The 2014 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

) were international

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 its m ...

matches mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window. These matches were part of the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

(IRB) global rugby calendar (2012–19) that includes test matches between touring Northern Hemisphere nations and home Southern Hemisphere nations, whilst some of the touring teams played mid-week matches against provincial or regional sides. In addition to this, the calendar gave Tier 2 nations the opportunity to host Tier 1 nations outside the November international window leading up to the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. All Six Nations teams were in action, with

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 ...

playing a three-test series against

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 ...

, whilst playing a mid-week match against the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

played

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in a three-test series, whilst

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 re ...

played

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

played

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

in a two-test series, with an additional mid-week match against the , and

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 ...

played

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 ...

in a two-test series.

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the only nation that played four tests, visited the Americas, playing 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 territorie ...

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

, before playing South Africa outside the IRB international window. Unlike previous June windows, 2014 saw Tier 3 fixtures with

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

hosting Canadian side

BC Bears The British Columbia Bears (formerly Pacific Tyee) are the senior men's representative rugby team for British Columbia. They were founded in 2009 to compete in the Americas Rugby Championship against other representative teams from Canada, Argenti ...

, to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the

British Columbia Rugby Union The British Columbia Rugby Union (BCRU) is the provincial administrative body for rugby union in British Columbia, Canada. The BCRU consists of nine sub-unions and 65 clubs. It was originally organized in New Westminster in 1889 where Alfred St. G ...

. It also acted as a preparation match for Uruguay, ahead of their 2015 Rugby World Cup repechage play-offs in August against

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

played a test match against a Pacific Barbarians side in Auckland to fill a shortfall in their international calendar leading into the World Cup.

Overview

Series

Other tours

Fixtures

30 May–1 June

Notes: * Twelve players made their international debuts for Samoa, eight in the starting XV; Vavao Afemai, Oneone Fa'afou, Patrick Fa'apale,

Jake Grey Jake Jacob Grey (17 February 1984 – 19 December 2021) was a Samoan rugby union prop who played for SCOPA and the Samoa national rugby union team. Grey made his debut for Samoa in 2014 in Samoa's 4 Test series and was part of the squad at the 2 ...

, Reupena Levasa, Faalemiga Selesele, Aniseko Sio and Tulolo Tulolo, and four off the bench; Sam Aiono,

Lio Lolo Vanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos (born 17 June 1962), known professionally as Lio, is a Portuguese-Belgian singer and actress who was a pop icon in France and Belgium during the 1980s. Life and career Vanda Maria Ribeiro Furt ...

, Vaiofoga Simanu and Kaino Thomsen. * Japan's

Hitoshi Ono is a Japanese rugby player. He plays at lock for the Japan national rugby union team. He is nicknamed the "Iron Man". Ono started playing rugby after converting from baseball at Nihon University where he was studying to become a firefighter. H ...

surpassed

Hirotoki Onozawa is a rugby union player who plays at wing or occasionally full back for Canon Eagles. He previously played for Suntory Sungoliath and the Japan national rugby union team. Nicknamed "the eel" for his sharp sidestepping ability, Onozawa is the s ...

's 81 caps to become Japan's most capped player with 82 caps. * This was Japan's seventh consecutive win, the longest winning streak they have ever had. ---- ---- Notes: * Jon Callard coached England, with Lancaster in New Zealand with the touring 30-man squad. * This was the Barbarians' first back-to-back win since beating England and Wales in 2011, which was also the last time the Barbarians beat England.

7 June

Notes: *

Isei Colati Isei Colati (born 23 December 1983) is a Fijian rugby union player. He was named in Fiji's squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tou ...

made his international debut for Fiji. * Andrea de Marchi and Guglielmo Palazzani made their international debuts for Italy. ---- Notes: *

Malakai Fekitoa Malakai Fonokalafi Fekitoa (born 10 May 1992) is a Tongan rugby union player who plays as a centre. He currently plays for Irish club Munster. He previously played for the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition, in the ITM Cup, and for ...

and TJ Perenara made their international debuts for New Zealand. *

Chris Pennell Chris Pennell (born 26 April 1987) is an English rugby union player. He currently plays for Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership and also for the Dallas Jackals of Major League Rugby (MLR). He plays as a fullback or wing if needed. He ...

and Joe Gray made their international debuts for England. * With this win, New Zealand win 31 consecutive home matches, a world record by a test team. ---- Notes: *

James Slipper James Slipper (born 6 June 1989) is an Australian rugby union player who plays at prop. Slipper formerly captained the Queensland Reds, now playing for ACT Brumbies. Slipper made his debut during the 2010 Super 14 season. In June 2010 Slipper ca ...

and

Wycliff Palu Wycliff Palu (born 27 July 1982), known as Cliffy Palu, is an Australian former professional rugby union footballer of Tongan descent. He played for the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby and represented in 58 tests. Early life Palu was ...

earned their 50th test cap for Australia. * Sam Carter made his international debut for Australia. *

Felix Le Bourhis Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

and

Rémi Lamerat Rémi Lamerat (; born 14 January 1990) is a French rugby union player. His position is centre and he currently plays for Bordeaux Bègles in the Top 14. He began his career with Stade Toulousain before moving to Castres in 2012, then onto Clerm ...

made their international debuts for France. ---- ---- Notes: *

Ramiro Herrera Ramiro Herrera (born 14 February 1989) is an Argentine rugby union footballer who plays as a prop for Jaguares in Super Rugby. Career Herrera started out his rugby career in his native Argentina playing for Chenque Rugby Club from Comodoro R ...

made his international debut for Argentina. *

Rodney Ah You Rodney Ah You (born 27 October 1988) is a New Zealand born Irish rugby union player. Ah You's primary position is as a prop, and he can play at both tighthead and loosehead. He currently plays for French side Rugby Club Vannes in the Rugby Pro ...

, Robbie Diack and

Kieran Marmion Kieran Marmion (born 11 February 1992) is an Irish rugby union player who primarily plays as a scrum-half. Marmion currently plays for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro14. Marmion came into Connacht's academy through the Irish Exiles p ...

made their international debuts for Ireland. *

Paul O'Connell Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is an Irish former rugby union player and coach. When he stopped playing, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union histo ...

played his 100th test match; 93 for Ireland and 7 for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. * This was Ireland's first victory over Argentina, when playing on Argentine soil, in a fully test capped match. ---- Notes: * Danny Barrett made his international debut for the United States. *

Alex Allan Sir Alexander Claud Stuart Allan (born 9 February 1951) is a British civil servant who served as chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and Head of Intelligence Assessment for Her Majesty's Government between 2007 and 2011. He resigned ...

, Blair Cowan, Gordon Reid and

Finn Russell Finn Alastair Russell (born 23 September 1992) is a Scottish professional rugby union player who primarily plays fly-half for Racing 92 in the Top 14. He has also represented Scotland at international level, having made his test debut against t ...

made their international debuts for Scotland.

14 June

Notes: *

Dario Chistolini Dario Chistolini (born 14 September 1988 in Kempton Park, South Africa) is a South African-born Italian rugby union player. He currently plays for Petrarca Padova in the Italian domestic league Top10. He plays as a prop. Dario joined Glouces ...

made his international debut for Italy. *

Marco Bortolami Marco Bortolami (; born 12 June 1980) is a rugby union coach and retired Italian international player, whose career includes experience playing in the national top-level Italian ( Petrarca Padova), French (RC Narbonne), and English (Gloucester Ru ...

surpassed

Martin Castrogiovanni Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

and

Sergio Parisse Sergio Francesco Parisse (; born 12 September 1983) is an Italian rugby union player. He currently plays for French club Toulon and played for the Italy national team from 2002 until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Parisse is Italy's most-capped player ...

, to become Italy's most capped player with 106 caps. ---- Notes: *

Jerome Kaino Jerome Kaino (born 6 April 1983) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. In 2004, he was named IRB International Under-21 player of the year. In 2011, he was named the New Zealand Rugby player of the year, finishing ahead of Richie McCaw ...

earned his 50th test cap for New Zealand. * Patrick Tuipulotu made his international debut for New Zealand. *

Kieran Brookes Kieran Brookes (born 29 August 1990) is an English rugby union player who plays for Toulon and England. He usually plays as a tighthead prop, but can also cover as a loosehead prop. He was educated at Kirkham Grammar School. Club career Brook ...

made his international debut for England. * New Zealand retain the

Hillary Shield The Hillary Shield is contested between England and New Zealand at rugby union. The first match was played on 29 November 2008 at Twickenham Stadium, London. The trophy is named in memory of the New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, Sir Edmund Hi ...

, the fifth time they have held the trophy. ---- Notes: *

James Horwill James Horwill (born 29 May 1985) is an Australian former rugby union player, who has played for the Australian national side, with 61 caps to his name. He captained the Wallabies a number of times, including during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Hor ...

earned his 50th test cap for Australia. * Nathan Charles, Luke Jones and Laurie Weeks made their international debuts for Australia. * Alexandre Menini made his international debut for France. * Australia reclaim the

Trophée des Bicentenaires To celebrate the bi-centenaries of the First Fleet and of the French Revolution, in 1988 and 1989 respectively, the French Rugby Union donated the Trophée des Bicentenaires (, "Trophy of the Bicentenaries") to be played in perpetuity between th ...

for the first time since 2010, after losing it in 2012. * This was the first time France has failed to score any points against Australia, in the 44 meetings between the two teams. * Fewest points in an Australian win since their 6–3 win over New Zealand in 1958, and first Australian win without a try since their 21–13 win over Wales in 2001. ---- Notes: *

Cornal Hendricks Cornal Hendricks (born 18 April 1988) is a South African rugby union player for the in Super Rugby, the in the Currie Cup and the in the Rugby Challenge. His usual position is wing. Career Boland Cavaliers He represented local team thr ...

and Lood de Jager made their international debuts for South Africa. *

Victor Matfield Victor Matfield (born 11 May 1977) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for and South African rugby union captains, captained the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team (Springboks) as ...

joined

John Smit John William Smit, OIS, (born 3 April 1978) is a former South African rugby union player and former chief executive officer of the Sharks. He was the 50th captain of the South Africa national team, and led the team to win the 2007 Rugby World C ...

as the most capped South African player with 111 caps. * Gareth Davies and Matthew Morgan made their international debuts for Wales. * Adam Jones played his 100th test match; 95 for Wales and 5 for the

. ---- Notes: * Kevin Bryce and

Grayson Hart Grayson Hart (born 19 June 1988 in Kaitaia, New Zealand) is a professional rugby union player for Bedford Blues. He previously played for Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby in the Pro12 and the Blues and the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby. A ...

made their international debuts for Scotland. ---- Notes: *

James Cronin James Watson Cronin (September 29, 1931 – August 25, 2016) was an American particle physicist. Cronin was born in Chicago, Illinois, and attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He and co-researcher Val Logsdon Fitch were aw ...

Rob Herring Rob Herring is an English former professional motocross racer and current film industry stuntman. Herring began his racing career in South Africa after his father emigrated there from the United Kingdom. He returned to the U.K. at the age of 17 a ...

and

Noel Reid Noel Reid (born 22 May 1990) is an Irish rugby union player. Between 2011 and 2019 he played 120 games for Leinster. His preferred position is fly-half or centre. He has also played professionally for Leicester Tigers, London Irish and Agen. ...

made their international debuts for Ireland. * This was Ireland's first test series victory over Argentina, and with it, they retain the

Admiral Brown Cup The Admiral William Brown Cup (in es, Copa Almirante Brown) is an international rugby union competition contested between and . It was first held on 16 November 2012 at the Aviva Stadium. The trophy is named after Admiral William Brown, the Iri ...

. ----

17–22 June

---- Notes: *

Matías Moroni Matías Moroni (born 29 March 1991) is an Argentine professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Newcastle Falcons and the Argentina national team. Club career Moroni played his youth in Los Molinos and th ...

made his international debut for Argentina. ---- Notes: *

Mauro Bergamasco Mauro Bergamasco (born 1 May 1979) is a former Italian rugby union footballer who last played for Zebre. He predominantly played as an open-side flanker, although his versatility means that he had also played a number of international games on th ...

becomes the sixth Italian player to earn 100 test caps. * This win was Japan's tenth consecutive win, a record for a Tier 2 nation. ---- Notes: *

Will Skelton William "Will" Skelton (born 3 May 1992) is an Australian rugby union player, who plays as a lock for La Rochelle in the French Top 14 competition. Skelton was born in New Zealand, and he is of Samoan descent; he moved to Australia as a chil ...

made his international debut for Australia. * The 43,188-person crowd was a record crowd for an Australian test at Allianz Stadium. ---- ---- Notes: *

surpassed

, to become South Africa's most capped player with 112 caps. * South Africa retain the

Prince William Cup The Prince William Cup was created in 2007 by the Welsh Rugby Union and celebrates 100 years of rugby union history between Wales national rugby union team, Wales and South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa. It is named after the Vi ...

for the seventh time. ----

28 June

Notes: * Marnitz Boshoff, Stephan Lewies,

Marcel van der Merwe Marcel van der Merwe (born 24 October 1990) is a South African rugby union footballer. His regular playing position is Rugby union positions#1. Prop, prop. He represents in the English Premiership Rugby. He was included in the squad for the 2 ...

Oupa Mohojé Teboho Stephen 'Oupa' Mohojé (born 3 August 1990) is a South African rugby union player for the in the Pro14 and the in the Currie Cup. He can play as a flanker or lock. Career Mohojé played for the at the 2007 Under-18 Academy Week as wel ...

and

Handré Pollard Handré Pollard (born 11 March 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. His regular playing positions are fly-half, where ...

made their international debuts for South Africa. *

Adam Ashe Adam Ashe (born 24 July 1993 in Glasgow) is a former Scotland international rugby union player and now rugby union coach. He is the Assistant Coach for the Stirling Wolves. He previously played for the LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby in the ...

and Tyrone Holmes made their international debuts for Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mid-Year

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2014–15 in European rugby union 2014–15 in Japanese rugby union 2014 in Oceanian rugby union 2014 in North American rugby union 2014 in South American rugby union 2014 in African rugby union

Overview

Series

Other tours

Fixtures

30 May–1 June

7 June

14 June

17–22 June

28 June

See also

References