1995). It was the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 America's Cup. Overseas visitors to New Zealand for the event totalled 133,000, more than the 95,000 that the organisers expected. However, there was a drop in non-event visitors, meaning the net increase i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium (known as BT Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, or popularly as Murrayfield) is a Rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest stadium in Scotland and the fifth largest in the United Kingdom. The stadium is the home of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) and is mainly used as a venue for rugby union. The stadium hosts most of Scotland's home test matches and the ''Scottish Hydro Electric Cup'' final, as well as URC and European Rugby Champions Cup matches. Although primarily a rugby union stadium, Murrayfield has in the past hosted American football, rugby league and association football matches, as well as numerous music concerts. History Purchase of land The SRU identified 19 acres of land at Murrayfield, purchasing this from Edinburgh Polo Club at Murrayfield, having raised money through debentures. A stand and three embankments were constructed, which took two ye ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Italy National Rugby Union Team
The Italy national rugby union team (Italian: ''Squadra nazionale italiana di rugby'') represents Italy in men's international rugby union. The team is known as ''gli Azzurri'' (the light-blues). Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946. Italy has played international rugby since 1929, and for decades was considered one of the best European teams outside the Five Nations Championship. Since 2000, Italy has competed annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In 2013, they were holders of the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy which is played annually between Italy and France. Italy is ranked 14th in the world by the IRB as of 18 July 2022. Italian rugby rose to prominence in 2000 when it was added to the Five Nations, creating the Six Nations. Initially on the receiving end of some heavy de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Six Nations Championship
The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby union tournament was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, and was won by England. Ireland played their first Six Nations games at the Aviva Stadium, having played their first matches at the new stadium in November 2010. For the first time in its history, the tournament opened with a Friday night fixture. For the first time in a decade, all of the teams had the same head coach as in the previous year's tournament. This tournament was also notable for a major upset, with Italy beating 2010 champions France. Despite this upset, Italy still finished last, and was awarded the wooden spoon as a result. The champions were England, who won their first four matches, but were denied the Grand Slam and the Triple Crown by ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and a part of Antarctica. The earliest recorded human prese ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wales National Rugby Union Team
The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. The team plays its home matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Principality Stadium), which replaced Cardiff Arms Park as the national stadium of Wales in 1999. Wales has competed annually in the Six Nations Championship (previously the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship) since it was established in 1883. They have won the tournament (and its predecessors) outright 28 times, most recently in 2021. Since 2005, Wales has been the most successful team in the Six Nations, winning six Six Nations titles. They include four Grand Slams, again more than any other side. Wales has also participated in every Rugby World Cup since the com ... [...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]   |
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2008 Six Nations Championship
The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen matches were played over five weekends from 2 February to 15 March, resulting in Wales national rugby union team, Wales winning the Grand Slam (rugby union), Grand Slam, their second in the last four championships and tenth overall. In winning the Grand Slam, Wales also won the Triple Crown (rugby union), Triple Crown, for beating each of the other Home Nations, for the 19th time. Wales conceded only two tries in the championship, beating England's previous record of four tries conceded. Wales' Shane Williams was named the Player of the Championship. Participants The teams involved were: Squads Table Results Round 1 ---- *This was Wales national rugby union team, Wales' first win over England national rugby union team, England ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ben Cairns
Ben Cairns (born 29 September 1985 in Leeds) is a former Scotland rugby union international who played for Edinburgh Rugby in the Pro12. Cairns' position of choice is as a Centre and he can also operate at Full-back and on the Wing. He won his First Cap for Scotland in Rosario against Argentina and then won his Second in Buenos Aires against the same Opponents a Week later. Before that he was called up to the Scotland squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship but was not used. Cairns' retirement from professional rugby due to injury was announced on 24 February 2014. Club career Cairns played at Currie RFC alongside his brother, former Scotland under-21 internationalist Mark, prior to his signing for the Scottish Pro12 team Edinburgh Rugby on a development contract in 2004, making his debut for the team in the 2005–06 season. Bizarrely, even though Cairns was a contracted apprentice with Edinburgh, he his Celtic League debut by playing for Glasgow Warriors as a replacemen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |