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The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history.
The South Africa national rugby union team commonly known as the Springboks, is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts. Their emblem is a native antelope, the Springbok, which is the national animal of South Africa. The team has been representing South African Rugby Union in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. Currently, the Springboks are the number one ranked rugby team in the world and are the reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup on a record four occasions. They are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.
The England men's national rugby union team represents the Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions, winning the Grand Slam 14 times and the Triple Crown 26 times, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three further occasions.
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.
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs. In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players".
Michael John Catt OBE is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps for England and played in two World Cup Finals, in 2003 and 2007. With his appearance in the October 2007 final, at age 36 years 1 month, he became the oldest ever player to play in a Rugby World Cup final. Since 2008, Catt has coached various rugby teams, and has since 2019 been an assistant coach for the Ireland national rugby team.
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.
Gavin Lloyd Henson is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre.
Cameron Michael Henderson GibsonMBE is a former rugby union international player who represented Ireland and the British & Irish Lions.
Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player who played primarily at fly-half. He played more than 100 times for Wales and six times for the British & Irish Lions.
Thomas John Bowe is an Irish television presenter and former rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. He played on the wing for Ulster, Ospreys, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions.
Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played as a fly-half and captained the Ireland national team from 2019 until 2023. He also played club rugby for Leinster and Racing 92.
Seán Kevin O'Brien is an Irish retired professional rugby union player. He previously represented home province Leinster for eleven seasons. At Leinster, he helped the team win four European titles, and was named ERC European Player of the Year for the 2010–11 season, he then played three season's for English Premiership Rugby side London Irish.
Les Kiss is an Australian professional rugby union coach who is the current head coach of Super Rugby Pacific side the Queensland Reds. Prior to this he was head coach of London Irish in the Gallagher Premiership until the club went into administration in June 2023.
Sekope Kepu is an Australian professional rugby union player. He is a prop and currently plays for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby. He has previously played for Australian club New South Wales Waratahs, the French club Bordeaux, and London Irish. He also plays for Australia's Wallabies in international matches. Kepu made his international debut for Australia in 2008 and has been a regular in match-day squads ever since, now having played over 100 tests. Kepu is the most-capped prop to ever play for the Wallabies and is also one of the most-capped rugby players in history.
Alexander R. Corbisiero is an American-born English retired rugby union loosehead prop who last played for Premiership side Northampton Saints.
Peter James O'Mahony is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a flanker for United Rugby Championship club Munster and the Ireland national team.
George Philip North is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Ospreys. Born in England, he represents Wales at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
Leo Halavatau is a Tongan rugby union player.
References
- ↑ "Aviva Premiership Rugby - London Irish". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
