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Gordon D'Arcy
Gordon William D'Arcy (born 10 February 1980, in Ferns, County Wexford) is a retired Irish rugby player who was selected for two British & Irish Lions tours. He played most of his career at inside centre for Irish provincial side Leinster. He is second on the record list for most Leinster appearances at 257 and third on the all-time Leinster try list with 60. He was registered to club side Lansdowne. D'Arcy retired from rugby in 2015, having won three Heineken Cups, a Challenge Cup and four league titles with Leinster, two Six Nations titles with Ireland, including a Grand Slam in 2009. Early life and education D'Arcy graduated from Clongowes Wood in 1998. He enrolled in UCD 1st year arts for the academic year 2007/08. Rugby playing career D'Arcy was a promising fullback for schools side Clongowes Wood in the late 1990s, and on the eve of his Leaving Cert was called into the Irish squad for the tour of South Africa by coach Warren Gatland. However, because of his studie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferns, County Wexford
Ferns (, short for ) is a historic town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is north of Enniscorthy. The remains of Ferns Castle are in the centre of the town. The town is in a civil parish of the same name. History Ferns is believed to have been established in the 6th century, when a monastery was founded in 598 dedicated to St Mogue of Clonmore (St. Aidan), who was a Bishop of Ferns. The town became the capital of the Kingdom of Leinster, and also the Capital of Ireland when the kings of that southern part of the province established their seat of power there. It was a very large city, but shrank after a fire destroyed most of it. The city stretched all the way past the River Bann (tributary of the River Slaney), and it is speculated that had it not burned, it would be one of Ireland's biggest cities today. King Dermot MacMurrough founded St. Mary's Abbey as a house of Augustinian canons c. 1158 and was buried there in 1171.T. O'Keeffe & R. Carey Bates, The abbey and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception in 1996 to 2014, it was known as the European Challenge Cup and governed by European Rugby Cup (ERC). Following disagreements in the structure of the tournament's format and division of revenue, the English and French leagues withdrew to form the EPCR, which organized the Challenge Cup and the Champions Cup since the 2014–15 season. The Challenge Cup is currently contested between 18 teams; 16 of which qualify from the three main European domestic leagues ( Premiership Rugby, Top 14, and United Rugby Championship). In 2023–24, two teams outside of the western Europe leagues had been invited to participate in the tournament. The Cheetahs, a South African team who won the 2023 Currie Cup will play in the cup, using Amsterdam as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rugby World Cup
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis who, according to a popular legend, invented rugby by picking up the ball during a football game and running with it. The tournament was first held in 1987 and was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Four countries have won the trophy; South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa four times, New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand three times, Australia national rugby union team, Australia twice, and England national rugby union team, England once. South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa is the current champion, having defeated New Zealand national rugby union team, New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiji National Rugby Union Team
The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union. Fiji competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations and now competes in its successor tournament Pacific Nations Cup. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the June and November test windows. They have beaten the major rugby playing sides of Wales, Scotland, Australia, France, Italy, Argentina and England. The only major sides Fiji are yet to beat are New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland. The "Flying Fijians" as they are nicknamed compete every four years at the Rugby World Cup. Their best performances were the 1987, 2007 and 2023 tournaments when they defeated Argentina, Wales and Australia respectively to reach the quarterfinals. Fiji is one of the few countries where rugby union is the main sport. There are approximately 80,000 registered players from a total population of around 950,000. One obstacle for Fiji is simply getting their rugby players to play for the national team, as many have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1999 Rugby Union World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professional era. Four automatic qualification places were available for the 1999 tournament; Wales qualified automatically as hosts, and the other three places went to the top three teams from the previous World Cup in 1995: champions South Africa, runners-up New Zealand and third-placed France. 63 nations took part in the qualification process, with 14 nations progressing directly to the tournament. the remaining two qualifiers were determined by a repechage, introduced for the first time in the tournaments history. This was also the first World Cup to feature 20 teams (expanded from 16). The 20 teams were divided into five pools of four. The winner of each pool progressed to the last eight automatically, with the remaining quarter-finalists determined by three play-off matches, played between the runne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romania National Rugby Union Team
The Romania national rugby union team, nicknamed Stejarii (''The Oaks''), has long been considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations Championship, Six Nations. They have participated in all but one Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the Rugby Europe International Championships, which they won in 2017 Rugby Europe Championship, 2017. Rugby union in Romania is administered by the Romanian Rugby Federation. France national rugby union team, France first played rugby against Romania in 1924 when they tried to establish a rival to the Five Nations championship. Romania holds with 25 matches the record for the longest unbeaten run. Although not regarded as a first-tier team in more recent times, their history includes an away draw against Ireland, and wins against four (France, Italy, Scotland, Wales) of the other Six Nations Championship teams. Romania played in every Rugby World Cup through to 2015 Rugby World Cup, 2015, but were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warren Gatland
Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and the former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. As a player, he was a Hooker (rugby union), hooker and was one of Waikato's longest-serving players, playing 140 games for the province – a record at the time. Gatland launched his coaching career as a player/coach for Taupiri in 1989, and after the All Blacks' 1989 New Zealand rugby union tour, 1989 tour, he remained in Ireland to act as a player/coach for Galwegians RFC leading them to promotion into the All-Ireland League (rugby union), All-Ireland League Division 2. In 1994, he became assistant coach to Thames Valley Rugby Football Union, Thames Valley in New Zealand. In 1996, he returned to Ireland and became the director of rugby at Connacht Rugby, Connacht, leading them to the quarter-finals of the 1997–98 European Challenge Cup. From 1998 he coached Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Leaving Certificate
The Leaving Certificate Examination (), commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert or (informally) the Leaving (), is the final exam of the Irish secondary school system and the university matriculation examination in Ireland. It takes a minimum of two years' preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior Cycle examination. These years are referred to collectively as "The Senior Cycle". Most students taking the examination are aged 16–19; in excess of eighty percent of this group undertake the exam. The Examination is overseen by the State Examinations Commission. The Leaving Certificate Examinations are taken annually by approximately 60,000 students. In 2018, the Department of Education alongside the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment confirmed that the senior cycle is under review with Politics and Society, Physical Education, and Computer Science the first of the new subjects to be part o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clongowes Wood
Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ... for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's autobiographical novel, semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man''. Blessed John Sullivan (Jesuit) taught at Clongowes Wood College from 1907 until his death in 1933. One of five List of Jesuit schools in Ireland, Jesuit secondary schools in Ireland, it had 450 students in 2019. The school's current headmaster, Christopher Lumb, is the first lay headmaster in its history. The school is also a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference being one of only three members based in Ireland. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fullback (rugby Union)
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players". The scrum (a contest used to restart play) must consist of eight players from each team: the "front row" (two props – a loosehead and tighthead – and a hooker), the "second row" (two locks), and a "back row" (two flankers and a number 8). The players outside the scrum are called "the backs": scrum-half, fly-half, inside centre, outside centre, two wings, and a fullback. Forwards compete for the ball in scrums and line-outs and are generally bigger and stronger than the backs. Props push in the scrums, while the hooker trie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) () is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where adult men's Ireland national rugby union team, Irish rugby union international matches are played. In addition, the Union also owns the Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast, Thomond Park in Limerick and a number of grounds in provincial areas that have been rented to clubs. History Initially, there were two unions: the Irish Football Union, which had jurisdiction over clubs in Leinster, Munster and parts of Ulster and was founded in December 1874, and the Northern Football Union of Ireland, which controlled the Belfast area and was founded in January 1875. The IRFU was formed in 1879 as an amalgamation of these two organisations and branches of the new IRFU were formed in Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Connacht Branch was formed in 1900. The IR ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2009 Six Nations Championship
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national teams: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The tournament was held between 7 February and 21 March 2009. Ireland won the Grand Slam and Triple Crown, only their second Grand Slam, and first since 1948, and first Triple Crown since 2007. England finished as runners-up, and also won the Calcutta Cup. The tournament featured the first Friday night game in its history, played between France and Wales at the Stade de France. Summary The tournament began on 7 February 2009, when England hosted Italy in the earlier of the day's two matches. Ireland played France later that evening, with Scotland versus Wales the following day. The reigning champions on entering the 2009 tournament were Wales, who won the Grand Slam and Tripl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
