The 2009 mid-year rugby union tests (also known as the Summer Internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) refers to the

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 it ...

Internationals played from 23 May to 4 July 2009, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. The main event in the series was the Lions tour of South Africa, which involved three test matches, while

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

travelled to Oceania. For Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

the Tests also constituted preparation for the 2009 Tri Nations. There was also a short tour for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

, including their first ever match in Australia. The two main North American sides,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, used the series as preparation for their annual early-summer competition, the

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...

, and for their 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying tie in July.

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

played home matches against the

and

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, th ...

and then travelled to Argentina for a return match with the ''Pumas'', while

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 (Grea ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

went to North America. The first England-Argentina matchup was notable because the Argentine Rugby Union moved the game to England in effort to raise cash to help support their fledgling professional setup; the move was also convenient for their large contingent of European-based players.

Overview

Series

Notes: * France and New Zealand drew their tour as France won the first test, but New Zealand won the second test, making a tour result of 1–1.

Other tours

Fixtures

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Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mid-Year 2009 2008–09 in European rugby union 2009–10 in European rugby union 2009 in Oceanian rugby union 2009 in South American rugby union 2009 in North American rugby union 2009 in South African rugby union

Overview

Series

Other tours

Fixtures

See also

Notes and references