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.
World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
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.
Bismarck Wilhelm du Plessis is a South African former professional rugby union player, who played for the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship and for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. He played for the Free State Cheetahs in 2003, before moving to the Sharks in 2005 where he spent the bulk of his career, and then to Montpellier in the French Top 14. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best hookers of his time, both in club and country performances.
The 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup was the seventh edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup, and the sixth held in Europe. The World Cup Final took place on 17 August.
The 2012 mid-year rugby union tests refer to the rugby union Internationals that were played through June, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.
The 2012 autumn internationals, also known as the autumn tests, November tests and, in the Southern Hemisphere, the end of year tests, were international rugby union matches. They were predominantly played between visiting Southern Hemisphere countries and European nations.
James Bolabiu is a Fijian international rugby union referee and Fiji's most experienced referee. He was an assistant referee at the 2008 Tri Nations Series matches between New Zealand and Australia in Sydney and Auckland. He also officiated at the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship held in Wales.
The 2013 mid-year rugby union tests were international rugby union matches that were played in June 2013, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.
Jérôme Garcès is a French former international and professional rugby union referee who currently works as a discipline and refereeing advisor for the France national team.
The 2013 end of year rugby tests, also known as the 2013 Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between European sides - England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, and visiting Southern Hemisphere countries - Argentina, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, South Africa and Tonga.
Chris Pollock is a former rugby union referee who represented the New Zealand Rugby Union. In 2008, he was part of the IRB's touch judge panel. He made his international referee debut in 2005, when he refereed Niue vs Tahiti, while his first IRB appointment was in 2006, taking charge of Hong Kong vs Japan.
Francisco Pastrana is a Rugby Union referee who represents the Argentine Rugby Union. Until 2003, he played Fly Half for the famous Hindu Club in Buenos Aires till injuries took their toll and forced him to stop playing in 2003.
The 2014 IRB Pacific Nations Cup, was the ninth edition of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup, the annual Tier 2 Rugby union tournament. Unlike previous competitions, the tournament was divided into two conferences of three teams each, with no interconference matches. Samoa emerged as the winner of the Pacific Islands conference title ahead of Fiji and Tonga, while Japan took out the Asia/Pacific conference remaining undefeated ahead of United States and Canada.
Inoke Male, is a Fijian former rugby union footballer and former head coach of the Fijian national side. He played in the position of Number eight, but could also play Flanker during his playing career.
Mike Fraser is a New Zealand Rugby Union elite referee.
Luke Pearce is an English rugby union referee representing the Rugby Football Union. He is a regular referee in the English Premiership and has refereed games at European level and at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Alexandre Ruiz is a professional rugby union referee who represents the French Rugby Federation. He is a regular appointment at Top 14 and has recently joined the top level of European Rugby.
Vlad Iordăchescu is a Romanian rugby referee who mainly referees club rugby in such tournaments as the Romanian SuperLiga.
