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, and their emblem is the Springbok, a native antelope and the national animal of South Africa. The team has represented 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 reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup a record four times. South Africa are the only team to have won half of the Rugby World Cups they have participated in, and are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
The England 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.
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.
Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league
The Dewsbury Rams are a professional rugby league club based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England that compete in League One, the third tier of British rugby league.
Glenn E. Plummer is an American film and television actor. Plummer was featured as Bobby "Badass" Johnson in the 1992 film South Central, James Smith in Paul Verhoeven's 1995 Showgirls, Russ Stanhope in Dick Wolf's 1990 Nasty Boys series, and Vic Trammel in the 2008–2009 show Sons of Anarchy, among others.
The Harry Sunderland Trophy was awarded annually to the man of the match in the Super League Grand Final and its predecessors, the RFL First Division Final and the Premiership Final, between 1965 and 2023. Named after Harry Sunderland, who was an Australian rugby league football administrator in both Australia and the United Kingdom, the Trophy was first awarded in the Rugby Football League Championship Final of the 1964–65 season following Sunderland's death.
Kelly Brazier is a New Zealand rugby union and sevens player. She has played flyhalf, centre and fullback for the Black Ferns, New Zealand's women's national rugby team, and has competed at three Rugby World Cups in 2010, 2014, and 2017. She has represented Otago, Canterbury and the Bay of Plenty in the Farah Palmer Cup.
Samuel Jordan Cane is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a flanker for the Japan Rugby League One club Tokyo Sungoliath and the New Zealand national team. He is also the former Captain of the New Zealand national team.
Sarah Hirini is a New Zealand women's rugby union player. She has played fifteen-a-side and seven-a-side rugby union, as a member of the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team and New Zealand women's national rugby union team. Hirini was captain of the New Zealand Women's Sevens team that won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and back-to-back gold medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. During her time with the team they won the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2022–23 as well as the Sevens league title for the 2023-24 season. She was a member of the fifteen-a-side 2017 and 2021 Black Ferns Rugby World Cup winning squads.
Akira Ioane is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a flanker or number 8 for Hanazono Kintetsu Liners in the Japan Rugby League One competition. He previously played for Auckland in New Zealand's National Provincial Championship and the Blues in Super Rugby. Internationally, he has played for the All Blacks, the New Zealand sevens team, the Māori All Blacks and All Blacks XV.
Scott Curry is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a forward for the New Zealand national sevens team.
Plum cake refers to a wide range of cakes usually made with dried fruits such as currants, raisins, sultanas, or prunes, and also sometimes with fresh fruits. There is a wide range of popular plum cakes and puddings. Since the meaning of the word "plum" has changed over time, many items referred to as plum cakes and popular in England since at least the eighteenth century have now become known as fruitcake. The English variety of plum cake also exists on the European mainland, but may vary in ingredients and consistency. British colonists and missionaries brought the dried fruit variety of cake with them, for example, in British India where it was served around the time of the Christmas holiday season. In America's Thirteen Colonies, where it became associated with elections, one version came to be called election cake.
Theresa Matauaina Setefano is a New Zealand rugby union player. She was a member of the Black Ferns champion 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cup squads. She has also represented New Zealand in rugby sevens; she won gold medals at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens, 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She played for the Blues Women in the 2022 Super Rugby Aupiki season.
Stacey Jamie Aroha Kirsten Waaka is a New Zealand rugby league player. She played fifteen-a-side and seven-a-side rugby union, and was a member of the New Zealand Women's Sevens team and New Zealand Women's National Rugby Union team prior to switching to rugby league in 2024 to play an injury-disrupted season with the Brisbane Broncos. Waaka was a member of the New Zealand Women's Sevens team which won gold medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She was also a member of the New Zealand fifteen-a-side team which won the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup and the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup.
Mark Evander Tele'a is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a Wing for the Blues in Super Rugby and North Harbour in the Bunnings NPC.
Ngarohi McGarvey-Black is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for National Provincial Championship club Bay of Plenty and the New Zealand national sevens team.
Alena Saili is a New Zealand rugby sevens player.is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side rugby union, and is a member of the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team.
The 2024 Rugby Championship was the thirteenth edition of the annual Southern Hemisphere rugby union competition, involving Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand was the defending champion.