Ravenhill Stadium
Ravenhill Stadium (known as the Kingspan Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby stadium located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home of Ulster Rugby. With the opening of a new stand for the 2014 Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens F.C., Saracens on 5 April 2014, the capacity of the stadium is now 18,196. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union. History Ravenhill Stadium opened in 1923. It features an ornate arch at the entrance that was erected as a war memorial for those players killed in World War I and World War II. Prior to 1923, both Ulster and Ireland played games at the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society grounds in Belfast. Ravenhill has been the annual venue for the Ulster Schools Cup final since 1924, which is traditionally contested on St Patrick's Day. The stadium is traditionally the venue for the Ulster Towns Cup, played on Easter Monday. Ravenhill has hosted 18 international matches, including pool games in both the 1991 Rugby ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom and the second-largest in Ireland. It had a population of 345,418 . By the early 19th century, Belfast was a major port. It played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Ireland, briefly becoming the biggest linen-producer in the world, earning it the nickname "Linenopolis". By the time it was granted city status in 1888, it was a major centre of Irish linen production, tobacco-processing and rope-making. Shipbuilding was also a key industry; the Harland and Wolff shipyard, which built the , was the world's largest shipyard. Industrialisation, and the resulting inward migration, made Belfast one of Ireland's biggest cities. Following the partition of Ireland in 1921, Belfast became the seat of government for Northern Ireland ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ireland National Rugby Union Team
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions. The Ireland national team dates to 1875, when it played its first international match against England. Ireland reached number 1 in the World Rugby Rankings for the first time in 2019. Eleven former Ireland players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. History Early years: 1875–1900 Dublin University was the first organised rugby football club in Ireland, having been founded in 1854. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain. During the third quarter of the nineteenth century, and fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Zealand Women's National Rugby Union Team
The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournaments. They have an 85 per cent winning record in Test match rugby, and are the only women's international side with a winning record against every opponent. Since their official international debut in 1990, the Black Ferns have lost to only four of the sixteen nations they have played against. They have never been ranked lower than second in the World Rankings since its introduction in 2003. The team performs a Haka before every match; this is a Māori challenge or posture dance. Traditionally the Black Ferns use the Haka ''Ko Uhia Mai'' until the present year. History Women's rugby in New Zealand was rising in the late eighties, but recognition and assistance from New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) wasn't available. It wasn't unti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2017 Women's Rugby World Cup Final
The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup Final was a rugby union match to determine the winner of the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup, played between reigning champions England women's national rugby union team, England and New Zealand women's national rugby union team, New Zealand on 26 August 2017 at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. New Zealand won the Rugby World Cup for a record fifth time, beating England 41–32. Route to the final England was the only team in the competition to be made up of professional rugby players, whereas New Zealand had just six players contracted. New Zealand was placed in Pool A with Canada, Hong Kong and Wales. England was in Pool B alongside USA, Spain and Italy. On 10 August England played their first game of the tournament against Spain and ran in ten tries, including a hat-trick to Kay Wilson, to record a 56–5 victory. New Zealand played Wales the same day and led 20–0 at half time before extending the final margin to 44–12, with Selica Winiata sco ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU's Munster Branch, which is responsible for rugby union throughout the Irish province of Munster. The team motto is "To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible." This is derived from the motto of the MacCarthy clan – "Forti et Fideli nihil difficile". Their main home ground is Thomond Park, Limerick, though some games are played at Musgrave Park, Cork. History Foundation and early years Munster was officially founded in 1879, at the same time as Leinster and Ulster, with Connacht being founded ten years later in 1889. The first interprovincial matches between Leinster, Ulster and Munster, however, were held in 1875. The founding of the Munster branch of the IRFU was intended to organise and oversee the game within the province and prevent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became the first Scottish team to win a major trophy in rugby union's professional era. The side is known for its fast, dynamic and attacking style of play, using offloads and quick rucks. Defensively the club prides itself on its 'Fortress Scotstoun' where the club play at home. History Glasgow Warriors are a continuation of the amateur Glasgow District side founded in 1872. For the history of Glasgow as an amateur district side see: Reshaped as a professional club in 1996, Glasgow Warriors were originally known as Glasgow Rugby before rebranding as Glasgow Caledonians in 1998 by a merger with the Caledonian Reds. They dropped the Caledonians to become Glasgow Rugby in 2001 again and finally rebranded as the Glasgow Warriors in 2005. Origin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2015 Pro12 Grand Final
The 2015 Pro12 Grand Final was the final match of the 2014–15 Pro12 season. The 2014–15 season was the first with Guinness as the title sponsor and the sixth ever League Grand Final. The final was played between Glasgow Warriors and Munster. Glasgow won their first title, winning on a 31–13 scoreline. Route to the final 2015 Play-offs The semi-finals followed a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system with the games being played at the home ground of the higher placed teams. ---- Build-up In January 2015, the tournament organisers confirmed that the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast would host the final. The organisers chose to move away from giving home advantage to the highest placed finisher at the end of the regular season. Munster were looking to win the title for a fourth time, the last win being in 2011 against Leinster, while Glasgow had never won the title. The match was shown live on Sky Sports in Ireland and the UK, on TG4 in Ireland and on BBC Two Scotland in Scotland. Both te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kingspan Group
Kingspan Group plc is a building materials company based in Ireland trading in over 70 countries with 159 factories employing over 15,000 people. The company operates with five divisions; Insulated Panels, Insulation, Light & Air, Water & Energy, and, Data & Flooring. History Founded in the 1960s by Eugene Murtagh, the company floated on the Irish Stock Exchange in 1989 with a value of IR£20m. It expanded into insulated panels and rigid insulation board via numerous greenfield plants, and acquisitions including the European insulation arm of CRH plc in 2010 and the construction division of ThyssenKrupp Steel in 2012. The year 2010 showed the first growth in sales for three years. Acquisitions Commitments Innovation Kingspan Group's new global innovation centre, 'IKON', opened in 2019 in Kingscourt, Ireland, next to the head office. Designed by 'MILLIMETRE DESIGN' (Dublin), it comprises 18 Kingspan products serving as a 'state-of-the-art' place of research and living re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Humphreys (rugby Union)
David Humphreys MBE (born 10 September 1971) is a former Irish rugby union player. He played 72 times for Ireland, scoring 560 points, including 6 tries, and at the time of his international retirement was Ireland's most capped out-half. He played his club rugby for London Irish and Ulster, winning the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, the 2004 Celtic Cup and the 2005–06 Celtic League with the latter. Since retiring as a player he has served as director of rugby for Ulster and Gloucester Playing career Early career Humphreys started playing rugby while at Ballymena Academy,Jonathan Bradley, ''The Last Amateurs: The Incredible Story of Ulster Rugby's 1999 European Champions'', The Blackstaff Press, 2018 and represented Ireland Schools, captaining them to the Triple Crown in 1990. In the amateur era, he played for Queen's University RFC, with whom he won the Dudley Cup in 1994, Ballymena R.F.C., and Oxford University RFC, for whom he scored all 19 points in a losing effort in the 1995 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stade Français
Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The original Stade Français was founded in 1883. In its current form, the club was founded in 1995 with the merger of the rugby sections of the Stade Français and Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux (CASG). Its traditional home is Stade Jean-Bouin, though the club has recently played some home games at the 80,000-seat Stade de France, taking anywhere from two to five matches to the larger venue each season since 2005–06. From 2010 to 2013, the team played temporarily at the 20,000-capacity Stade Charléty in Paris to allow a new stadium to be built at the Jean-Bouin site. The team participated in the first French championship final in 1892, and went on to win numerous titles during the early 1900s. Stade Français spent about 50 year ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1998–99 Heineken Cup
The 1998–99 Heineken Cup was the fourth edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, and Scotland, were divided into four pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. Cardiff and Swansea did not compete due to a dispute with their union, the Welsh Rugby Union, whereas teams from England did not compete due to a dispute between European Rugby and the Rugby Football Union. The pool winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out stages. Teams Pool stage In the pool matches teams received 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a defeat. Pool 1 Pool 2 Pool 3 Pool 4 Seeding Knockout stage Quarter-finals ---- ---- ---- Semi-finals Final References {{DEFAULTSORT:Heineken Cup 1998–99 Heineken Cup, Heineken Cup seasons, 1996–97 1998–99 in European rugby union 1998–99 in French rugby union 1998–99 in Irish rugby union 1998–99 in Italian rugby union ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successful club in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup a record five times – in 1996, 2003, 2005, 2010 and 2021. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps and Munster, respectively. Stade Toulousain have also won a record 21 Boucliers de Brennus, the French domestic league trophy. It is traditionally one of the main providers for the French national team and its youth academy is one of the best in the world. Their home ground is the Stade Ernest-Wallon. However, big Top 14 matches along with European games are often played at the Stadium Municipal de Toulouse. The club colours are red, black and white. History Roots and foundation Before 1907, rugby union ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |