|
Paul O'Connell
Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is an Irish former rugby union player and coach. When he stopped playing, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union history. During his career, O'Connell captained Munster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. He is now the forwards coach for the Ireland national men's team. Early life O'Connell was born in Limerick, Ireland to Mick and Sheila O'Connell. He attended the Model School and Ardscoil Rís, Limerick where he initially excelled at swimming and only started playing rugby at the age of 16, playing for the school in the Munster Schools Senior Cup and representing Irish Schools in 1997–98 along with international teammate Gordon D'Arcy. He also played five consecutive games with the Ireland U21s with Donncha O'Callaghan as his second row partner. O'Connell completed 3 out of 4 years of a Computer Engineering degree at the University of Limerick, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2015 Rugby World Cup
The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was only one change: Uruguay national rugby union team, Uruguay replaced Russia national rugby union team, Russia. This was the first World Cup with no new teams to the tournament. Reigning champions New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand won the cup and defended their title by defeating Australia national rugby union team, Australia in 2015 Rugby World Cup Final, the final 34–17; South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa defeated Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina to take third place. This was the first Rugby World Cup where no Northern Hemisphere team got beyond the quarter-finals. New Zealand were the first team to retain their title and the first to win for a third time. The highly contested 2015 Rugby Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues (English Premiership, French Top 14, and United Rugby Championship) or via winning the second-tier Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup. Between 1995 and 2014, the equivalent competition was known as the Heineken Cup and was run by European Rugby Cup. Following disagreements between its shareholders over the structure and governance of the competition, it was taken over by EPCR and its name was changed to the European Rugby Champions Cup, without title sponsorship. Heineken returned as sponsor for the 2018–19 season, resulting in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh Rugby
Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh plays most of its home games at Edinburgh Rugby Stadium. The original Edinburgh District team played the first ever inter-district match against Glasgow District in 1872, winning the match 3–0. The amateur district team was reformed with professionalism, as Edinburgh Rugby, in 1996 to compete in the Heineken Cup, its best performance coming in the 2011–12 season, when the club reached the semi-final but lost out narrowly to Ulster, 22–19. The quarter-final tie against Toulouse attracted a club record crowd of over 38,000 spectators to Murrayfield. In 2003–04 Edinburgh became the first Scottish team to reach the quarter-finals. In the 2014–15 season, Edinburgh became the first Scottish club to reach a major European final, when th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Rugby Championship
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South African teams previously from the SANZAR Super Rugby competition. The league is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership Rugby, Premiership and the French Top 14), the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup. Since 2022–23, despite the name, South African teams have been eligible to qualify for European competition, and one South African place is guaranteed. Beginning with the creation of the Welsh–Scottish League in 1999, the league became known as the Celtic League when it grew to include teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The league was sponsored by Irish cider makers Magners from the 2006–07 Celtic League, 2006–07 season until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donncha O'Callaghan
Donncha O'Callaghan (born 24 March 1979) is an Irish retired rugby union player. He spent most of his career with his home province Munster, spending 17 seasons with the province and winning five major trophies, before finishing his career with Worcester Warriors in the English Premiership. Internationally, O'Callaghan represented Ireland and was part of the team that won the Six Nations grand slam in 2009. He also toured with the British & Irish Lions in 2005 and 2009, winning 4 caps, and was invited the play for the Barbarians twice. Throughout his career, O'Callaghan played primarily as a lock, though he occasionally provided cover at blindside flanker. Youth rugby O'Callaghan began his rugby education in Highfield Rugby Club, on the Model Farm Road in Cork. During the 1997–98 season he won a Munster Schools Senior Cup with Christian Brothers College, Cork, beating St. Munchin's College, Limerick (a team including Jerry Flannery and Jeremy Staunton) in the final at Musgr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon D'Arcy
Gordon William D'Arcy (born 10 February 1980, in Ferns, County Wexford) is a retired Irish rugby player who played most of his career at inside centre. He played for Irish provincial side Leinster for his entire professional career and is second on the record list for most Leinster appearances at 257, behind Devon Toner and is third on the all time Leinster try list with 60. He was registered to club side Lansdowne. D'Arcy retired from rugby in 2015 having won three Heineken Cups, a Challenge Cup and four league titles with Leinster, two Six Nations titles with Ireland, including a Grand Slam in 2009, and travelled on two British & Irish Lions tours. Early life and education D'Arcy enrolled in UCD 1st year arts for the academic year 2007/08. Rugby playing career D'Arcy was a promising fullback for schools side Clongowes Wood in the late 1990s, and on the eve of his Leaving Cert was called into the Irish squad for the tour of South Africa by coach Warren Gatland. However ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ireland National Schoolboy Rugby Union Team
The Irish Schoolboys rugby union team is the national team for secondary school students and under-18 school players in Ireland. There is an equivalent Ireland under 18 clubs side that play international rugby. Role The Irish Schoolboys side represents the nation against youths of other nations. They provide a starting point for Ireland qualified players that has led to players representing the National Team, Ireland A, Development, Provincial, Students, Irish U-20 and AIL teams. Currently in both the Republic and Northern Ireland there are 246 Schools playing rugby; Ulster (107), Leinster (75), Munster (41) and Connacht (23). School competitions Each of the four Provinces holds a Schools Cup competition every season, usually culminating in a Provincial Cup Final held on or around St Patricks Day (17 March each year). Despite the age group the qualifying games and finals are usually very well attended with crowds often better than those attending most adult club games, for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup
The Munster Schools Senior Cup or Munster Senior Cup is the under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Munster Branch of the IRFU. The inaugural Munster Schools Senior Cup took place in 1909 and, since then, Cork city's two all-boys schools have been to the fore as the only rugby playing schools in the city. Christian Brothers College have 31 titles, whilst Presentation Brothers College have 30. Rockwell College (26) were once the team to beat in the competition, holding the record for most wins until the 1980s. However, Rockwell have only won the cup five times since. Limerick CBS (4) won Limerick's first trophies in the 1920s and 1930s, followed by Crescent College (11) which contributed three in the 1940s and 1950s, whilst St. Munchin's (5) won their first in 1968. Mungret College, merged into Crescent College in 1974, also took the trophy once in 1941. In addition Ardscoil Rís, and St. Enda's have all competed in finals. The most recent winners are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet newspaper, it introduced an additional compact size in 2004. Further, in December 2012 (following billionaire Denis O'Brien's takeover) it was announced that the newspaper would become compact only. History Murphy and family (1905–1973) The ''Irish Independent'' was formed in 1905 as the direct successor to ''The Irish Daily Independent and Daily Nation'', an 1890s' pro-Parnellite newspaper. It was launched by William Martin Murphy, a controversial Irish nationalist businessman, staunch anti-Parnellite and fellow townsman of Parnell's most venomous opponent, Timothy Michael Healy from Bantry. The first issue of the ''Irish Independent'', published 2 January 1905, was marked as "Vol. 14. No. 1". During the 1913 Lockout of workers, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the List of islands of the British Isles, second-largest island of the British Isles, the List of European islands by area, third-largest in Europe, and the List of islands by area, twentieth-largest on Earth. Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2022, the Irish population analysis, population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million living in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland, ranking it the List of European islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
