|
Pro12
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries. The Championship is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership and the French Top 14), the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the highest-level continental club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. Since 2022–23 South African teams have been eligible to qualify for European competitions. Name The tournament has had a number of names as it has grown, bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2013–14 Pro12
The 2013–14 Pro12 (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Pro12 rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the fourth with its current 12-team format, and the third with RaboDirect as title sponsor. Leinster were the defending champions, having beaten Ulster in the 2013 playoff final. The twelve competing teams were the four Irish teams, Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster; two Scottish teams, Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors; four Welsh teams, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets; and two Italian teams, Benetton Treviso and Zebre. Changes for the season Ireland New Zealand native Pat Lam replaced Eric Elwood as head coach of Connacht, following Elwood's decision to step down, while out-half Dan Parks took on a coaching role with Connacht U18 Schools and Clubs while continuing to play with the senior team. Following changes between captains in previous seasons the start o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2011–12 Pro12
The 2011–12 Pro12 League (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the second with its current 12-team format, and also the first with RaboDirect as title sponsor. The twelve teams competing were the four Irish provinces, Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster; two Scottish regions, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors; four Welsh regions, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...; and two Italian clubs Aironi and Benetton Treviso. The competition was won by Ospreys, who defeated Leinster in the final 31–30. Teams Table Fixtures All times are local. Round 1 Round 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2017–18 Pro14
The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as the ''Guinness Brewery, Guinness PRO14 Championship'', with the addition of two South African teams. Fourteen teams competed in this season — four Irish teams: Connacht Rugby, Connacht, Leinster Rugby, Leinster, Munster Rugby, Munster and Ulster Rugby, Ulster; two Italian teams: Benetton Rugby, Benetton and Zebre; two Scottish teams: Edinburgh Rugby, Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors; two South African teams: Cheetahs (rugby union), Cheetahs and the Southern Kings; and four Welsh teams: Cardiff Blues, Dragons (rugby union), Dragons, Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys and Scarlets. Scarlets came into the new season as defending champions, and for the second season reached the PRO14 final. Leinster Rugby, Leinster, however, won the final at the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16. The league is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership Rugby, Premiership and the United Rugby Championship, which brings together top clubs from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa), from which the most successful teams go forward to compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup, the championship which replaced the Heineken Cup after the 2013–14 Pro12, 2013–14 season. The first ever final took place in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2010–11 Celtic League
The 2010–11 Magners League was the tenth Celtic League season and the fifth with Magners as title sponsor. The regular season began on 3 September 2010 and finished on the weekend of 6–8 May 2011. During these stages, each team played every other team both home and away and were awarded points according to the standard bonus point system. This was the second season to follow the play-off structure to determine the Magners League champion, with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals. The winner of each semi final advanced to the Grand Final, which took place 28 May and was hosted by the team that finished highest in the table following the regular season. The title was won by Munster who defeated Leinster by 19–9 at Thomond Park. This was the final season of the Celtic League sponsored by Magners. The following season would see RaboDirect, the Irish subsidiary of Dutch financial company Rabobank, take over the sponsorship. At the same time, the league rebrande ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pro14 Rainbow Cup
The Pro14 Rainbow Cup (also known as the Guinness Brewery, Guinness Pro14 Rainbow Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a professional rugby union end-of-season cup competition played in 2021 that consisted of two separate tournaments: the Rainbow Cup for twelve European clubs and the Rainbow Cup SA for four South African clubs. The winners of each competition then played a final match to determine the overall winner. The tournament operated as a shortened 'Spring season' to allow for the integration of the four new South African teams into the 2021-22 United Rugby Championship, United Rugby Championship ahead of the 2021–22 season. In winning the play-off final against the Bulls (rugby union), Bulls of South Africa, Benetton Rugby, Benetton Treviso became the first Italian side ever to win any of the successor championships to the Celtic League. Background The 2020–21 Pro14 was reduced to twelve teams as the two South African teams - the Cheetahs (rugby union), Cheetahs and Sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh–Scottish League
The Welsh–Scottish League was a rugby union league in Scotland and Wales jointly implemented by the Scottish Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union from the 1999–2000 season onwards. It was a precursor to the Celtic League and lasted three seasons, being disbanded after the Celtic League was set up. History Impact of Professionalism in Rugby Union When World Rugby decreed an Open Game for Rugby Union in 1995, the Northern Hemisphere nations reacted with varying degrees of speed and enthusiasm to the new professional game. Wales and the Welsh Rugby Union largely continued as was. They entered teams into the 1995–96 season's European Rugby Champions Cup, the Heineken Cup; alongside teams from Ireland, Italy, Romania and France. Scotland and the Scottish Rugby Union, however, largely was stunned by the announcement. Scotland did not enter any teams into the 1995–96 season's Heineken Cup. Club versus District debate While Wales continued with the club model and attemp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Rugby Champions Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues ( English Premiership, French Top 14, and United Rugby Championship) or via winning the second-tier Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup. Between 1995 and 2014, the equivalent competition was known as the Heineken Cup and was run by European Rugby Cup. Following disagreements between its shareholders over the structure and governance of the competition, it was taken over by EPCR and its name was changed to the European Rugby Champions Cup, without title sponsorship. Heineken returned as sponsor for the 2018–19 season, resulting in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Media Wales
Media Wales Ltd. is a publishing company based in Cardiff, Wales. As of 2009 it was owned by Reach plc (formerly known as the Trinity Mirror Group). It was previously known as the Western Mail (Wales), Western Mail & Echo Ltd. History The ''Western Mail'' was founded in 1869 by the John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, 3rd Marquess of Bute as a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative newspaper. In 1893, the original building in St. Mary Street/High Street, St. Mary Street was destroyed by fire and a new building was opened also in St Mary Street two years later. In 1928 the Western Mail Ltd amalgamated with David Duncan & Sons, who published the ''South Wales Daily News'' and the ''South Wales Echo'', which was established in 1884. The merged company became Western Mail and Echo Ltd. and because of the merger ''Evening Express'' and ''South Wales Daily'' News closed. In 1960, the newspapers left St Mary Street and moved to Thomson House, Cardiff. On 1 October 2007 Western ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rugby Union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in England in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an Rugby ball, oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped Goal (sports)#Structure, goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people regardless of gender, age or size. In 2023, there were more than 10 million people playing worldwide, of whom 8.4 million were registered players. World Rugby, previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, a ... [...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 has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the Super 12 in the 1996 Super 12 season, 1996 season with 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, building on competitions dating back to the South Pacific Championship in 1986. The Super 12 was established by SANZAAR, SANZAR after the sport became professional in 1995. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the competition to split into three, the reformed competition in 2021 only included teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific islands. The name was changed to Super 14 with the addition of two teams for the 2006 Super 14 season, 2006 season, and with expansion to 15 teams for the 2011 Super Rugby season, 2011 season, the competition was rebranded as Super Rugby (with no number). In 2016 two new teams, the Jaguares (Sup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
