Barry John is a former Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s, and early 1970s. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964. It was while at Llanelli that John was first selected for the Wales national team, a shock selection as a replacement for David Watkins to face a touring Australian team.
The Italy national rugby union team represents Italy in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri. Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946.
The United States men's national rugby union team represents the United States in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed the Eagles, it is controlled by USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. USA Rugby is a member of Rugby Americas North, one of six regional governing bodies under World Rugby. Until rugby returned to Olympic competition, with sevens at the 2016 Rio Games, the United States was the reigning Olympic rugby champion, having defeated the one other competitor in 1920 and the two other competitors at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Justin Warren Marshall is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played 81 games for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1995 and 2005.
Haydn Tanner was a Welsh international rugby union player who represented both Wales and the British and Irish Lions. At club level he played for several top-flight teams, including Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, London Welsh and the Barbarians.
The Original All Blacks were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their opening game, on 16 September 1905, was against Devon whom they defeated 55–4. They defeated every English side that they faced, including a 16–3 victory over English county champions Durham, and a 32–0 victory over Blackheath. They defeated Scotland, Ireland, and England with the closest of the three matches their 12–7 victory over Scotland. The team's only loss of the tour was a 3–0 defeat by Wales at Cardiff Arms Park. A try claimed by winger Bob Deans was not awarded by the referee and later became a subject of controversy. However, Wales were generally considered the better team with the All Blacks playing particularly poorly in the first half of the game. They managed narrow wins against four Welsh club teams and went on to play France in France's first-ever test match. They returned to New Zealand via North America where they played two matches against Canadian teams. Overall they played a total of thirty-five matches, which included five Tests, and only lost once—the defeat by Wales.
Kenneth Jeffrey Jones OBE was a Welsh sprinter and record breaking Welsh international rugby union footballer. He played for both Wales and the British Isles. He is best known in Wales for his contribution to Welsh rugby, but most notably for his winning try against the All Blacks in 1953.
Alun Wyn Jones is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player. Jones also holds the records for the most Wales caps and the most Wales caps as captain.
Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Manchester to play at the Belle Vue Stadium, and were renamed Belle Vue Rangers in 1946. The club folded in 1955. In 2005, local businessman Stefan Hopewell attempted to resurrect the club and now owns the intellectual property to Broughton Rangers and Belle Vue Rangers.
Elwyn Gwyther was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales XV, and at club level for Llanelli RFC, as a prop, i.e. number 1 or 3, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain and Wales, and at club level for Belle Vue Rangers and Leeds, as a prop, i.e. number 8 or 10, during the era of contested scrums.
Leslie "Les" M. Thomas is a Welsh former rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales XV, and at club level for Llanelli RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain and Wales, and at club level for Oldham, as a second-row, i.e. number 11 or 12, during the era of contested scrums.
Harry Vaughan Watkins was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli and London Welsh and gained six caps for the Wales national team. Watkins also played cricket and hockey for Carmarthenshire.
James Scott Haig was a Scottish-born New Zealand rugby footballer who represented New Zealand in both rugby league and rugby union.
In June 2012, Ireland toured New Zealand playing three Tests against the All Blacks. The Irish tour was one in a series of tours by northern teams to be hosted by southern hemisphere nations. It was marketed as the 'Steinlager Series'.
The 2013 end of year rugby tests, also known as the 2013 Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between European sides - England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, and visiting Southern Hemisphere countries - Argentina, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, South Africa and Tonga.
Koinonia Halafungani Laumape is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who currently plays as a centre for Stade Français in the Top 14. Laumape previously played in Super Rugby for the Hurricanes and was previously a rugby league player for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League.
The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Including the competition's previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 120th edition of the tournament.
The 2017 mid-year rugby union internationals were international rugby union matches that were mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window.
In July 2022, Ireland played a three-Test series against New Zealand as part of the 2022 mid-year rugby union internationals. Ireland also played two matches against the Māori All Blacks. This was Ireland's first tour since their tour to Australia in 2018, their first tour to New Zealand since 2012, and their first encounter against New Zealand since November 2021.
