Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a full-contact team sport that originated in England 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 most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends.
Rugby sevens, and originally known as seven-a-side rugby, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
Natasha "Tasha" Kanani Janine Kai is an American professional soccer forward and Olympic gold medalist. She previously played for Sky Blue FC and the Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer and National Women's Soccer League as well as the United States women's national soccer team. In 2011, Kai was also part of the first US women's rugby union sevens team to play in the IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup held in Dubai.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match was played at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chōfu, Tokyo, with the final match being held at International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama. This was the first time that the tournament had taken place in Asia and outside the traditional Tier 1 rugby nations.
The 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup was the seventh edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup, and the sixth held in Europe. The World Cup Final took place on 17 August.
Kelly Brazier is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays flyhalf, centre or fullback in New Zealand, Canterbury and Canadian club Edmonton Clansmen RFC.
Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held over six days in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 Olympics was the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was last played at the 1924 games.
Niamh Briggs is an Ireland women's rugby union international. She represented Ireland at the 2010 and 2014 Women's Rugby World Cups. She was also a member of the Ireland teams that won the 2013 and 2015 Women's Six Nations Championships. Briggs was a member of the first Ireland teams to defeat France, England and New Zealand. She was captain of the Ireland team when they won the 2015 Six Nations title and was the top points scorer during both the 2013 and 2015 Six Nations championships. Briggs is also an Ireland women's rugby sevens international and has also played senior Ladies' Gaelic football for Waterford. Briggs is a Garda Síochána officer based in Limerick.
Danielle "Nolli" Waterman is a professional English rugby union and rugby sevens player. Being a member of England's national rugby union team, she is a multiple Six Nations Championship winner and became World Champion in 2014. She was selected for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad.
Emily Scarratt is an English rugby union player. She currently plays centre and fullback for Loughborough Lightning and for England. She is also a qualified teacher.
Lydia Thompson is an English female rugby union player.
Gillian Bourke is a female rugby union player. She represented Ireland at the 2010 and 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup, where she was voted the Number 2 position in the WRWC Team of the Tournament.
Alison Miller is a rugby union player. She was a member of Ireland's 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup squad. She scored a try in their memorable victory over the Black Ferns at the 2014 World Cup.
Nora Stapleton is a former Ireland women's rugby union international. Stapleton represented Ireland at the 2010, 2014 and 2017 Women's Rugby World Cups. She was also a member of the Ireland teams that won the 2013 and 2015 Women's Six Nations Championships. Stapleton was a member of the first Ireland teams to defeat both England and New Zealand. Stapleton has also played two other football codes at a senior level. As a women's association football player, she played for UCD in FAI Women's Cup finals and UEFA Women's Cup campaigns. She has also played senior Ladies' Gaelic football for Donegal.
Claire Molloy is an Ireland women's rugby union international from Galway. Molloy represented Ireland at the 2010, 2014 and 2017 Women's Rugby World Cups. At the 2014 tournament she was a member of the Ireland team that defeated New Zealand. She captained the Ireland team at the 2017 tournament. She was also a member of the Ireland teams that won the 2013 and 2015 Women's Six Nations Championships. She is also an Ireland women's rugby sevens international and captained the Ireland team at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Molloy also played Ladies' Gaelic football for Galway and featured in the 2005 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final.
The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup was the eighth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in Ireland in August 2017. New Zealand became the 2017 champions by beating England 41–32 in the final on 26 August. Matches were held in Dublin and Belfast. The pool stages were held at University College Dublin with the semi finals and finals held at Queen's University and Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.
Joy Neville is a former Ireland women's rugby union international and a current rugby union referee. As a player Neville represented Ireland at both the 2006 and 2010 Women's Rugby World Cups. In 2009 Neville captained the first Ireland team to defeat France. In 2013 she was also a member of the first Ireland women's team to win the Six Nations, Grand Slam and Triple Crown titles.
Lindsay Peat is an Ireland women's rugby union international. Peat represented Ireland at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup. Peat is an all-round sportswomen. In addition to representing Ireland at women's rugby union, she has also played for the Republic of Ireland women's national association football team at U-18 level, captained the Ireland women's national basketball team and played senior Ladies' Gaelic football for Dublin. Between 2009 and 2014 she played in three All-Ireland finals. She was a member of the Dublin team that won the All-Ireland title in 2010 and she scored two goals in the 2014 final.
Hannah Tyrrell is an Ireland women's rugby union international. Tyrrell represented Ireland at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup. She was also a member of the Ireland team that won the 2015 Women's Six Nations Championship. Tyrrell is also an Ireland women's rugby sevens international. She has also played two other football codes at a senior level. As a women's association football player, Tyrrell played for St Catherine's in two FAI Women's Cup finals and played for Shamrock Rovers in the Women's National League. She also played senior Ladies' Gaelic football for Dublin in the Ladies' National Football League.
Audrey O'Flynn is an Ireland women's rugby sevens international. O'Flynn represented Ireland at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens. O'Flynn is also a former Ireland women's field hockey international. Between 2010 and 2014, O'Flynn made 120 appearances and scored 30 goals for the Ireland women's national field hockey team
