The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the touring British Isles team.
Brian Gerard O'Driscoll is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. He is regarded by critics as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.
The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years.
The Japan national rugby union team, often known as the Cherry Blossoms, Sakura, and more recently The Brave Blossoms is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years. Rugby union in Japan is administered by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), which was founded in 1926. They compete annually in the Pacific Nations Cup and previously in the Asia Rugby Championship. They have also participated in every Rugby World Cup since the tournament began 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 Italy national rugby union team represents Italy in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri. Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946.
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.
Patrick Gerard Spillane, better known as Pat Spillane, is an Irish former Gaelic football pundit and player. His league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned seventeen years from 1974 to 1991. Spillane is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.
The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in men's international rugby union competitions and is governed by Rugby Canada. Canada is classified by World Rugby as a tier two rugby nation and has competed in competitions such as the Americas Rugby Championship and the Rugby World Cup. Canada traditionally plays in red and white.
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.
Raymond Herman "Ray" Mordt is a Zimbabwean/South African rugby footballer who represented his country in rugby union before moving to English professional rugby league club, Wigan, with whom he won the Championship during the 1986–87 season. He is the uncle of England Sevens player Nils Mordt.
Andrew Grant Dalton is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He captained the national team, the All Blacks, 17 times in tests. He is a second-generation All Black; his father Ray Dalton played in two All Blacks tests in the late 1940s.
Donal Gerard Lenihan is a retired Irish rugby union player. He appears regularly as a co-commentator on TV and radio for rugby matches and writes for the Irish Examiner. He also works as a financial consultant in Cork. Lenihan was inducted into the Munster Rugby Hall of Fame in April 2019. He was inducted into the Rugby Writers of Ireland Hall of Fame in November 2013. He was adjudged Irish rugby’s ‘Player of the Decade’ for the 1980s by the Irish Times. Lenihan was elected President of Cork Constitution Rugby Club in 2020-2021.
Hugh Patrick MacNeill, commonly known as Hugo MacNeill, is a former rugby union player who played for Ireland, Leinster, the French Barbarians and the British and Irish Lions during the 1980s. During the late 1970s he also played soccer for University College Dublin and Dublin University. After retiring from sport, MacNeill went on to serve as a director for Goldman Sachs. He has also worked as a rugby pundit for TV3 and BBC Radio 5 Live.
Kenmare is a Gaelic Athletic Association District Team from County Kerry. The team competes as a joint divisional side with other clubs from the Kenmare area in the county championships. Most matches are played in Templenoe nowadays but some are played at Father Breen Park, Kenmare. The Kenmare District is the smallest such district in Kerry consisting of 4 clubs
Brian "Mad Dog" Juliff is a Welsh former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales 'B', Wales President's XV, East Wales, Glamorgan County RFC, at invitational level for Crawshays RFC, and at club level Mountain Ash RFC, Newport RFC and Pontypridd RFC, as a Left-Wing, or Outside-Centre, i.e. number 11, or 13, and representative rugby league (RL) for Wales, and at club level for Widnes, Wakefield Trinity, Wigan, Halifax and Castleford, as a wing, second-row, loose forward, i.e. number 2 or 5, 11 or 12, or 13, during the era of contested scrums. In June 2012 Juliff was appointed as the chairman of Wales Rugby League.
Phillip Michael Matthews is a former Ireland rugby union international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the 1985 Five Nations Championship and the Triple Crown. He represented Ireland at the 1987 and 1991 Rugby World Cups. He also played for both the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians. He captained both Ireland and the Barbarians. He subsequently served as a rugby union co-commentator with BBC Sport and TV3. Between 2010 and 2016 he served as the President of the National College of Ireland. His daughter, Hannah Matthews, is an Ireland women's field hockey international and played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final.
James Joseph McCoy, also referred to as J.J. McCoy or Jimmy McCoy, is a former Ireland rugby union international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the 1985 Five Nations Championship and the Triple Crown. He also represented Ireland at the 1987 Rugby World Cup. While playing for Ireland, McCoy was also a serving Royal Ulster Constabulary officer.
Milton Haig is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the Georgian national team that annually competes the European Nations Cup.
