1996–97 Heineken Cup
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1996–97 Heineken Cup
The 1996–97 Heineken Cup was the second edition of the Heineken Cup, an international competition for the top European rugby union clubs. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales and, for the first time, England and Scotland, were divided into four pools of five, with each team playing the other teams once, meaning two home and two away games per team. The pool winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out stages. The competition was won by a French team for the second time, when Brive beat their English opponents Leicester Tigers 28–9 at the Cardiff Arms Park. The defending champions Toulouse were knocked out in the semi-final by Leicester Tigers and Brive beat Cardiff in the other semi-final. Teams The qualifying teams were drawn from six countries. Generally, these were the strongest teams from the top division of domestic rugby; weaker teams participated in the Challenge Cup: * England: 4 teams from the English Premiership * France: 4 teams from the Fre ...
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Round-robin Tournament
A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Merriam Co), p.1980. A round-robin contrasts with an elimination tournament, wherein participants are eliminated after a certain number of wins or losses. Terminology The term ''round-robin'' is derived from the French term ('ribbon'). Over time, the term became idiomized to ''robin''. In a ''single round-robin'' schedule, each participant plays every other participant once. If each participant plays all others twice, this is frequently called a ''double round-robin''. The term is rarely used when all participants play one another more than twice, and is never used when one participant plays others an unequal number of times, as is the case in almost all of the major North American professional sports leagues. In the United Kingdom, ...
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Scottish Rugby Union System
Domestic club rugby union within Scotland remains a predominantly amateur sport; however, semi-professional and professional outfits have been created in recent decades to participate in cross-border competitions. Professional Outfits With the advent of professionalism in 1995 the Scottish Rugby Union, just like the Irish Rugby Football Union, decided that existing club sides would be unable to compete with their counterparts in new cross-border tournaments such as the European Cup and Celtic League. It was decided by the Scottish Rugby Union that new professional teams would be created based on the union's four historic geographical districts and building upon the legacy/vehicle of the Scottish Inter-District Championship: The North and Midlands side was a de facto district based on the combination of The North and Midlands districts. Domestic Rugby Scottish League Championship The Scottish League Championship is the annual domestic league structure competed for by over 150 ...
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Caledonia Reds
Caledonia Reds were a Scottish rugby union team. They participated in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland, North and Midlands, in 1996. Their home games were shared between Aberdeen and Perth. Previous Scottish national coach Frank Hadden once held the assistant coaching position with the Caledonia Reds. In 1998, the SRU decided to merge the side with the Glasgow Rugby team, who today are known as the Glasgow Warriors. The Caledonia district still exists: it does not field a side in the United Rugby Championship league, but it does have competitive age grade teams in Inter-District Championships. History Formation In 1995, with the arrival of professionalism in rugby union, the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) realised their existing clubs would not be able to compete in the modern era alongside their English and French counterparts. After a year of debate of how to deal with professionalism, in 1996 the ...
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Border Reivers (rugby)
Border Reivers, originally known as "Scottish Borders Rugby", and also known as ''The Borders'', were one of four professional rugby union teams in rugby union in Scotland, Scotland, alongside Edinburgh Rugby, Edinburgh, Caledonia Reds and Glasgow Warriors. Border Reivers were active in the Scottish Inter-District Championship from 1996 to 1998 and in the Pro14, Celtic League, Celtic Cup and Heineken Cup from 2002 until 2007, when, as part of the Scottish Rugby Union, Scottish Rugby Union's cost-cutting measures, they were disbanded. They played their home matches at Netherdale (capacity circa 6,000) in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders region. History The Border Reivers were a continuation of the amateur South of Scotland rugby union team, reshaped as a professional side in 1996. District sides Scotland had four district sides: North and Midlands, South of Scotland rugby union team, South, Glasgow District (rugby union), Glasgow District, and Edinburgh District (rugby union ...
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Amatori Rugby Milano
Amatori Rugby Milano were an Italian rugby union team based in Milan founded in 1927 and disbanded in 2011. Founded in 1927 as part of the association football, football team F.C. Internazionale Milano, Ambrosiana-Inter of Milan, the club won the first ever Top12, Italian championship in 1929 and ever since have won 18 domestic championships that made them Italy's most titled rugby union team. The club members named themselves Amatori Rugby Milano as soon as Ambrosiana-Inter dropped their rugby union branch in 1929. Between 1993 and 1997 Amatori Milano was part of the A.C. Milan sport club under the ownership of Silvio Berlusconi and won 4 domestic championships. When Berlusconi dropped the sport club to keep the football team only Amatori folded and in 1998 the senior team and the sports title were sold to Rugby Calvisano, Calvisano. The club were revived in 2002 and coached by Marcello Cuttitta, a former Italian international rugby union player that played for Amatori in the ...
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Benetton Rugby
Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso ( or ), is an Italian professional rugby union team based in Treviso, Veneto which competes in the United Rugby Championship, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champions Cup. Treviso rugby team was founded in 1932 and has won 15 Italian national championships. The team has been owned by the Benetton Group, Benetton clothing company since 1979. Treviso have competed in the United Rugby Championship (formerly the Pro14 and Pro12) since 2010, and have previously competed in the Top10 (rugby union), Italian domestic championship. Treviso have supplied many players to the Italy national rugby union team, Italian national team, such as Alessandro Zanni and Leonardo Ghiraldini. Conversely, several notable foreign internationals have played for Treviso, including Rugby World Cup winners Craig Green (rugby union), Craig Green, John Kirwan (rugby), John Kirwan and Michael Lynagh. The President of Trevi ...
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Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won once. Ulster were the first Irish team and the first team outside England and France to win the European Cup in 1999. The team represents the IRFU Ulster Branch, which is one of the four primary branches of the IRFU and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Ulster, comprising Northern Ireland ( Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone) and three counties in the Republic of Ireland which are Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan. Prior to professionalisation, Ulster were a representative amateur team taking part in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship. They have also competed in the now defunct Celtic Cup (2003–05). Their development team, Ulster A, formerly known as the Ulster Rav ...
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Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby () is one of the professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union, 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 Mor dynasty, MacCarthy clan – "Forti et Fideli nihil difficile". Their main home ground is Thomond Park, Limerick, though some games are played at Musgrave Park, Cork, Musgrave Park, Cork (city), Cork. History Foundation and early years Munster was officially founded in 1879, at the same time as Leinster Rugby, Leinster and Ulster Rugby, Ulster, with Connacht Rugby, Connacht being founded ten years later in 1889. The first interprovincial matches between Leinster, Ulster and Munster, however, were held in 1875. The foun ...
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Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby () is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Leinster Branch, one of the four provincial unions that together make up the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), but is not restricted to players from that province. Leinster play their home games primarily at the 18,500-capacity RDS Arena ('the RDS') in Dublin, although larger games are played in the 51,700-capacity Aviva Stadium when the capacity of the RDS is insufficient, or during 2024 and 2025 to accommodate venue improvements at the RDS, with occasional on-off games been moved to Croke Park, home of the Gaelic Athletic Association and by some distance the List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, largest stadium in Ireland. Before moving to the RDS in 2005, Leinster's traditional home ground was Donnybrook Stadium, in Dublin 4. The province plays primarily in ...
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Section Paloise
Section Paloise (), often referred to simply as la Section or Pau (), is a professional rugby union club based in Pau, France. They are participants in the Top 14, France's premier rugby division, and also compete in the EPCR Challenge Cup. Their home matches are played at the Stade du Hameau, following 80 years of hosting games at the Stade de la Croix du Prince (1910–1990). The club boasts an impressive history, having clinched the Bouclier de Brennus three times in 1928, 1946, and 1964 along with securing the European Challenge in 2000. Section Paloise has also earned victories in the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1939, 1952 and 1997. Additionally, they claimed the French Pro D2 title in 2015. As a formidable presence in French rugby, the club has become a cherished symbol of Béarn culture and heritage. The official anthem of Section Paloise is "Honhada," a tradition that began in March 2012. The lyrics of this anthem were composed to the tune of the famous Scottish ...
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US Dax
Union Sportive Dax Rugby Landes, also known as US Dax, is a French rugby union club currently playing in Pro D2, the second level of the French league system. They were founded in 1904. They play at Stade Maurice Boyau (capacity 16,170). They wear red and white. They are based in Dax in the Landes department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Honours * French championship Top 14 ** Runners-up (5): 1956, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1973 * Challenge Yves du Manoir ** Champions (5): 1957, 1959, 1969, 1971, 1982 ** Runners-up (2): 1968, 1988 Finals results French championship Challenge Yves du Manoir Current standings Current squad The squad for the 2024–25 season is: c Espoirs squad Notable former players * Horacio Agulla * Federico Martín Aramburú * Lucas Borges * Roberto Grau * Ignacio Mieres * Juan Pablo Socino * Nicolás Vergallo * Fotunuupule Auelua * Matt Henjak * Morgan Turinui * A ...
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Wasps RFC
Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in relegation from the league and all staff being made redundant. They exited administration on 16 December 2022. Founded in 1867 as Wasps FC, Wasps Football Club, from 1923 to 1996 they were based at Repton Avenue in Sudbury, London. From 1996 to 2002 the team played at Loftus Road in Shepherd's Bush, London and from 2002 to 2014 they played at Adams Park in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. From 2014 to 2022 their home ground was the Coventry Building Society Arena (known until 2021 as the Ricoh Arena) in Coventry. They have not yet announced a permanent playing ground following their exit from administration. Wasps won 12 major titles. They were European Champions twice, in 2004 Heineken Cup Final, 2004 and 2007 Heineken Cup Final, 2007; wo ...
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