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Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union or more often just rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in England in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is simply 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.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It promotes and runs the sport, organises international matches for the England national team, and educates and trains players and officials.
Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.
Daniel Joseph Lyle is an American former rugby union player who played for the United States national rugby union team 45 times from 1994 to 2003, serving as U.S. captain in 24 of those matches. Lyle played number eight.
Reading R.F.C. is an English rugby union club, which runs a total of 21 sides across Men's, Women's, Girls and Junior rugby and is based in the village of Sonning, on the outskirts of Reading. The 1st XV play in Regional 2 South Central.
The Japan national rugby league team, nicknamed the Samurais, represents Japan in rugby league football. Japan have played some international competition since 1994. The Japanese National Cup, the JRL domestic club competition, was founded in 1998. In 2021 the season was restarted after a break for COVID with five teams in two divisions, three clubs in East Japan, the Abiko Ducks, Mitaka Spartans and South Ikebukuro Rabbitohs; and two clubs in West Japan, the Kamisenryu Sea Turtles and The Kansai Kaminari.
Fylde Rugby Union Club is a rugby union club based in Lytham St Annes, on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. The home venue is the Woodlands Memorial Ground on Blackpool Road in Ansdell and the first team play in English rugby's National League 2 North, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system, following their relegation from National League 1 at the end of the 2017–18 season. There are another two senior teams, the Hawks and the Vandals who play in the English North West Leagues; respectively in the NW Premiership and NW3 North. There is also a Colts team. In previous seasons the Colts have played in the Lancashire & Cheshire regional leagues.
Rugby union in the United States is played at youth, high school, college, amateur, professional, and international levels and governed by USA Rugby. There were over 125,000 players registered with USA Rugby as of 2016. Over 2,500 rugby union clubs exist around the country, including those who are part of college rugby. Professional club competition has existed as Major League Rugby (MLR) since 2017.
The USA Rugby Super League, usually known as the Super League, was a national rugby union competition which ran from 1997 to 2012, contested by nine clubs in the United States by its last year. In the 2013 season, it was replaced by the USA Rugby Elite Cup.
The Denver Barbarians Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Barbarians have won 4 national championships dating back to their first DI title in 1990. The club's second title came in 1999, during the height of the Rugby Super League, defeating Belmont Shore RFC 22-18. The Barbarians third title came in the 2018 DII National Championship, defeating the Detroit Tradesmen in an all-time thriller at Infinity Park, 39-38. The Barbarians added a fourth title with a 49-34 victory over a strong Boise United side in the 2023 DII National Championship in St Charles, Missouri.
Old Mission Beach Athletic Club Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in San Diego, California. OMBAC RFC is directly affiliated with the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club.
Tom Billups is an American former rugby union rugby player, who played for the USA Eagles as an international and Blackheath Rugby Club, Harlequin F.C., and Pontypridd RFC as a professional. After retiring as a player in 1999, he joined the staff of the United States national team and was the head coach from 2001 to 2006. In addition to coaching the Eagles, Billups managed the U.S. national sevens team program and coached the 2005 U.S. sevens team. In 2015 Billups was inducted into U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, and was the first person to be inducted as both a player and coach. In 2018 Billups became the 14th recipient of the Craig Sweeney Award which was first award in 1979 in memory of former United States national team member and captain, Craig Sweeney. The Sweeney Award is presented to a former national team player who has contributed significantly to the game while displaying exemplary character on and off the field.
The Manawatu Rugby Football Union (MRU) serves as the governing body of the sport of rugby union in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand.
Rugby union in Peru is a minor sport.
Andries Hendrik Snyman is a South African rugby union former player and current coach. His usual position was outside centre, but he had success on the wing at international level. Snyman earned 38 test caps for the South Africa national rugby union team, before retiring from playing in 2007. Snyman has been coaching rugby in the United States since 2011.
Andrew John Northey is an English former rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. In rugby league he played for St. Helens in the Super League as a second-row before returning to rugby union in 1997, and joining Northampton Saints.
Rugby union in Zimbabwe is a popular sport and ranks after association football and cricket as one of the oldest and most popular sports in the country. The Zimbabwe national team, commonly known as the Sables, have been playing international rugby since the early 1900s and have made appearances in two Rugby World Cups Zimbabwe at the Rugby World Cup on two occasions. As with rugby union in Namibia, the country's lack of a professional structure, and opportunity for player's to earn an income playing rugby, has been a problem for national organisers.
Harrogate Rugby Union Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The club runs four senior sides. The first team play in Regional 1 North East, following their relegation from National League 2 North in 2022–23. The second team, Harrogate Georgians, play in the Yorkshire RFU Merit Premiership and the third team play in the Yorkshire RFU 2 Central/North Merit League. The club also fields a ladies' team completing the four senior teams in the RFUW Championship, and eight junior teams.
Andre Stoop is a retired rugby union and rugby league player. At fullback he played domestic rugby union in South Africa and played for the Namibian national team. In 1991 he changed codes to play rugby league in the United Kingdom. Between 1991 and 1996 he played for Wigan, London Crusaders and Keighley Cougars. In 1996, he returned to rugby union and signed for Blackheath.
The RFU Intermediate Cup is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by teams at level 7 of the English rugby union system. While the competition is a national one, it is however split into regions until the semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London. It was first contested in 1997. Presently, the RFU Intermediate Cup is the third most important club cup competition in England, behind the Premiership Rugby Cup and RFU Championship Cup.
References
- ↑ "Bachelet blow for Reading". Reading Evening Post . October 23, 1997.
- ↑ "Six feet one inch; Club -- Old Mission Beach Athletic Club; Occupation --". Royal Gazette. March 12, 1994.
- ↑ "Bachelet back to bolster Reading". Reading Evening Post. January 17, 1997.
- ↑ "Irish splash to rugby win 25–18 over U.S." The Atlanta Constitution . January 7, 1996.