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The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national team, although they can pick uncapped players who are eligible for any of the four unions. The team currently tours every four years, with these rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in order. The most recent test series, the 2021 series against South Africa, was won 2–1 by South Africa.
The New Zealand men's 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. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011 and 2015.
Jonah Tali Lomu was a New Zealand rugby union player. He became the youngest ever All Black when he played his first international in 1994 at the age of 19 years and 45 days. Playing on the wing Lomu finished his international career with 63 caps and 37 tries. He is regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby and consequently had a huge impact on the game. Lomu was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007, and the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011.
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 native antelope springbok. The team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. They are currently ranked the number one mens team by World Rugby and are the only team besides the All Blacks to have won the Rugby World Cup on three occasions.
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 Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and 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 8 November 2021, Scotland are 7th in the World Rugby Rankings.
The Wales national rugby union team represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. The team plays its home matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which replaced Cardiff Arms Park as the national stadium of Wales in 1999.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, the governing body of rugby union for the world. It dropped the word "Football" from its name in 2006. The brand name New Zealand Rugby was adopted in 2013. Officially, it is an incorporated society with the name New Zealand Rugby Union Incorporated.
The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union competes every four years at the Rugby World Cup, and their best performances were the 1987 and 2007 tournaments when they defeated Argentina and Wales respectively to reach the quarterfinals. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the June and November test windows. Fiji also plays in the Pacific Tri-Nations, and has won the most Pacific Tri-Nations Championships of the three participating teams.
Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. Although used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer, it has hosted rugby league and association football matches. In 2011 it hosted pool games, two quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the final of 2011 Rugby World Cup. In doing so it became the first stadium in the world to host two Rugby World Cup Finals, having held the inaugural final in 1987. It was a venue for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which was jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Andrew Robertson Irvine is a former president of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), and a former Scottish international rugby player. He earned fifty one Scotland caps, captaining the team on fifteen occasions, and scored 250 points for Scotland. He went on three British Lions tours.
Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick is a former rugby union player who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country.
Sir Wayne Thomas "Buck" Shelford is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and coach who represented and captained New Zealand in the late 1980s. He is also credited with revitalising the performance of the All Blacks' traditional "Ka Mate" haka.
The Zimbabwe national rugby union team, nicknamed the Sables, represents the African nation of Zimbabwe in international competition, and is administered by the Zimbabwe Rugby Union. While sides representing the colony of Rhodesia have played as early as 1910, the modern day Zimbabwe rugby team did not play its first test until 1981, against Kenya. Zimbabwe has competed in two World Cups, in 1987 and 1991, in place of South Africa, who were sanctioned by the IRB at the time due to apartheid. Zimbabwe is categorized as Tier 3 Development One, which prioritizes Zimbabwe over other nations due to historical success as well as popularity of rugby in the nation.
Rugby union is the unofficial national sport of New Zealand. The mens national team, the All Blacks, is currently ranked the second best international rugby team in the world, after South Africa. The sport has been known in New Zealand since 1870. The top domestic competitions are the semi-professional Mitre 10 Cup and amateur Heartland Championship, and above them Super Rugby, in which New Zealand has five franchises. The country co-hosted and won the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987, and hosted and won the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The men have won three World Cups, tied with South Africa, the most of any other country. They are also the current World Champions in 7s rugby for men and women.
The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Māori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is that the player has Māori whakapapa (genealogy). In the past this rule was not strictly applied; non–Māori players who looked Māori were often selected in the team. These included a few Pacific island players and a couple of African descent. Today all players have their ancestry verified before selection in the team.
James Whitinui Joseph is a New Zealand-born Japanese former rugby union player and current rugby union coach. A flanker, Joseph represented Otago at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1992 to 1995, before representing Japan in 1999. Joseph, now head coach of the Japanese national side, has coached since his retirement, coming through the ranks in New Zealand before his first national stint.
Zachary Robert Guildford is a New Zealand rugby union player of English and Māori descent who plays for Waikato in the Mitre 10 Cup. A wing, he has won 11 caps for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, including during their victorious 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign.
The 1996 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa was a historic tour in the history of New Zealand rugby. The All Blacks won the test series 2–1 and became known as the incomparables for their feat of winning a series in South Africa for the first time.
Sean Wainui was a New Zealand rugby union player. He played in the centre position for provincial side Bay of Plenty, the Chiefs in Super Rugby, and for New Zealand's Māori international side the Māori All Blacks.
References
- ↑ "Death of All Black". Auckland Star. 70 (141). 17 June 1939. p. 12. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- 1 2 Knight, Lindsay. "Sal Irvine". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
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