Related Research Articles
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful crewed spaceflight, became the first human to journey into outer space. Travelling on Vostok 1, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961, with his flight taking 108 minutes. By achieving this major milestone for the Soviet Union amidst the Space Race, he became an international celebrity and was awarded many medals and titles, including his nation's highest distinction: Hero of the Soviet Union.
The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians, is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, players from 31 countries had played for them. Traditionally at least one uncapped player is selected for each match.
The New Zealand Barbarian Rugby Club Inc., nicknamed the Barbarians, or Baa-Baas, is a rugby union club headquartered in Kingsland, Auckland. The idea came from the concept of the Barbarian F.C. The Barbarians played their home matches at Eden Park.
Michael Clive Teague is a former England and British Lions rugby union footballer.
Daniel Stuart Care is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team.
The Russia national rugby union team, nicknamed Medvedi, represented Russia in men's international rugby union international competitions. The team is administered by the Rugby Union of Russia (RUR). The RUR is considered the official successor union of the Soviet Union by World Rugby and the combined CIS team which played in the early 1990s. Since 1992, the team has played as Russia. Its first test match as Russia was against the Barbarians in Moscow in June 1992 and the country's first test against an official Test nation was against Belgium later that same year.
Michael Alan Burton is a former English rugby union footballer, who won a reputation as an uncompromising prop forward for Gloucester, England and the British and Irish Lions.
Rugby union in Russia is a moderately popular sport. Russia was in 2011 ranked 20th worldwide by the World Rugby, having over three hundred clubs and close to 22,000 players nationally. Russian Rugby Championship is the top-level professional competition held in Russia. Krasnoyarsk, in the middle of Siberia, is traditionally the heartland of Russian rugby.
The Poland national rugby union team represents Poland in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The White and Reds (Biało-czerwoni), is considered one of the stronger tier 3 teams in European rugby and currently compete in the second division of the Rugby Europe International Championships in the Rugby Europe Trophy, a competition which is just below the Rugby Europe Championship where the top 6 countries in Europe compete. They are yet to participate in any Rugby World Cup and often play in white with red shorts as well as in red with white shorts.
Australia A is the second national Rugby union team of Australia, behind the Wallabies. Matches played under the 'Australia A' title are traditionally non-test match fixtures and often offer a stepping-stone to Wallaby national selection. Aspiring Wallaby players were given a chance to impress selectors during these games. In the past, the team would also play touring sides, such as the British & Irish Lions, or play mid-week games when the Wallabies are on tour.
The autumn internationals, November internationals, end-of-year tests, and spring internationals/tour for Australia and New Zealand, are men's rugby union Test matches that are contested around November each year. It is organised by World Rugby. Teams from European national teams generally play at home against visiting teams from the Southern Hemisphere. Second-tier national teams, such as those from North American and Pacific countries also usually have games.
Alfred Ronald Dawson played hooker for Ireland. He was captain of the British and Irish Lions rugby union team on their 1959 tour to Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
The USSR national rugby union team represented the Soviet Union in rugby union until the early 1990s.
John Southern Spencer is a former England international rugby union player.
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.
Since 1989, the British & Irish Lions have developed a regular 12-year cycle of tours visiting one of the following three Southern Hemisphere nations, in turn, every four years:
British Lions v The Rest was a 1986 rugby union match that saw the British Lions play against 'The Rest' to celebrate the centenary of the International Rugby Football Board. The Rest consisted of players from Australia, France, New Zealand and South Africa. At the time, there were only eight unions affiliated to the Board, thus only players from those countries were chosen. The Rest beat the Lions 15–7 in April 1986 in the match played at Cardiff Arms Park.
Rugby union in the Soviet Union was a moderately popular sport. It was most popular in the Georgian SSR; parts of the Russian SFSR such as Moscow and certain regions in Siberia like Krasnoyarsk; and Alma-Ata, the capital of the Kazakh SSR. Rugby enjoyed a more limited popularity in the Ukrainian SSR, Minsk in the Byelorussian SSR and parts of the RSFSR such as Leningrad and areas in Southern Russia, including Krasnodar. Rugby gained a significant following due to the vast size of the Soviet Union, but was never a major sport; despite many attempts to develop the sport, which Soviet citizens came to nickname the "leather melon" due to the shape of the ball. Still, an early championship in 1960 gives an idea of the sheer scale of Soviet rugby: one hundred teams from over thirty cities took part.
Four Home Unions v Rest of Europe was a rugby union match played in 1990 to raise money for the rebuilding of Romania following the overthrow of Nicolae Ceaușescu in December 1989. The Four Home Unions team's logo was that used by the British & Irish Lions. The Rest of Europe played under the badge of the Romanian Rugby Federation. The match was played at Twickenham, and the Four Home Unions won the match 43–18 with England captain Will Carling scoring two tries. The winners were awarded The Skilball Trophy.
Stanley Arthur Murray Hodgson was an English rugby union player who played in the Hooker position. Hodgson played club rugby for Durham City RFC, was capped eleven times for the England national team, and was a member of the British Lions team that toured in 1962. He made 72 appearances for the Durham County representative team and played four times for the Barbarians invitational team.
References
- 1 2 Four Home Nations v Rest of Europe - Official Programme, page 23, 22 April 1990, Rugby Football Union
- 1 2 Brendan Gallagher, Irish try the craic in Krasnoyarsk, The Telegraph, Published: 12:01AM BST 19 Sep 2002
- ↑ Four Home Nations v Rest of Europe - Official Programme, page 27, 22 April 1990, Rugby Football Union