|
Stephen Donald
Stephen Rex Donald (born 3 December 1983) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for the NEC Green Rockets in the Japanese Top League. A first five-eighth or centre, he has won 24 international caps for New Zealand. Nicknamed 'Beaver', he is best known for kicking the winning penalty in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final. Domestic career Waikato Initially progressing and playing through all levels for the Waikato province in the ITM Cup. Chiefs He then played for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby competition. He would initially play for the franchise from 2005 until 2011. In 2015, Donald had signed to returned to New Zealand to play for Waikato in the ITM Cup. Donald made his return with Waikato on 10 September 2015 against Southland at Waikato Stadium, coming on as a substitute. In June 2016, Donald captained the Chiefs to a dominating win over Wales. Although the Welsh were the strong favourites going into the match, Donald had played a 'man of the matc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papakura, New Zealand
Papakura District was a local council territory in New Zealand's Auckland Region that was governed by the Papakura District Council from 1989 until 2010. The area makes up the southernmost part of the Auckland metropolitan area. The area was originally a small independent city, until it became ''Papakura District'' in the 1989 reorganisation of New Zealand's local governments, and has now been overtaken by Auckland's urban sprawl. The district is flanked by beaches on the Manukau Harbour to the west, Manukau City to the north and east, and had Franklin District to the south. Geography In 2010, Papakura District boundaries covered 123 square kilometres and the centre of the district was located 32 km from downtown Auckland. The geography of the district encompasses fertile plains, the inlets and foreshores of the Manukau Harbour, and the rolling foothills of the Hunua Range; a relatively narrow but strategically well positioned narrow span of land between the Hauraki Gul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Rockets Tokatsu
NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu (formerly NEC Green Rockets) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. The team's captain iRyota Asano The previous captain was Takuro Miuchi, who was also the captain of the Japan national rugby union team. Before the semi-professional Top League was created, the team was just known as "NEC". The amateur club was founded in 1985 in the Kantō region. NEC Green Rockets won the All-Japan Championship final for the second time on 27 February 2005, beating Toyota Verblitz 17-13. They drew 6-6 with Toshiba Brave Lupus in the 43rd Japan Championship final on 26 February 2006 after an effective defensive effort and the sin-binning of Glen Marsh in the last ten minutes of the game. The team rebranded as Green Rockets Tokatsu ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022. Honours * All-Japan Championship ** Champions: 2005, 2006 (with Toshiba Brave Lupus) Current squad The Green Rockets Tokatsu for the 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Brett
Stephen Brett (born 23 November 1985) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He is the head coach for Rugby ATL in Major League Rugby (MLR). Playing career Brett is a versatile back whose preferred position is first five-eighth, although he can also play second five-eighth and fullback. He is the stepson of former Canterbury and New Zealand centre Victor Simpson. He has worked on improving his goal kicking and defensive skills, which have led some to suggest Brett's primary weakness is in his defence, thus impeding his progress to higher levels. Super 14 Brett made his Super Rugby debut in 2006 for the Crusaders but had to wait until the following season to make his mark. With regular first-five Daniel Carter being unavailable for much of the season due to the World Cup conditioning program, Brett seized his chance in the number 10 jersey and finished 2007 as the Crusader's top scorer with 90 points. He continued his good form into the 2008 competition, scoring a try and pickin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2012 Super Rugby Season
The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the current 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involves teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as FxPro Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New Zealand and Vodacom Super Rugby in South Africa. Including its past incarnations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 17th season for the Southern Hemisphere's premier transnational club competition. The conference games took place every weekend from 24 February until 14 July (with a three-week break between rounds 15 and 16 for international matches), followed by the finals series, culminating in the grand final on 4 August. While its three main broadcasting partners are Fox Sports (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand) and SuperSport (South Africa), Super Rugby can be viewed in many countries throughout the world. The Chiefs, based in Hamilton, New Zealand, claimed their first-ever title ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blues (Super Rugby Franchise)
The Blues (known as the Auckland Blues from 1996 to 2000) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, who play in the Super Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established by the NZRU in 1996. One of the most successful teams in Super Rugby history, the Blues won the competition in its first two seasons, 1996 and 1997, and again in 2003. Additionally, the team were finalists in 1998 and 2022 and semi-finalists in 2007 and 2011. History Formation, Early Years and Immediate Success (1996–97) Along with New Zealand's other Super Rugby sides, the Blues were established by the NZRU to take part in the newly formed Super 12 competition which, involved teams from South Africa and Australia in addition to New Zealand. Each of New Zealand's five sides represented a number of provincial unions, with the Blues representing the Auckland, Counties Manukau and Thames Valley unions, while the neighbouring Waikato Chie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It promotes and runs the sport, organises international matches for the England national rugby union team, England national team, and educates and trains players and officials. The RFU is an industrial and provident society owned by over 2,000 member clubs, representing over 2.5 million registered players, and forms the largest rugby union society in the world, and one of the largest sports organisations in England. It is based at Twickenham Stadium, London. In September 2010 the equivalent women's rugby body, the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW), was able to nominate a member to the RFU Council to represent women and girls rugby. The RFUW was integrated into the RFU in July 2012. Early history (19th century) For ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiaan Falcon
Tiaan Falcon (born 19 June 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half or Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Toyota Verblitz in the Japan Rugby League One competition. He formerly played for the in Super Rugby and for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship (2006–present), National Provincial Championship competition. Early life and career Falcon was born in Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith, where his father – former New Zealand Māori rugby union team, New Zealand Māori, and Flanker (rugby union), loose forward Gordon Falcon – played rugby league for the Penrith Panthers. With his family, he moved to New Zealand when he was two years old. In Hawke's Bay region, Hawke's Bay, Falcon attended Lindisfarne College, New Zealand, Lindisfarne College from 2011-2015. While there, he played for the school's 1st XV team. He also represented Hawke's Bay Rugby Union, Hawke's Bay at under 14 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Waikato Stadium
FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, the Goal Line Terrace holding 800 and the Greenzone can hold up to 5,000 people. The capacity can be extended, however, by temporarily adding 5,000 seats to the Goal Line Terrace area. The stadium, owned by the Hamilton City Council, regularly hosts two rugby union teams: *The Chiefs in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. *The Waikato side in the country's top provincial rugby competition, the Mitre 10 Cup. History In 1925, Rugby Park opened. In 1930, a rugby union match between Waikato and Great Britain was first broadcast on the radio in Hamilton. In 1937, South Africa visited Hamilton in front of a then record crowd of 13,000. One of the most memorable games at the ground was in 1956 when Waikato beat the visiting Spring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southland Rugby Football Union
Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the union's professional team, the Southland Stags who compete in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship Division and challenge for the Ranfurly Shield. Despite their proud history, no Southland team has ever won the top division of the New Zealand National Provincial Championship since organised competition began in 1976. However, they have won the NPC second division title five times and held the Ranfurly Shield seven times, most recently in 2011 where they defended the shield twice before losing it to Taranaki. Southland also plays for the Donald Stuart Memorial Shield against rivals Otago in what is the longest tenured provincial rivalry in New Zealand first-class rugby, with 229 matches. History Formation and early years Founded in 1887 after splitt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super Rugby
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] |
Chiefs (Super Rugby Franchise)
The Chiefs (formerly known as the Waikato Chiefs and officially called the Gallagher Chiefs for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, Waikato. The team competes in the Super Rugby competition, previously known as the Super 12 and Super 14, and are one of the competition's five New Zealand teams. Their primary home ground is Waikato Stadium. Until 2004, the Chiefs were the only New Zealand side never to have qualified for the Super 12 semi-finals. In that year the Chiefs earned their first semi-final berth, and in the end achieved fourth place (defeated 37–20 in the semi-final by the ACT Brumbies). They subsequently reached the 2009 final, but found themselves on the short end of a record 61–17 defeat by the Bulls. The Chiefs were rewarded with a home final after a strong 2012 season. The Chiefs defeated the 37–6, winning their first title. In 2013, the Chiefs became the fourth team to record back-to-back title wins, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
