Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, CBE is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and Toulon and represented England and the British and 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 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.
The England national rugby union team represents England 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 13 times and the Triple Crown 26 times – making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. As of 15 October 2020, England are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board. 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 other occasions.
The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union 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. As of 2 November 2020, Scotland are 7th in the World Rugby Rankings.
The Japan national rugby union team 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 representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the island of Ireland. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom. 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 and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
The United States men's national rugby union team, represents United States of America in men's international rugby union, nicknamed the Eagles it is controlled by USA Rugby. 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.
Eddie Jones is an Australian rugby union coach and former player, who has been the head coach of the England national team since 2015. He previously coached Australia between 2001 and 2005, taking the team to the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final. He was an assistant coach for South Africa when the Springboks won the 2007 Rugby World Cup and from 2012 to 2015 he coached Japan, leading them in the 2015 Rugby World Cup and their upset win over South Africa. In November 2015, Jones was appointed as head coach for England and led them to win the 2016 Six Nations Championship and the 2017 Six Nations Championship, becoming only the second international rugby team to go the entire calendar year unbeaten. He led England through the 2019 Rugby World Cup where they defeated defending champions New Zealand in the semi-final before losing the final to South Africa.
The Dave Gallaher Trophy is a rugby union trophy, contested between France and New Zealand and named after Dave Gallaher, the 1905–06 All Black captain who was killed in Belgium during World War I.
The Cook Cup is a rugby union trophy contested between Australia and England. The cup was established in 1997 when the Wallabies and England contracted to play each other bi-annually for a decade, playing matches on a home and away basis. Since the first two years the format has only been adhered to once. In most years, there is only one match and World Cup matches are not counted. The cup is named after Captain James Cook, representing a strong English–Australian connection. The cup, which was designed by Royal Doulton in London, is made from crystal.
Duncan James Jones is a former Welsh rugby union player who played at loose head prop for the Ospreys in the Pro12 and has played for Wales.
The rivalry between the England and Australia national rugby union teams started on 9 January 1909 at Blackheath's Rectory Field in England, during the 1908-09 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, dubbed the 1st Wallabies. The Wallabies won the match 9–3. The two nations next met in 1928, at Twickenham, during the 1927-28 Waratahs tour of the British Isles, France and Canada and England won 18–11. After the 1939-40 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II, twenty years passed before England and Australia next met, again at Twickenham, with Australia winning the 1948 test 11–0. It would then be another decade until the two nations played another test against one another. In 1958, they met again at Twickenham, and England won 9–6.
Owen Andrew Farrell is an English professional rugby union player, currently playing for Championship side Saracens and is captain of the England National Team. Farrell has played international rugby for England since 2012.
England and Ireland have played rugby union internationals against each other since 1875, with England winning the first match at The Oval, London by two goals to nil. The two teams have played a total of 137 Test matches; with England winning 80 of them, Ireland 49 and 8 resulting in a draw.
The national rugby union teams of England and Italy have been playing each other in Test rugby since 1991, and by November 2020, they had met in 27 test matches, all of which have been won by England.
François 'Faf' de Klerk is a South African professional rugby union player. He plays as a scrum-half for Sale Sharks in the English Premiership and for the South Africa national team, He was a member of the South Africa team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
The 2014 end-of-year rugby tests, also known as the 2014 autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were international rugby union matches predominantly played between visiting Southern Hemisphere countries and European nations.
The 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, also known as the 2016 Autumn Internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between the visiting Southern Hemisphere countries: Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – and the European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
The 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals, also known as the November internationals, or autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were international rugby union matches in 2017.
The 2018 end of year rugby union tests, also referred to as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a number of rugby union test matches played during October and November, primarily involving countries from the Northern Hemisphere hosting those from the Southern Hemisphere. Also involved in matches are those from second-tier teams. These international games count towards World Rugby's ranking system, with a team typically playing from two to four matches during this period.
