The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament was first held in 1987, when the tournament was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.
The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is controlled by Rugby Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the touring British Isles team.
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. They are ranked third in the world by World Rugby as of 18 March 2019. The team competes annually in the current Six Nations Championship, which they have won fourteen times outright and shared nine times in its various formats. The team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions. Ireland is also one of the four unions that make up the British and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
The Fiji national rugby union team competes every four years at the Rugby World Cup, and their best performances were the 1987 and 2007 tournaments when they defeated Argentina and Wales respectively to reach the quarterfinals. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the June and November test windows. Fiji also plays in the Pacific Tri-Nations, and has won the most Pacific Tri-Nations Championships of the three participating teams.
The Canada national rugby union team is governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and white. Canada is classified by World Rugby as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and thirteen tier two nations. Canada competes in competitions such as the Americas Rugby Championship and the Rugby World Cup.
Rugby league is a sport played in Wales. The governing body of the game in Wales is the Wales Rugby League.
Terence David "Terry" Holmes is a Welsh former rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who won 25 caps for Wales as a scrum-half, and later played rugby league for Bradford Northern.
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 only one change: Uruguay replaced Russia. This was the first World Cup with no new teams to the tournament.
Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, and have won the Rugby World Cup Sevens twice and the World Rugby Sevens Series three times.
Owen Badger was a Welsh international rugby centre who played rugby union for Llanelli, and was capped four times for Wales. He later switched codes, playing professional rugby league for Swinton.
Edward Perkins Alexander was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge University and London Welsh and international rugby for Wales. Alexander also represented several cricket teams, including Llandovery College.
The 1973 Japan rugby union tour of England, Wales and France was a series of eleven matches played by the Japan national rugby union team in Wales, England and France in September and October 1973. The Japanese team won only of two of their matches and lost the other nine. Neither Wales nor France awarded full international caps for their games against Japan.
Joseph Henry "Jake" Blackmore was an international rugby forward who played rugby union for Abertillery and rugby league with Hull Kingston Rovers. He won a single cap for Wales under the rugby union code and then represented his country at rugby league in two matches between 1910 and 1911. Despite winning only one cap, he became a Triple Crown winning player when he played in the opening game of the 1909 Home Nations Championship.
Ayumu Goromaru is a Japanese rugby union player who plays at fullback for Yamaha Júbilo as well as the Japan national rugby union team.
The 1983 Wales rugby union tour in Spain was a series of 5 matches played by a selection of Welsh rugby union in Spain and Canada, in May 1983. The 1983 was the year of the 1983 British Lions tour to New Zealand, and the WRU, organized a tour of an experimental team in Spain. The Welsh side won all the five matches, also the match against Spain national rugby union team.
Albertus Stephanus "Kwagga" Smith is a South African rugby union player for the Lions in Super Rugby and Yamaha Júbilo in the Japanese Top League. His regular position is flanker.
Michihiko Chida is a former Japanese rugby union player who played mainly as Number 8.
Ian Malcolm Williams is an Australian former rugby union player who played as wing. He played for both Australia and Japan. He is nicknamed Peabody.
