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Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league.
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 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.
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the England team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, losing the test series 3–0. He is currently a pundit for ITV Sport, working on their coverage of the Six Nations and Rugby World 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.
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.
The history of rugby union follows from various football games long before the 19th century, but it was not until the middle of that century that the rules were formulated and codified. The code of football later known as rugby union can be traced to three events: the first set of written rules in 1845, the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the Football Association in 1863 and the formation of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The code was originally known simply as "rugby football". It was not until a schism in 1895, over the payment of players, which resulted in the formation of the separate code of rugby league, that the name "rugby union" was used to differentiate the original rugby code. For most of its history, rugby was a strictly amateur football code, and the sport's administrators frequently imposed bans and restrictions on players who they viewed as professional. It was not until 1995 that rugby union was declared an "open" game, and thus professionalism was sanctioned by the code's governing body, World Rugby—then known as the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB).
Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham, in south-east London.
Richmond Rugby Club is a rugby union club in Richmond, London, England. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs. It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's first team currently play in National League 1 following their relegation from the RFU Championship at the end of the 2022–23 season, while the women's first team play in the Women's Championship.
The Kenya national rugby union team, commonly known as the Simbas, is the country's national team managed by the Kenya Rugby Union. The team plays in red, green, and black jerseys with black or white shorts. The Simbas represent Kenya in the Africa Cup and various other tournaments across the continent. They currently rank 34 in the World Rugby Rankings and fourth in Africa. Kenya is yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
Rugby union in Kenya is a popular sport, in particular due to the success of the Kenya national rugby sevens team in the rugby sevens format, and tournaments such as the Safari Sevens, which has been growing yearly, and now includes numerous international teams.
The Nigeria national rugby union team represent Nigeria in men's international rugby union. Nigeria have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have competed in qualifying tournaments. Nigeria played their first international against Zimbabwe on 1 August 1987, losing by 111-12 in Nairobi. Their greatest success has been in the 2013 Africa Cup, where they beat Mauritius 63-3 in group 1C.
The Singapore national rugby union team represents Singapore in men's international Rugby union. The team has yet to make its debut at the Rugby World Cup, though since the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Singapore has been participating in qualification competitions.
Rugby union in Indonesia is a minor but growing sport, dating back several decades, and which has experienced fluctuations in its success. There are currently just under six hundred registered players in the country.
Rugby union in Zambia is a minor but growing sport. The Zambia national rugby union team is currently ranked 67th by World Rugby. The Zambia Rugby Football Union has 9880 registered players and three formally organised clubs.
Rugby union in Pakistan is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union in Egypt is a minor but growing sport.
The Africa Women's Sevens is the continental championship for women's international rugby sevens in Africa. The tournament sanctioned and sponsored by Rugby Africa which is the rugby union governing body for the continent.
London New Zealand Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club currently based in Acton, London. They were formed in 1926 as a club for New Zealand expatriates in the United Kingdom and are affiliated to the Middlesex Rugby Football Union.
London South Africa Rugby Football Club was an English rugby union club based initially in Wimbledon, London before moving to Surrey. They were founded in 2005 as a rugby club for South African expatriates in England. They were dissolved in 2014.
References
- ↑ "World Rugby Year in Review 2018".
- ↑ "Men's Rankings | World Rugby".
- ↑ "LONDON NIGERIAN RUGBY CLUB | for the Playas, by the Playas". Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2022.