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 team, although they can pick uncapped players who are eligible for any of the four unions. The team currently tours every four years, with these rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in order. The most recent test series, the 2021 series against South Africa, was won 2–1 by South Africa.
Hugo Porta is a former Argentine Rugby Union footballer, an inductee of both the International Rugby Hall of Fame and IRB Hall of Fame, and one of the best fly-halves the sport has seen. During the 1970s and 1980s, he played 58 times for Los Pumas, captaining them on 34 occasions, including leading them during the first World Cup in 1987.
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
The Romania national rugby union team represents Romania in men's international rugby union competitions, nicknamed Stejarii, is long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations. They have participated in all but one Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the European Nations Cup, which they won recently in 2017. Rugby union in Romania is administered by the Romanian Rugby Federation.
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.
Stephen Paul "Steve" Ford was a Welsh international rugby union winger. After being banned from rugby union for an act of professionalism, he was eventually allowed back into the sport and went on to represent the Wales national team. He played club rugby for Cardiff.
The 1980 New Zealand tour of Wales was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the New Zealand All Blacks against Wales that also took in two international games in North America en route to South Wales. This was a single test tour against each of the countries played, with four games against Welsh club opposition.
In 1979 an England rugby union touring team toured Japan, Fiji and Tonga. The tourists won all their seven matches, scoring 270 points and conceding only 93. Only the first international against Japan was close, with Japan leading 19–15 going into injury time – a converted try by Peter Squires allowed England to win the match.
Richard Mark Harding is a former rugby union international who played for England, and on his last test captained them. He also played club rugby for his home city of Bristol and was part of Bristol RFC's cup winning side of 1983. After his sporting career he has concentrated on his profession as an estate agent and chartered surveyor.
The 1908–09 Australia rugby union tour of the British Isles was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the Australia national rugby union team against invitational and national teams from England and Wales, as well as several games against sides from North America. This was the first Australian tour of the Northern Hemisphere and the side is sometimes referred to as the "First Wallabies".
The 1981–82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of matches played by the Australia national rugby union team. The touring team played twenty-three matches between October 1981 and January 1982, winning sixteen games, drawing one and losing six. The scheduled final game, against the Barbarians, was cancelled due to heavy snow.
The 1975–76 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of matches played by the Australia national rugby union team. The team was referred to as the "Sixth Wallabies", although they were actually only the fifth Australian touring team to undertake a full tour of Britain & Ireland; the "Second Wallabies" of 1939–40 had to return home without playing a game when the World War II broke out.
Denys Douglas Dobson was an English international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Oxford University and Newton Abbot. Dobson played international rugby for England and the British Isles team on its 1904 tour of Australia. Dobson was the first player from a British touring rugby team to be dismissed from the playing field, when he was sent off in a match against the Northern District in Newcastle, New South Wales.
Established in 1950, The East Africa rugby union team is a multi-national rugby union team drawing players from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, though the vast majority of these came from Kenya which has traditionally been the strongest rugby playing nation in the region. The team has played against incoming international, representative and club touring sides and it conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982.
The 1979 Romania rugby union tour of Wales was a series of five matches played by the Romania national rugby union team in Wales in September and October 1979. The Romanian team won four of their tour matches and lost the fifth, against a full-strength Welsh national side, by only a single point. Wales were the reigning Five Nations champions at the time although they designated their team Wales XV for the game and did not award full international caps.
The 1979 Canada rugby union tour of England, Wales and France was a series of six matches played by the Canada national rugby union team in England, Wales and France in September 1979. The Canadian team won three of their tour matches, drew one and lost the other two. The team designated France 'A' was effectively the France national rugby union team.
The 1974 New Zealand rugby union tour of Ireland, Wales and England was a series of eight matches played by the New Zealand national rugby union team in November 1974.
The 1981 New Zealand rugby union tour of Romania and France was a series of ten matches played by the New Zealand national rugby union team in Romania and France in October and November 1981. The All Blacks won eight of the ten games, including the international match against Romania and both internationals against France. The only team to defeat the All Blacks was a French regional selection, and the All Blacks were also held to a draw by another regional team.
The 1981 Romania rugby union tour of Scotland was a series of three matches played by the Romania national rugby union team in Scotland in September 1981. Romania won both of their three matches but lost the international match against the Scotland national rugby union team. Scotland awarded full international caps to its players for the match, becoming the first British country to do so for a match against Romania.
Emilian Grigore is a former Romanian rugby union football player. He played as hooker.
Ireland XV
