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World Series Rugby
Global Rapid Rugby was an international rugby union competition that launched a showcase series for six professional teams in 2019, played in locations across the Asia-Pacific region. Rapid Rugby matches are slightly shorter than the traditional 80 minutes and have other variations from standard rugby laws that are intended to increase the speed of the game. The 2020 Global Rapid Rugby season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic after only one completed round of competition. History The competition was conceived and is supported by the Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest. It was devised after the Western Force rugby team based in Perth, Western Australia was unilaterally dropped from the Australian Super Rugby Conference. Background Following SANZAAR's decision to reduce the number of Super Rugby teams for 2018, the Australian Rugby Union (now Rugby Australia) announced in August 2017 that the Western Force would be one of the teams cut from the 2018 competi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 World Series Rugby Season
World Series Rugby was a series of rugby union exhibition matches played in 2018 between the Perth-based Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. F ... and opposition teams from the Asia-Pacific region. It was the forerunner of Global Rapid Rugby, which commenced in 2019. World Series Rugby was created after the Western Force team was axed from the Australian Super Rugby conference at the end of the 2017 season. Teams Fixtures May–June July–August Country Stockman tour Following the 2018 World Series Rugby season, the Australian Country Stockman Rugby team undertook a two match tour to Perth to play the Western Force and Western Force Under-19 sides. References External links Western Force Webpage2018 ScheduleForce vs Aus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
World XV
A World XV is a rugby union team organised on an unofficial, ''ad hoc'' basis and typically composed of invited players from various countries. Several World XVs have been arranged by various bodies, often to take part in celebration and testimonial games, usually against national teams, but these are not considered test matches by most nations. History Argentina In 1980 and 1983, Argentina, played World XVs. The first match was played at Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires. Argentina went into half time ahead by 16 points to nil and despite an excellent display in the second half by the World XV Argentina were able to secure a 36–22 win. The second match was played in Atlanta Stadium, Buenos Aires, where Argentina secured a second victory 28–20. Australia In March 2019, a World XV captained by Andrew Ellis and coached by Robbie Deans played the Western Force, who won 26–16 as the opener of the 2019 Global Rapid Rugby season in HBF Park, Perth. New Zealand In 1992, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor to the north. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third highest population density in the world. With a multicultural population and recognising the need to respect cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca and numerous public services are available only in Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hong Kong Rugby Union
Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) is the governing body for rugby union in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1952 and became affiliated to World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby Board) in 1988.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) pp 67, 68 It organises and oversees local rugby, including the annual Hong Kong Sevens tournament and the HKRU Premierships. History In November 2022, Glory to Hong Kong was played after a match between the teams from South Korea and Hong Kong. The HKRU said "The HKRU expressed its extreme dissatisfaction at this occurrence and has received a full explanation of the circumstances that led to this. Whilst we accept this was a case of human error it was nevertheless not acceptable." Media reported that the local organizer had earlier asked each team for a copy of their anthems to play at the competition, but the Hong Kong team did not submit one. Later in November 2022, the head of HKRU, Robbie McRobbie, said new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiji Warriors
The Fiji Warriors, also referred to as Fiji A, is a national representative rugby team of rugby union in Fiji. It is the second-tier side to the Fiji national team. The Warriors team is selected from players in the Fijian domestic competitions and competes in the World Rugby Pacific Challenge against Samoa A and Tonga A. Since 2016, the Fiji Warriors team has played in the Americas Pacific Challenge against national A teams from North and South America. History Fiji's national A team has made several tours to South America, the earliest being in 2003 where they defeated by 24–3 in Montevideo. But the history of the second national team can be traced back almost half a century earlier to 1955 when a Fiji XV side undertook a two-week tour of Samoa and was undefeated in all three matches played. The Fiji Warriors first played in the Pacific Rugby Cup in 2006, but the team was one of two Fijian sides in the competition for the first five years – the other being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panasonic Wild Knights
Saitama Wild Knights (formerly Panasonic Wild Knights) is a Japanese rugby union team formerly based in Ōta city, Gunma prefecture which plays in the Top League. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half (though he was not captain), it dominated the league in the fifth season and was the first team to be unbeaten throughout a Top League season. The team rebranded as Saitama Wild Knights ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022, with the team relocating to Saitama. History Early Years (1960 to 1975) The Wild Knights were founded in 1960 by alumni of the Kumagai Industrial School and workers of the Tokyo Sanyo corporation. Initially an amateur company team, they competed in the Kantō Leagues during the 1960s, rising gradually through the ranks of the prefecture's rugby pyramid. In 1968 they undertook the first tour in their history when they travelled to South Korea to face a number of university and company teams there. In 1971 they won thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top League
Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the Japan Company Rugby Football Championship, to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The chief architect of the league was Hiroaki Shukuzawa who strongly felt the urgency of improving Japanese domestic company rugby to a professional level which would allow Japan to compete more convincingly at Rugby World Cups. Until 2022, it was an industrial league, where many players were employees of their company and the teams were all owned by major companies. While the competition was known for paying high salaries, only world-class foreign players and a small number of Japanese players played fully professionally, which meant most of the players still played in an a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They were the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia, until 2017 when shares in the franchise were returned to the Victorian Rugby Union. The club shares its name with a former Australian Rugby Championship team, but is unrelated. The team plays home matches at AAMI Park. History The era of professionalism in rugby union led to a restructuring of the Super 10 competition after the 1995 World Cup. SANZAR was formed to manage a 12-team provincial union from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. During the early years of 2000s South Africa and Australia pushed for additional teams each. Argentina also expressed interest. Discussions also included a federated Pacific Islands team in the vein of the West Indies cricket team, or individual island nations. Bids for the 13th and 14th franchise opened in 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crusaders (rugby Union)
The Crusaders (formerly Canterbury Crusaders and BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the most successful team in the competition's history and have won 11 titles (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022), as well as two regionalised titles in 2020 and 2021. Formed in 1996 to represent the upper South Island of New Zealand in the Super 12, the Crusaders represent the Buller, Canterbury, Mid-Canterbury, South Canterbury, Tasman and West Coast provincial Rugby Unions. Their main home ground since 2012 is Rugby League Park (known for sponsorship reasons as Orangetheory Stadium). They formerly played out of Lancaster Park prior to it being damaged beyond repair in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The Crusaders struggled in the first season of the Super 12, 1996, finishing last. Their performance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonga National Rugby Union Team
The Tonga national rugby union team ( to, timi feohi ʻakapulu fakafonua ʻa Tonga) represents Tonga in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ''Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles)''. Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a traditional piece of performance art – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals. History Rugby was brought to the region in the early 20th century by sailors and missionaries, and the Tonga Rugby Football Union was formed in late 1923. Tonga beat Fiji 9–6 in their first test in 1924 played in the capital Nukualofa. However, Tonga lost the second test 14–3 and drew the decider 0–0. Between 1924 and 1938 Tonga and Fiji played t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samoa National Rugby Union Team
The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world. Rugby was introduced to Samoa in the early 1920s and a governing body was soon formed. The first international was played as Western Samoa against Fiji in August 1924. Along with Tonga, these nations would meet regularly and eventually contest competitions such as the Pacific Tri-Nations – with Western Samoa winning the first of these. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was known as Western Samoa. Samoa have been to every Rugby World Cup since the 1991 tournament. That tournament, along with the 1995 compe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
