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France have won 354 of their 635 test matches, a win record of 55.66%.^[32][33] When the World Rankings were introduced by the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 2003 France were ranked fifth. During November 2003 France briefly occupied third place before falling to fourth by December that year. After falling to fifth during November 2004, France rose again to fourth by April 2005. During early 2006, France rose again, peaking at second in July that year. France were ranked number two in the world until falling to third in June 2007 after two successive defeats to the All Blacks. They then fell to fifth after losing to Argentina in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup.^[34]

Their test match record against all nations, up until 22 June 2009, is as follows:^[32][35]

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win percentage
Argentina	41	30	1	10	73.2%
Australia	36	16	2	18	44.4%
British and Irish Lions	1	0	0	1	0%
Canada	7	6	0	1	85.7%
Czech Republic	2	2	0	0	100%
Côte d’Ivoire	1	1	0	0	100%
England	90	35	7	48	39%
Fiji	7	7	0	0	100%
Georgia	1	1	0	0	100%
Germany	15	13	0	2	86.7%
Ireland	86	52	5	29	60.7%
Italy	27	26	0	1	96.3%
Japan	2	2	0	0	100%
Namibia	5	5	0	0	100%
New Zealand	48	12	1	35	25.5%
Romania	50	40	2	8	80%
Samoa	1	1	0	0	100%
Scotland	83	46	3	34	55%
South Africa	37	11	6	20	29.7%
Soviet Union	3	1	0	2	33.3%
Spain	1	1	0	0	100%
Tonga	3	2	0	1	66.7%
Tunisia	1	1	0	0	100%
United States	7	6	0	1	85.7%
Wales	86	40	3	43	46.4%
West Germany	1	1	0	0	100%
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0	100%
Overall	636	354	30	252	55.7%

[edit] Players

[edit] Current Squad

Marc Lièvremont announced France’s squad for their tests against South Africa and Argentina. ^[36] After Yannick Jauzion pulled out of the squad, Florian Fritz was called up to replace him. ^[37] Imanol Harinordoquy withdrew from the squad due to injury and was replaced by Grégory Lamboley. ^[38] Mathieu Bastareaud was also forced to withdraw and was replaced by Lionel Mazars. ^[39]

Head Coach: Marc Lièvremont

Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club HK Guilhem Guirado 17 June 1986 (1986-06-17) (age 24) 3 Perpignan HK Dimitri Szarzewski 26 January 1983 (1983-01-26) (age 27) 46 Stade Français PR Fabien Barcella 27 October 1983 (1983-10-27) (age 26) 11 Biarritz PR Thomas Domingo 20 August 1985 (1985-08-20) (age 24) 10 Clermont PR Luc Ducalcon 2 January 1984 (1984-01-02) (age 26) 1 Castres PR Nicolas Mas 23 May 1980 (1980-05-23) (age 30) 35 Perpignan PR Jean-Baptiste Poux 26 September 1979 (1979-09-26) (age 30) 26 Toulouse LK Romain Millo-Chluski 20 April 1983 (1983-04-20) (age 27) 13 Toulouse LK Lionel Nallet 14 September 1976 (1976-09-14) (age 33) 54 Racing Métro LK Pascal Papé 5 October 1980 (1980-10-05) (age 29) 25 Stade Français LK Julien Pierre 31 July 1981 (1981-07-31) (age 28) 7 Clermont FL Thierry Dusautoir (c) 18 November 1981 (1981-11-18) (age 28) 33 Toulouse FL Grégory Lamboley 12 January 1982 (1982-01-12) (age 28) 13 Toulouse FL Wenceslas Lauret 28 March 1989 (1989-03-28) (age 21) 0 Biarritz N8 Julien Bonnaire 20 September 1978 (1978-09-20) (age 31) 52 Clermont N8 Louis Picamoles 5 February 1986 (1986-02-05) (age 24) 15 Toulouse SH Morgan Parra 15 November 1988 (1988-11-15) (age 21) 17 Clermont SH Dimitri Yachvili 19 September 1980 (1980-09-19) (age 29) 42 Biarritz FH David Skrela 2 March 1979 (1979-03-02) (age 31) 18 Toulouse FH François Trinh-Duc 11 November 1986 (1986-11-11) (age 23) 20 Montpellier CE Florian Fritz 17 January 1984 (1984-01-17) (age 26) 18 Toulouse CE David Marty 30 October 1982 (1982-10-30) (age 27) 30 Perpignan CE Lionel Mazars 26 June 1984 (1984-06-26) (age 25) 0 Bayonne CE Maxime Mermoz 28 July 1986 (1986-07-28) (age 23) 5 Perpignan WG Marc Andreu 27 December 1985 (1985-12-27) (age 24) 3 Castres WG Vincent Clerc 7 May 1981 (1981-05-07) (age 29) 41 Toulouse WG Julien Malzieu 4 May 1983 (1983-05-04) (age 27) 15 Clermont WG Aurélien Rougerie 26 September 1980 (1980-09-26) (age 29) 56 Clermont FB Clément Poitrenaud 20 May 1982 (1982-05-20) (age 28) 39 Toulouse FB Jérôme Porical 20 September 1985 (1985-09-20) (age 24) 0 Perpignan

[edit] Notable players

Six former French national team players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame: Serge Blanco, André Boniface, Jo Maso, Jean Prat, Jean-Pierre Rives and Philippe Sella.^[40] Sella has the added honour of induction into the IRB Hall of Fame.^[41]

[edit] History

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) was formed in 1892 to administer the game of rugby union at the national level. At that time, the national union was known as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union or NZRFU. The name was officially shortened in 2006 with the removal of the world “Football”.

The first rugby match to be played in New Zealand took place in Nelson in May 1870, between Nelson College and Nelson Football Club. The game spread quickly and in September 1875 the first interprovincial match took place in Dunedin, between Auckland Clubs and Dunedin Clubs. In 1879, the first Provincial Unions were formed in Canterbury and Wellington.

[edit] Formation and Early Years

On Saturday 16 April 1892, in a meeting held in Wellington, the New Zealand Rugby Union was formed. Inaugural members were the Provincial Unions of Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Marlborough, Nelson, South Canterbury, Taranaki, Waiararapa, Wanganui and Wellington. At the time, three major South Island Provincial Unions – Canterbury, Otago and Southland – resisted the central authority of the NZRU.

In 1893, the NZRU formally adopted the black jersey as the national playing strip and selected the first NZRU-sanctioned national team, for a tour of Australia. However, the earlier New Zealand team selected to tour New South Wales in 1884 is recognised as a New Zealand team and its players recognised as All Blacks.

By 1895, with the additions of the Bush, Canterbury, Horowhenua, Otago, Poverty Bay, Southland and West Coast unions, the NZRU was considered to be a complete and united collection of all New Zealand rugby players. However, the New Zealand rugby map^[6] would be repeatedly redrawn in the following decades.

At the Annual Meeting in 1921, the NZRU elected its first Life Member, George Dixon, manager of the 1905 “Originals” All Blacks and the NZRU’s first Chairman, appointed in 1904. In another innovation, provincial delegates met prior to the Annual Meeting to arrange representative fixtures for the season ahead, introducing a new level of national coordination.

[edit] Provincial Rugby

In 1976, the National Provincial Championship was formed to help organise matches between provincial unions, it had two divisions in its first year of play but the format was repeatedly reorganized throughout its 30 year history, notably in 1992 the Rugby Union Bonus Points System was brought in to determine the top placed team. Auckland have been the most successful team in the NPC’s history with 16 championships including the last in 2005. At the conclusion of the NPC there were three divisions and 27 Rugby Unions under the NZRU’s jurisdiction, it was replaced by the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship in 2006 with 14 teams in the top competition, including the new Tasman Makos, who formed with the amalgamation of the Marlborough and Nelson Bays Rugby Unions, and 12 teams in the amateur Heartland Championship. After a 2010 change in sponsorship, the Air New Zealand Cup became the ITM Cup.

[edit] The All Blacks

The All Blacks are New Zealand’s number one national rugby side and have rated amongst the best in the world for well over 100 years. Their name and distinctive all-black playing strip have become well known to rugby and non-rugby fans worldwide.

The first New Zealand team was selected in 1884, for a tour to New South Wales. The team played its first match at home, against a Wellington XV, before recording eight wins in eight matches in Australia. Otago prop James Allan, who played eight matches for the 1884 team, has the title of All Black No 1.

In 1893, the first official NZRU-sanctioned New Zealand team was selected, for an 11-match tour to Australia. The team lost just once, to New South Wales in Sydney.

In 1894, an official New Zealand team hosted visiting opposition on home soil for the first time, in a match against New South Wales at Christchurch won 8–6 by the visitors, two years later, New Zealand beat Queensland at Wellington to record its first home win against visiting opposition.

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his competition replaced the now defunct Under 19 Rugby World Championship and Under 21 Rugby World Championship. The event, organised by rugby’s governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), was contested by sixteen men’s under-20 national teams.

The tournament was held in June and hosted by Wales, at four separate venues, and won by New Zealand.

[edit] Venues

This section requires expansion.

City	Ground	Capacity
Cardiff	Arms Park	13,500
Newport	Rodney Parade	11,700
Swansea	Liberty Stadium	20,532
Wrexham	Racecourse Ground	15,500

[edit] Pools

[edit] Pool A

Played at Arms Park, Cardiff

Team	Pld	W	D	L	TF	PF	PA	+/-	BP	Pts
New Zealand	3	3	0	0	25	173	19	+154	3	15
Argentina	3	2	0	1	6	47	79	-32	1	9
Ireland	3	1	0	2	6	64	109	-45	1	5
Tonga	3	0	0	3	3	46	123	-76	0	0

• 6 June New Zealand 48–9 Tonga
• 6 June Argentina 17–9 Ireland
• 10 June Argentina 30–10 Tonga
• 10 June New Zealand 65–10 Ireland
• 14 June Ireland 45–27 Tonga
• 14 June New Zealand 60–0 Argentina

[edit] Pool B

Played at Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Team	Pld	W	D	L	TF	PF	PA	+/-	BP	Pts
South Africa	3	3	0	0	27	196	32	+164	2	14
Samoa	3	2	0	1	7	60	39	+21	1	9
Scotland	3	1	0	2	8	61	115	-54	1	5
United States	3	0	0	3	3	38	169	-131	0	0

• 6 June South Africa 108–18 USA
• 6 June Samoa 29–17 Scotland
• 10 June Samoa 20–6 USA
• 10 June South Africa 72–3 Scotland
• 14 June Scotland 41–14 USA
• 14 June South Africa 16–11 Samoa

[edit] Pool C

Played at Rodney Parade, Newport

Team	Pld	W	D	L	TF	PF	PA	+/-	BP	Pts
England	3	3	0	0	17	119	48	+71	2	14
Australia	3	2	0	1	27	147	47	+100	3	11
Canada	3	1	0	2	5	47	151	-104	0	4
Fiji	3	0	0	3	7	44	111	-67	1	1

• 6 June Australia 81–12 Canada
• 6 June England 41–17 Fiji
• 10 June England 60–18 Canada
• 10 June Australia 53–17 Fiji
• 14 June Australia 13–18 England
• 14 June Fiji 10–17 Canada

[edit] Pool D

Played at Liberty Stadium, Swansea

Team	Pld	W	D	L	TF	PF	PA	+/-	BP	Pts
Wales	3	3	0	0	11	85	39	+46	2	14
France	3	2	0	1	13	104	54	+50	3	11
Italy	3	1	0	2	4	48	81	-33	0	4
Japan	3	0	0	3	7	47	110	-63	1	1

• 6 June France 53–17 Japan
• 6 June Wales 29–10 Italy
• 10 June France 32–14 Italy
• 10 June Wales 33–10 Japan
• 14 June Japan 20–24 Italy
• 14 June Wales 23–19 France

[edit] Calendar

[edit] Knockout stage

13th place playoffs

	Semi-finals					Final
	Tonga		17
	Japan		5
						Tonga		28
						Fiji		20
	United States		22
	Fiji		27

9th place playoffs

	Semi-finals					Final
	Ireland		9
	Italy		6
						Ireland		39
						Scotland		12
	Scotland		15
	Canada		10

5th place playoffs

	Semi-finals					Final
	Argentina		6
	France		30
						France		21
						Australia		42
	Samoa		0
	Australia		32

1st place playoffs

	Semi-finals					Final
	New Zealand		31
	Wales		6
						New Zealand		38
						England		3
	South Africa		18
	England		26

[edit] Semi-finals

2008-06-18 19:15	New Zealand	31–6	Wales	Rodney Parade, Newport
		(Report)

2008-06-18 19:15	South Africa	18–26	England	Arms Park, Cardiff
		(Report)

[edit] 3rd place playoffs

2008-06-22 17:00	Wales	18–43	South Africa	Liberty Stadium, Swansea
		(Report)

[edit] Final

2008-06-22 19:00	New Zealand	38–3	England	Liberty Stadium, Swansea
		(Report)

[edit] See also

	England	France	Ireland	Italy	Scotland	Wales
Tournaments	110	80	110	11	110	110
Outright Wins (Shared Wins)
Home Nations	5 (4)	-	4 (3)	-	9 (2)	7 (3)
Five Nations	17 (6)	12 (8)	6 (5)	-	5 (6)	15 (8)
Six Nations	3	5	1	0	0	2
Overall	25 (10)	17 (8)	11 (8)	0 (0)	14 (8)	24 (11)
Grand Slams	12	9	2	0	3	10
Triple Crowns	23	N/A	10	N/A	10	19

[edit] World Cup

England have contested every Rugby World Cup since it began in 1987, reaching the final three times and winning it once in 2003.

In the inaugural tournament they finished second in their pool before losing to Wales in the quarter-finals. They again finished pool runners-up in 1991 but recovered to beat France in their quarter-final, and then Scotland in their semi-final, en-route to a 12–6 final defeat to Australia.

In 1995 England topped their group and defeated Australia 25–22 at the quarter-final stage before being beaten by the All Blacks in the semi-final. Their third-fourth place play-off match against France was lost 19–9.

The 1999 competition saw England again finish second in the group stage. Though they proceeded to win a play-off game against Fiji they went out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, losing 44–21 to South Africa.

England exacted revenge over South Africa in the early stages of the 2003 tournament, winning 25–6 to qualify for the knockout stages as winners of Pool C. They defeated Wales in their quarter-final, before a subsequent semi-final victory against the French earned them a place in the final in Sydney. After a tense match and a 20 minute period of extra time after Jonny Wilkinson kicked over the magic drop goal, England triumphed 20–17 over Australia to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

The 2007 defence of the cup in France got off to a poor start, with a below par victory over the United States and a heavy 36–0 defeat to South Africa leaving the holders on the brink of elimination at the group stage. Improved performances against Samoa and Tonga saw England again reach the knockout stages as pool runners-up, before a surprise 12–10 defeat of Australia in Marseille and a narrow 14–9 victory over the host nation France carried England to a second successive final appearance. The final was played in Paris on 20 October against South Africa, who won by 15 points to 6.

England’s Jonny Wilkinson became the highest overall points scorer in World Cup history when he kicked all 12 points in England’s quarter-final victory over Australia in 2007. He kicked a further 9 points (including a 40-yard (40 m) drop goal) in the semi final and 6 in the final defeat to South Africa.^[77] England have the fourth most points in World Cup history with 957, and the highest number of drop-goals (18).^[78]

[edit] Overall

England have won 329 of their 624 Test matches, a winning record of 52.72%.^[79] When the World Rankings were introduced in October 2003, England were ranked first. They briefly fell to second in September that year before regaining first place. They fell to second, and then to third in June 2004. After the 2005 Six Nations they fell to sixth where they remained until they moved into fifth in December that year. In 2006, their ranking again fell and they finished the year ranked seventh. They are currently ranked sixth – behind New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, France and Ireland – as of 14 June 2010.^[80]

Their Test record against all nations, updated 2010-06-12:^[79][81]

Against	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against	% Won
Argentina	15	10	4	1	361	232	66.67
Australia	38	14	23	1	545	819	36.84
Canada	6	6	0	0	273	73	100
Fiji	4	4	0	0	156	71	100
France	93	50	36	7	1398	1106	53.76
Georgia	1	1	0	0	84	6	100
Ireland	123	70	45	8	1455	990	56.91
Italy	15	15	0	0	630	187	100
Japan	1	1	0	0	60	7	100
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	110	0	100
New Zealand	33	6	26	1	408	784	18.18
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	39	13	100
Romania	4	4	0	0	268	21	100
Samoa	5	5	0	0	190	78	100
Scotland	127	67	42	18	1461	1093	52.76
South Africa	31	12	18	1	480	640	38.71
Tonga	2	2	0	0	137	30	100
United States	5	5	0	0	253	52	100
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	111	13	100
Wales	119	54	53	12	1530	1326	45.38
Total	625	329	247	49	9949	7541	52.64

[edit] Players

[edit] Current Squad

England 44-squad for their summer tour to New Zealand and Australia. ^[82] Dylan Hartley was ruled out due to injury and was replaced by George Chuter. ^[83] Joe Simpson also pulled out and was replaced by Paul Hodgson. ^[84] Phil Dowson was called up to the squad to replace the injured Hendre Fourie. ^[85]

• Caps updated before test matches.

Head Coach: Martin Johnson

Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club HK George Chuter 9 July 1976 (1976-07-09) (age 33) 22 Leicester Tigers HK Lee Mears 5 March 1979 (1979-03-05) (age 31) 35 Bath HK Steve Thompson 15 July 1978 (1978-07-15) (age 31) 55 Brive HK Rob Webber 1 August 1986 (1986-08-01) (age 23) 0 London Wasps PR Dan Cole 9 May 1987 (1987-05-09) (age 23) 5 Leicester Tigers PR Paul Doran-Jones 2 May 1985 (1985-05-02) (age 25) 1 Gloucester PR David Flatman 21 January 1980 (1980-01-21) (age 30) 8 Bath PR Jon Golding 6 May 1982 (1982-05-06) (age 28) 0 Newcastle Falcons PR Tim Payne 29 April 1979 (1979-04-29) (age 31) 20 London Wasps PR David Wilson 9 April 1985 (1985-04-09) (age 25) 9 Bath LK Dave Attwood 5 April 1987 (1987-04-05) (age 23) 0 Gloucester LK Courtney Lawes 23 February 1989 (1989-02-23) (age 21) 2 Northampton Saints LK Tom Palmer 27 March 1979 (1979-03-27) (age 31) 14 Stade Français LK Geoff Parling 28 October 1983 (1983-10-28) (age 26) 0 Leicester Tigers LK Simon Shaw 1 September 1973 (1973-09-01) (age 36) 57 London Wasps FL Steffon Armitage 20 September 1985 (1985-09-20) (age 24) 5 London Irish FL Tom Croft 7 November 1985 (1985-11-07) (age 24) 16 Leicester Tigers FL James Haskell 2 April 1985 (1985-04-02) (age 25) 27 Stade Français FL Lewis Moody (c) 12 June 1978 (1978-06-12) (age 32) 61 Leicester Tigers FL Chris Robshaw 4 June 1986 (1986-06-04) (age 24) 1 Harlequins FL Joe Worsley 14 June 1977 (1977-06-14) (age 33) 77 London Wasps N8 Phil Dowson 1 October 1981 (1981-10-01) (age 28) 0 Northampton Saints N8 Nick Easter 15 August 1978 (1978-08-15) (age 31) 32 Harlequins N8 Dan Ward-Smith 2 January 1978 (1978-01-02) (age 32) 0 London Wasps SH Danny Care 2 January 1987 (1987-01-02) (age 23) 19 Harlequins SH Paul Hodgson 25 April 1982 (1982-04-25) (age 28) 9 London Irish SH Richard Wigglesworth 9 June 1983 (1983-06-09) (age 27) 5 Sale Sharks SH Ben Youngs 5 September 1989 (1989-09-05) (age 20) 1 Leicester Tigers FH Toby Flood 8 August 1985 (1985-08-08) (age 24) 29 Leicester Tigers FH Shane Geraghty 12 August 1986 (1986-08-12) (age 23) 6 Northampton Saints FH Charlie Hodgson 12 November 1980 (1980-11-12) (age 29) 31 Sale Sharks FH Jonny Wilkinson 25 May 1979 (1979-05-25) (age 31) 78 Toulon CE Olly Barkley 28 November 1981 (1981-11-28) (age 28) 23 Bath CE Shontayne Hape 30 January 1981 (1981-01-30) (age 29) 0 Bath CE Mathew Tait 6 February 1986 (1986-02-06) (age 24) 37 Sale Sharks CE Mike Tindall 18 October 1978 (1978-10-18) (age 31) 61 Gloucester CE Dominic Waldouck 26 September 1987 (1987-09-26) (age 22) 0 London Wasps WG Chris Ashton 29 March 1987 (1987-03-29) (age 23) 1 Northampton Saints WG Matt Banahan 30 December 1986 (1986-12-30) (age 23) 5 Bath WG Mark Cueto 26 December 1979 (1979-12-26) (age 30) 39 Sale Sharks WG Ugo Monye 13 April 1983 (1983-04-13) (age 27) 13 Harlequins WG David Strettle 23 July 1983 (1983-07-23) (age 26) 6 Harlequins FB Delon Armitage 15 December 1983 (1983-12-15) (age 26) 15 London Irish FB Ben Foden 22 July 1985 (1985-07-22) (age 24) 4 Northampton Saints

[edit] Notable players

See also – List of England national rugby union footballers

Four former England representatives have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame: Bill Beaumont, Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard, and Wavell Wakefield.^[86][87]

Wavell Wakefield represented England in 31 Tests between 1920 and 1927, including 13 Tests as captain. He was involved in three Five Nations Grand Slams in 1921, 1923 and 1924. Playing as flanker, Wakefield introduced new elements to back row tactics which beforehand concentrated on the set piece. He became a Member of Parliament in 1935, and was knighted in 1944. He became the RFU President in 1950 and following his retirement from politics was awarded the title the first Baron Wakefield of Kendal.^[88]

Between 1975 and 1982, Bill Beaumont represented England in 34 Tests. Playing at lock, he was captain between 1978 and 1982 in 21 Tests including the 1980 Grand Slam — England’s first since 1957. Later that year, he captained the British Lions to South Africa – the first time an Englishman had captained the Lions since 1930. Furthermore, Beaumont represented the Barbarians FC on fifteen occasions.^[89]

The youngest ever England captain at 22, Will Carling represented England in 72 Tests, and as captain 59 times between 1988 and 1996. He was best known as a superlative leader, motivating England to a remarkable three Grand Slams in five years, including back to back slams in 1991 and 1992. He also led England to the final of the 1991 World Cup, and captained the Barbarians FC. His playing talents were not as flashy as some of his colleagues, but his effectiveness cemented him as a first choice at centre on the selection sheet. On merit alone it is quite possible he would already be in the Hall of Fame were it not for some outspoken tendencies of his with respect to the English RFU committee (”Old Farts”), who may as a result be reluctant to acknowledge his achievements. He was awarded the OBE in 1991.

Described as arguably “the greatest forward” to play for England,^[90] Martin Johnson played 84 Tests for England, and eight Tests for the British and Irish Lions.^[91] He first represented England in 1993, and later that year the Lions. He captained the Lions to South Africa in 1997, and in 1999 was appointed captain of England. He became England’s most successful ever captain. He became the first player to captain two Lions tours when he captained them in Australia in 2001.^[92] He retired from Test rugby after he led England to a Six Nations Grand Slam and World Cup victory in 2003 and has since become the team Manager.^[90]

Jason Leonard, also known as “The Fun Bus”,^[93] appeared 114 times for England at prop, which was the world record for international appearances for a national team until 2005, when it was surpassed by Australia’s scrum-half George Gregan.^[94] He was on the England team that finished runners up to Australia in the 1991 Rugby World Cup final, but avenged this twelve years later, coming on as a substitute for Phil Vickery in England’s victorious 2003 Rugby World Cup final appearance. He also went on three British and Irish Lions tours where he was capped five times.^[94]

[edit] Individual records

The record for Test career points for England is held by Jonny Wilkinson with 1172 points.^[3] The record for tries is held by Rory Underwood with 49 tries; Underwood is also England’s most capped back with 85 caps. The most capped England player is former prop Jason Leonard who made 114 appearances over his 14-year career.^[95] England’s youngest ever Test player was Colin Laird who was 18 years and 134 days old when he played against Wales in 1927.^[96]

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Date: 17-06-2010
Time: 19:30 until 21:45
New Zealand vs South Africa :: Semi Finals – IRB Junior World Championships :: Estadio El Coloso del Parque, Rosario, Argentina

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• 1 History
  • 1.1 Early years
  • 1.2 First internationals
  • 1.3 Springboks
  • 1.4 Inter war
  • 1.5 Post-war era
  • 1.6 1960s
  • 1.7 1970s
  • 1.8 1980s
  • 1.9 1990s
  • 1.10 New millennium
    • 1.10.1 Rugby World Cup 2007
    • 1.10.2 After the World Cup
    • 1.10.3 2009: A full trophy cabinet and a disappointing tour
    • 1.10.4 2010 and beyond
• 2 Apartheid and transformation
• 3 Strip
• 4 Home grounds
• 5 Records
  • 5.1 Tri Nations
  • 5.2 World Cup
  • 5.3 Overall
• 6 Players
  • 6.1 Current squad
  • 6.2 Individual records
  • 6.3 Notable players
• 7 Coaches
• 8 See also
• 9 References
  • 9.1 Bibliography
  • 9.2 Notes
  • 9.3 Sources
• 10 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

[edit] First internationals

1891 British Isles versus Cape Colony match—the first match of the British Isles tour of South Africa.

The first-ever British Isles tour took place in 1891, with the trip financially underwritten by Cape Colony Prime Minister Cecil Rhodes.^[4] These were the first representative games played by South African sides, who were still learning the game. The tourists played and won a total of twenty matches, conceding only one point in the process.^[5] South Africa’s first ever Tests were played, although South Africa did not exist as political unit until 1910. In a notable event of the tour, the British side presented the Currie Cup to Griqualand West, the province they thought produced the best performance on the tour.^[6]

The British Isles’ success continued on their 21 game tour of 1896. The British Isles won three out of the four Tests against South Africa. South Africa’s play improved markedly from 1891. Their forwards were particularly impressive, and their first ever Test win in the final game was a pointer to the future.^[7][8] For the first time South Africa had worn myrtle green shirts, which their captain, Barry Heatlie, borrowed from his Old Diocesans club. Rugby was given a huge boost by the early Lions tours, which created great interest in the South African press.^[9]

Rugby was so popular that in 1902 there was a temporary ceasefire in the Second Boer War so that a game could be played between British and Boer forces.^[10] The game had spread among the Afrikaner population through POW games during the Boer War,^[11] and afterwards Stellenbosch University became a training ground for future players and administrators.^[12]

In 1903 the British Isles lost a series for the first time in South Africa, drawing the opening two Tests before losing the last 8–0. In all, the tourists won just 11 of their 22 tour games.^[13][14] By contrast, South Africa would not lose another series—home or away—until 1956.^[12]

[edit] Springboks

Paul Roos, Springbok captain, of the first South African touring rugby team to the British Isles in 1906

The 1906 Springboks team

Paul Roos was the captain of the first South African team to tour the British Isles and France. The team was largely dominated by players from the Western Province, and took place over 1906–07. The team played 29 matches; including Tests against all four Home Nations. England managed a draw, but Scotland was the only one of the Home unions to gain a victory.^[15]

During this tour the nickname Springboks was first used. There is often confusion as to the springbok symbol being worn before the name was invented, but this may be down to the fact the tour manager, J.C. Carden, spoke of having no ‘uniforms or blazers’ with the icon, though he did not appear to mean the jerseys. It was reported in the Daily Mail on the 20 September 1906, seven days before the first match, that ‘The team’s colours will be myrtle green with gold collar… and will have embroidered in mouse-coloured silk on the left breast a Springbok’.^[16] Carden, later stated:

Newspaper reporters were to call the team “De Springbokken”, and later The Daily Mail printed an article referring to the “Springboks”.^[17] The team thereafter wore blazers with a springbok on the left breast pocket. Historically the term ‘Springbok’ was applied to any team or individual representing South Africa in international competition regardless of sporting discipline. This tradition was abandoned with the advent of South Africa’s new democratic government in 1994.^[18] The trip helped heal wounds after the Boer War and instilled a sense of national pride among South Africans.^[12][19]

The South Africans crossed the channel to play an unofficial match against a ‘France’ team drawn from the two Parisian clubs: Stade Français and Racing Club de France. The official French team were in England at the time. The Springboks won 55–6 and scored 13 tries in the process.^[20][21]

The 1910 British Isles tour of South Africa was the first to include representatives from all four Home unions. The team performed moderately against the non-test parties, claiming victories in just over half their matches. The tourists won just one of their three Tests.^[22]

The Boks’ second European tour took place in 1912–13. They beat the four Home nations to earn their first Grand Slam and also went on to defeat France.^[12][23]

[edit] Inter war

By the first World War New Zealand and South Africa had established themselves as rugby’s two greatest powers.^[24][25] A New Zealand Army match tour of South Africa in 1919 paved the way for a Springbok tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1921. The tour was billed as “The World Championship of Rugby”.^[26] The All Blacks won the first Test 13–5, which included a try by All Blacks winger Jack Steel who had sprinted 50 metres with the ball trapped between his right hand and back to score.^[27] The Springboks recovered to win the second Test 9–5 thanks to a Gerhard Morkel drop-goal.^[27] The final Test was drawn 0–0 after being played in terrible conditions—resulting in a series draw.^[28]

The 1924 British and Irish Lions team to South Africa struggled with injuries and won only nine of 21 games. They lost all four Tests to the Springboks, but despite the results, the tour produced some attractive rugby.^[29][30] This was the first side to pick up the name Lions,^[31] apparently picked up from the Lions embroidered on their ties.^[32]

The All Blacks first toured South Africa in 1928, and again the Test series finished level. Despite playing most of the second half with only 14 men, with a dominant scrum and fly-half Bennie Osler, the Springboks won the first Test 17–0 to inflict the All Blacks’ heaviest defeat since 1893.^[33][34] The All Blacks rebounded to win the second Test 7–6. After a Springbok win in the third Test, the Springboks needed to win the fourth to secure a series victory. The New Zealanders bought back Mark Nicholls for his only Test of the series,^[35] and their captain Maurice Brownlie told the team a week before the Test that “Under no circumstances whatever is anyone of you so much as to touch a rugby ball until we play the Springboks in the last test.”^[36] Their tactics were successful and the All Blacks won 13–5 to draw the series.^[35]

Despite winning South Africa’s second Grand Slam, the Springbok tourists of 1931–32 were an unloved team. They had a jumbo pack and a kicking fly-half in captain Bennie Osler. Their tactics of kicking for territory earned them criticism both in South Africa and abroad.^[37][38] It was successful however, the team winning against England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as defeating all their Welsh opponents for the first time.^[39]

In 1937 South Africa toured New Zealand and Australia and broke the deadlock with a series win in New Zealand. Their 2–1 series win prompted them to be called “the best team to ever leave New Zealand”.^[40] Despite the All Blacks winning the first Test, the Springboks’ won in the third Test 17–6 and scored five tries to none.^[41] The All Blacks’ loss was considered a humiliation in New Zealand.^[41]

The British Isles toured South Africa again in 1938, winning more than half of their normal matches. The Springboks easily claimed the first two tests. But the tourists recorded a surprise win in the third Test, the first Lions win in South Africa since 1910.^[42]

[edit] History

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) was formed in 1892 to administer the game of rugby union at the national level. At that time, the national union was known as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union or NZRFU. The name was officially shortened in 2006 with the removal of the world “Football”.

The first rugby match to be played in New Zealand took place in Nelson in May 1870, between Nelson College and Nelson Football Club. The game spread quickly and in September 1875 the first interprovincial match took place in Dunedin, between Auckland Clubs and Dunedin Clubs. In 1879, the first Provincial Unions were formed in Canterbury and Wellington.

[edit] Formation and Early Years

On Saturday 16 April 1892, in a meeting held in Wellington, the New Zealand Rugby Union was formed. Inaugural members were the Provincial Unions of Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Marlborough, Nelson, South Canterbury, Taranaki, Waiararapa, Wanganui and Wellington. At the time, three major South Island Provincial Unions – Canterbury, Otago and Southland – resisted the central authority of the NZRU.

In 1893, the NZRU formally adopted the black jersey as the national playing strip and selected the first NZRU-sanctioned national team, for a tour of Australia. However, the earlier New Zealand team selected to tour New South Wales in 1884 is recognised as a New Zealand team and its players recognised as All Blacks.

By 1895, with the additions of the Bush, Canterbury, Horowhenua, Otago, Poverty Bay, Southland and West Coast unions, the NZRU was considered to be a complete and united collection of all New Zealand rugby players. However, the New Zealand rugby map^[6] would be repeatedly redrawn in the following decades.

At the Annual Meeting in 1921, the NZRU elected its first Life Member, George Dixon, manager of the 1905 “Originals” All Blacks and the NZRU’s first Chairman, appointed in 1904. In another innovation, provincial delegates met prior to the Annual Meeting to arrange representative fixtures for the season ahead, introducing a new level of national coordination.

[edit] Provincial Rugby

In 1976, the National Provincial Championship was formed to help organise matches between provincial unions, it had two divisions in its first year of play but the format was repeatedly reorganized throughout its 30 year history, notably in 1992 the Rugby Union Bonus Points System was brought in to determine the top placed team. Auckland have been the most successful team in the NPC’s history with 16 championships including the last in 2005. At the conclusion of the NPC there were three divisions and 27 Rugby Unions under the NZRU’s jurisdiction, it was replaced by the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship in 2006 with 14 teams in the top competition, including the new Tasman Makos, who formed with the amalgamation of the Marlborough and Nelson Bays Rugby Unions, and 12 teams in the amateur Heartland Championship. After a 2010 change in sponsorship, the Air New Zealand Cup became the ITM Cup.

[edit] The All Blacks

The All Blacks are New Zealand’s number one national rugby side and have rated amongst the best in the world for well over 100 years. Their name and distinctive all-black playing strip have become well known to rugby and non-rugby fans worldwide.

The first New Zealand team was selected in 1884, for a tour to New South Wales. The team played its first match at home, against a Wellington XV, before recording eight wins in eight matches in Australia. Otago prop James Allan, who played eight matches for the 1884 team, has the title of All Black No 1.

In 1893, the first official NZRU-sanctioned New Zealand team was selected, for an 11-match tour to Australia. The team lost just once, to New South Wales in Sydney.

In 1894, an official New Zealand team hosted visiting opposition on home soil for the first time, in a match against New South Wales at Christchurch won 8–6 by the visitors, two years later, New Zealand beat Queensland at Wellington to record its first home win against visiting opposition.

New Zealand’s 1905–06 tour to the United Kingdom, France and North America might be considered the most important in New Zealand rugby history. The team played 35 matches in total, losing just once. In the United Kingdom especially, the team’s largely confident, attractive and comfortable wins made a strong statement about the quality of rugby in the colonies and New Zealand in particular. Moreover, the 1905–06 tour gave rise to the famous “All Blacks” moniker, as the fame surrounding the black-clad team spread. Nowadays, this team is known as “the Originals” – they were the first team to demonstrate the power and skill of New Zealand rugby, the first to make rugby a part of New Zealand’s cultural identity, and the first to be known as All Blacks.

In 1924–25, the All Blacks embarked on a 32-match tour to the United Kingdom, France and Canada. Going one better than the 1905–06 Originals, this team won all 32 matches, including Test wins over Ireland, Wales, England and France, and earned the nickname “the Invincibles”.

In 1956, the All Blacks won a Test series against South Africa for the first time. The Springboks were the All Blacks’ greatest traditional rivals and had delivered some of the All Blacks’ worst defeats.

In 1978, the All Blacks achieved a Grand Slam for the first time. For southern hemisphere sides like New Zealand, a Grand Slam includes victories over the four Home Unions – England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – in the course of a single tour. The team achieved a second Grand Slam in 2005 and a third in 2008.^[7]

In 1987, the All Blacks won the inaugural Rugby World Cup, hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

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Current squad

Ireland named their squad for their tour to New Zealand and Australia. ^[26] Rory Best and Paul O’Connell were both ruled out due to injury and replaced by Fogarty and O’Donoghue. ^[27] Kevin McLaughlin was also ruled out and was replaced by Niall Ronan. ^[28] Keith Earls had to pull out of the squad and was replaced by Gavin Duffy. ^[29] Fergus McFadden was ruled out of the tour and was replaced by Johne Murphy. ^[30] Damien Varley was called up to the squad as cover for Jerry Flannery. ^[31] Rhys Ruddock was called to the squad as a replacement for the banned Heaslip. ^[32]

Head Coach: Declan Kidney

Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club HK Sean Cronin 6 May 1986 (1986-05-06) (age 24) 3 Connacht HK Jerry Flannery 17 October 1978 (1978-10-17) (age 31) 36 Munster HK John Fogarty 18 October 1977 (1977-10-18) (age 32) 1 Leinster HK Damien Varley 29 October 1983 (1983-10-29) (age 26) 0 Munster PR Tony Buckley 8 October 1980 (1980-10-08) (age 29) 18 Munster PR Tom Court 6 November 1980 (1980-11-06) (age 29) 8 Ulster PR John Hayes 2 November 1973 (1973-11-02) (age 36) 102 Munster PR Cian Healy 7 October 1987 (1987-10-07) (age 22) 8 Leinster PR Marcus Horan 7 September 1977 (1977-09-07) (age 32) 66 Munster LK Donncha O’Callaghan 24 March 1979 (1979-03-24) (age 31) 62 Munster LK Ed O’Donoghue 24 June 1982 (1982-06-24) (age 27) 0 Ulster LK Mick O’Driscoll 8 October 1978 (1978-10-08) (age 31) 18 Munster LK Dan Tuohy 18 June 1985 (1985-06-18) (age 24) 1 Ulster FL Shane Jennings 8 July 1981 (1981-07-08) (age 28) 8 Leinster FL John Muldoon 30 November 1982 (1982-11-30) (age 27) 3 Connacht FL Niall Ronan 14 September 1982 (1982-09-14) (age 27) 2 Munster FL Rhys Ruddock 13 November 1990 (1990-11-13) (age 19) 0 Leinster FL David Wallace 8 July 1976 (1976-07-08) (age 33) 63 Munster N8 Chris Henry 17 October 1984 (1984-10-17) (age 25) 0 Ulster SH Tomás O’Leary 22 October 1983 (1983-10-22) (age 26) 17 Munster SH Eoin Reddan 20 November 1980 (1980-11-20) (age 29) 21 Leinster SH Peter Stringer 13 December 1977 (1977-12-13) (age 32) 91 Munster FH Ronan O’Gara 7 March 1977 (1977-03-07) (age 33) 99 Munster FH Jonathan Sexton 11 July 1985 (1985-07-11) (age 24) 7 Leinster CE Gordon D’Arcy 10 February 1980 (1980-02-10) (age 30) 49 Leinster CE Gavin Duffy 18 September 1981 (1981-09-18) (age 28) 10 Connacht CE Brian O’Driscoll (c) 21 January 1979 (1979-01-21) (age 31) 102 Leinster CE Paddy Wallace 27 August 1979 (1979-08-27) (age 30) 21 Ulster WG Tommy Bowe 22 February 1984 (1984-02-22) (age 26) 31 Ospreys WG Shane Horgan 18 July 1978 (1978-07-18) (age 31) 65 Leinster WG Johne Murphy 10 November 1984 (1984-11-10) (age 25) 0 Leicester Tigers WG Andrew Trimble 20 October 1984 (1984-10-20) (age 25) 28 Ulster FB Rob Kearney 26 March 1986 (1986-03-26) (age 24) 24 Leinster FB Geordan Murphy 19 April 1978 (1978-04-19) (age 32) 67 Leicester Tigers

Notable players

International Rugby Hall of Fame

Eight former Irish players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

Frazer Owen Willie John McBride Tony O’Reilly Jack Kyle

Syd Millar Keith Wood Tom Kiernan Fergus Slattery

Four of these have the added honour of induction into the IRB Hall of Fame—Kyle in 2008,^[33] and McBride, Millar and O’Reilly in 2009.^[34]

British and Irish Lions

The following Ireland players have represented the British and Irish Lions.^[35]

Tom Crean: 1896 Robert Johnston: 1896 Robert Alexander: 1938 Paddy Mayne: 1938 Jack Kyle: 1950 Karl Mullen: 1950 Robin Roe: 1955 Cecil Pedlow: 1955 Robin Thompson: 1955 Tony O’Reilly: 1955, 1959 Ronnie Dawson: 1959, 1968 Andy Mulligan: 1959 Noel Murphy: 1959, 1966 Raymond Hunter: 1962 Willie John McBride:1962, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1974 Tom Kiernan: 1962, 1968 Syd Millar: 1962, 1968 Ray McLoughlin: 1966 Barry Bresnihan: 1966, 1968 Mike Gibson: 1966, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1977 Ken Kennedy: 1966, 1974 Jerry Walsh: 1966 Roger Young: 1966, 1968 Mick Doyle: 1968 Mike Hipwell: 1971 Sean Lynch: 1971 Fergus Slattery: 1971, 1974

Tom Grace:1974 Ken Goodall:1968 John Moloney: 1974 Moss Keane: 1974, 1977 Willie Duggan: 1977 Philip Orr: 1977, 1980 Rodney O’Donnell: 1980 Colin Patterson: 1980 John Robbie: 1980 Colm Tucker: 1980 Tony Ward: 1980 Ollie Campbell: 1980, 1983 John O’Driscoll: 1980, 1983 Ciaran Fitzgerald: 1983 David Irwin: 1983 Mike Kiernan: 1983 Hugo MacNeill: 1983 Gerry McLoughlin: 1983 Trevor Ringland: 1983 Donal Lenihan: 1983, 1989 Paul Dean: 1989 Brendan Mullin: 1989 Steve Smith: 1989 Philip Matthews: 1989 French Republic anniversary match Vince Cunningham: 1993 Mick Galwey: 1993 Richard Wallace: 1993

Nick Popplewell: 1993 Eric Miller: 1997 Paul Wallace: 1997 Jeremy Davidson: 1997, 2001 Keith Wood: 1997, 2001 Rob Henderson: 2001 Tyrone Howe: 2001 David Wallace: 2001, 2009 Malcolm O’Kelly: 2001, 2005 Brian O’Driscoll: 2001, 2005, 2009 Ronan O’Gara: 2001, 2005, 2009 Shane Byrne: 2005 Gordon D’Arcy: 2005, 2009 Simon Easterby: 2005 John Hayes: 2005, 2009 Denis Hickie: 2005 Shane Horgan: 2005 Donncha O’Callaghan: 2005, 2009 Paul O’Connell: 2005, 2009 Stephen Ferris: 2009 Jamie Heaslip: 2009 Keith Earls: 2009 Tommy Bowe: 2009 Luke Fitzgerald: 2009 Rob Kearney: 2009

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• Ireland national rugby union team tours
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• Rugby union in Ireland
• History of rugby union matches between Ireland and New Zealand
• Ireland vs South Africa at rugby union

Sources

• History of Rugby in other countries
• IrishRugby.ie^{[dead link]}

References

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2. ^ “Irish International Teams: Results, Scorers, Dates and Venues – 1874 to June 1999″. Irishrugby.ie. http://www.irishrugby.ie/history/css/arch_history_1.htm. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
3. ^ Frank Keating (27 February 2007). “How Ravenhill rebels made an issue out of an anthem”. The Guardian. http://sport.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,,2022097,00.html. Retrieved 31 Ocotber 2008.
4. ^ “Irish Rugby : In Pics: IRFU PwC High Performance Select Group”. IRFU. http://www.irishrugby.ie/283_7543.php. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
5. ^ “Ireland 16-11 Italy”. BBC Sport. 2 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7224116.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
6. ^ “France 26-21 Ireland”. BBC Sport. 8 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7236787.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
7. ^ “Ireland 34 Scotland 13″. BBC Sport. 23 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7260841.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
8. ^ “O’Sullivan quits as Ireland coach”. BBC Sport. 19 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/7306032.stm. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
9. ^ “Ireland 55-0 Canada”. BBC Sport. 8 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/7715003.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
10. ^ “2009 Six Nations”. BBC Sport. 22 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7954758.stm. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
11. ^ “Wales 15-17 Ireland”. RTE Sport. 21 March 2009. http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2009/0321/ireland.html. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
12. ^ “Fans hail Grand Slam heroes”. RTE Sport. 22 March 2009. http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/sixnations/2009/0322/ireland.html. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
13. ^ “Ireland 27-12 Wales”. BBC Sport. 13 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8566020.stm. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
14. ^ “Ireland 20-23 Scotland”. BBC Sport. 20 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8578135.stm. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
15. ^ “Ireland’s Call”. BBC News. 29 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/learning_centre/newsid_2369000/2369769.stm. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
16. ^ Barry, Kevin (10 March 2005). “‘Ireland’s Call’ is the right anthem”. University College Cork. http://www.ucc.ie/students/unixpr/0405/11/20a.html. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
17. ^ “Ireland Anthem”. planet-rugby.com. 18 May 2001. http://www.planet-rugby.com/Story/0,18259,5067_,00.html. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
18. ^ “Rugby bosses reject unionists’ anthem argument”. BreakingNews.ie. 21 August 2006. http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/08/21/story273217.html. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
19. ^ “You’re off key over claim on anthem, says rugby body”. News Letter. 21 August 2006. http://www.newsletter.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=3425&ArticleID=1709861. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
20. ^ “SA to play in Aviva rugby opener”. BBC Sport. 8 October 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/8296992.stm. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
21. ^ “Scotland looks to give up World cup matches at Murrayfield”. WorldCupWeb.com. 2 December 2005. http://www.worldcupweb.com/WCrugby/content/show_article.asp?id=461&cat=2. Retrieved 21 April 2006.
22. ^ “Ireland 32-17 Namibia”. BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/6984269.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
23. ^ “Ireland 14-10 Georgia”. BBC Sport. 15 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/6995087.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
24. ^ “France 25-3 Ireland”. BBC Sport. 21 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7005286.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
25. ^ “Argentina 30-15 Ireland”. BBC Sport. 30 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/7018298.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
26. ^ “Henry and Tuohy in Ireland squad for summer tour”. BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8689407.stm. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
27. ^ “Injury rules Rory Best and Paul O’Connell out of tour”. BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8712044.stm. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
28. ^ “Ronan replaces McLaughlin in Ireland squad”. RTE Sport. http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2010/0530/mclaughlink.html. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
29. ^ “Keith Earls is latest withdrawal from Irish summer tour”. BBC.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8720859.stm. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
30. ^ “Leinster centre Fergus McFadden out of Ireland tour”. BBC.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8723959.stm. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
31. ^ “Tuesday is D-day for injured Irish”. MagnersLeague.com. http://www.magnersleague.com/news/5354.php. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
32. ^ “Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip handed five-week kneeing ban”. BBC.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/irish/8737417.stm. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
33. ^ “IRB Hall of Fame Welcomes Five Inductees”. International Rugby Board. 23 November 2008. http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2027752.html#irb+hall+fame+welcomes+five+inductees. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
34. ^ International Rugby Board (27 October 2009). “IRB Hall of Fame: The 2009 Induction” (PDF). Press release. http://www.irb.com/mm/document/unions/0/091022inducteeprofile2009_9131.pdf. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
35. ^ The Ireland Rugby Miscellany (2007): Ciaran Cronin
36. ^ “Ireland Statistics: All Time International Caps”. Irish Rugby Football Union. http://www.irishrugby.ie/280_7262.php. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
37. ^ “Player analysis – George Smith”. Scrum.com. http://www.scrum.com/statsguru/rugby/player/13503.html?class=1;template=results;type=player;view=match. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
38. ^ “Ireland Statistics: All Time Points Scorers”. Irish Rugby Football Union. http://www.irishrugby.ie/280_7264.php. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
39. ^ Press Association (14 March 2009). “Heaslip and Stringer inspire Ireland”. Six Nations Rugby. http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/13209.php. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
40. ^ “Ireland Statistics: All Time Try Scorers”. Irish Rugby Football Union. http://www.irishrugby.ie/280_7265.php. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
41. ^ “Statsguru / Test matches / Player records (filter: as captain)”. Scrum.com. http://stats.scrum.com/statsguru/rugby/stats/index.html?captain=1;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=matches;template=results;type=player. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
42. ^ “Statsguru / Player analysis / Brian O’Driscoll / Test matches (filter: as captain)”. Scrum.com. http://www.scrum.com/statsguru/rugby/player/13120.html?captain=1;class=1;template=results;type=player;view=match. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
43. ^ John O’Sullivan (3 May 2010). “Planet rugby”. Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0503/1224269590998.html.
44. ^ ^{a b c d} No demands made on Ashton to go, say IRFU Irish Examiner, 18 February 1998

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National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL competition (sometimes referred to as the Telstra Premiership for sponsorship purposes) is contested by 16 teams, 15 based in Australia and one based in New Zealand, and is the Southern Hemisphere’s elite rugby league championship.

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These new agreements have seen the NRL significantly expand its international television broadcast reach to now include North America, Africa, Italy, the Middle East, PNG and the Asia Pacific region, as well as online subscription services for international supporters. ^[59].

[edit] Internet

Replays of NRL matches, as well as highlights and NRL-related informational programming are available in Australia from BigPond^[57]. Telstra’s ISP. Outside of Australia, these programs are sold by Aussie Sport TV.

[edit] Radio coverage

The NRL has several games broadcast live on the radio.

ABC Local Radio has the exclusive rights to all NRL matches in the ACT, Queensland and New South Wales except Monday night games.

Triple M (Sydney) covers the Monday Night game^[60] and is broadcast on commercial stations across the country.

[edit] Players

National Rugby League footballers are some of Australasia’s most famous athletes, commanding multi-million dollar playing contracts as well as sponsorship deals. Each club in the NRL has a “top squad” of twenty-five players, who are signed under the salary cap, as described above. For the most part, the players who play in NRL matches are sourced from these top squads. Occasionally during a season, however, the need may arise for a club to use players outside these 25, and in this case players are usually sourced from the club’s corresponding Toyota Cup side or feeder club (such as the relevant New South Wales Cup or Queensland Cup squad).^{[61][62][63][64]}

The players voted to be the best in each position at the end of the season are honoured at the annual Dally M Awards, with the player of the year awarded the Dally M Medal. The man of the match in the Grand Final is awarded the Clive Churchill Medal.

[edit] Africans in the NRL

There are only a handful of Africans in the NRL. There are South Africans Jarrod Saffy who plays for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, JP Du Plessis and Brian Skosana both signed to the Sydney Roosters^[65]. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs winger Jamal Idris is of Nigerian background^[66], Gold Coast Titans backrower Selasi Berdie is of Ghanaian background and is believed to be the first ever player of Ghanaian background to play in the NRL^[67], North Queensland Cowboys forward Willie Mason^[68], St. George Illawarra Dragons winger Peni Tagive^[69] and Penrith Panthers forward Daine Laurie^[70] also have African backgrounds^[71][72][73]

[edit] Asians in the NRL

There are very few Asian players in the NRL, one of them currently being Gold Coast Titans winger Kevin Gordon who is of Chinese and Filipino background^[74] as well as former South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters hooker Craig Wing who is of Filipino background^[75] joined Japanese Rugby Union at the end of the 2009 season.^[76]

[edit] Europeans in the NRL

There are few European-born players in the National Rugby League, despite the significant number of Australians in Europe’s Super League^[77]. However, those who do play in the NRL (such as, in recent times, Adrian Morley who is English of Welsh descent^[78] and Brian Carney who is Irish^[79]) are often stars of the game.^[80]

Europeans currently playing in the NRL include England representatives Gareth Ellis who plays for the Wests Tigers^[81] and Sam Burgess who has signed with the South Sydney Rabbitohs for 2010^[82][83]. Other Europeans include former Wigan Warriors loose forward Mark Flanagan who is playing with the Wests Tigers^[70] in 2010, and Scottish international Ian Henderson who is currently playing for the New Zealand Warriors^[84]. Ellis won Wests Tigers ‘best and fairest’ award in his inaugural season.^[85]

There are also a huge number of players in the NRL with European backgrounds. some of them Sydney Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello^[86] is an Italian international^[87] there are also a lot of other players with Italian backgrounds such as Rocky Trimarchi, Cameron Ciraldo and Anthony Laffranchi^[88].

Players with Greek backgrounds include John Skandalis and Iwi Hauraki^[89][90], players with Maltese backgrounds include Jarrod Sammut, Shane Shackleton and Danny Galea^[91] there are also a lot of other players of European backgrounds in the NRL from such as countries as Ireland and Scotland^[92][93].

[edit] Indigenous Australians in the NRL

The first Indigenous Australian to play in the precursor to the NRL was New South Wales Rugby League premiership player George Green, who debuted in 1909. Since that time, many high profile indigenous athletes have played in the competition, including standout rugby league test players Arthur Beetson (the first aborigine to captain an Australian national team in any sport) and current Test match representatives Jonathan Thurston and Greg Inglis. A Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report found that 11% of NRL players in 2006 were of Aboriginal descent,^[94] | | publisher = Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission | accessdate = 2007-11-09|format=PDF}} (By way of comparison, only 2.3% of the Australian population identified themselves as Indigenous in the 2006 Australian census.)^[95]. A 2009 survey of NRL players showed that 47 players, or 10.9 per cent, in its clubs’ full-time squads are indigenous with a slightly higher figure for under-20s competition.^[96]

On February 13, 2010 at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast, the NRL will hold an “indigenous all stars” game. It is to be a indigenous Australian verse non-indigenous Australian and New Zealander game of the top players from their respective backgrounds. The Indigenous All-Stars will be a 20 man squad voted by the public. The non-indigenous squad will consist of the Australian and New Zealand national teams captains and vice captains and one player from each of the sixteen NRL clubs.

[edit] Pacific Islanders in the NRL

There are increasing numbers of both New Zealand and Pacific Island born players being selected by clubs. In recent years, Polynesian players have made up 75 per cent of junior representative teams in New South Wales.^[97] It has been suggested that by 2011-2012 50% of NRL players could be of Polynesian or Melanesian descent.^[98]

[edit] Record statistics (1998+)

Further information: List of National Rugby League records

See also: List of NSWRL/ARL/SL/NRL records

Top scorers in the National Rugby League

Rank	Player	Points
1	Hazem El Masri	2,418
2	Andrew Johns	2,176
3	Jason Taylor	2,107
4	Daryl Halligan	2, 034
5=	Craig Fitzgibbon	1,604
5=	Clinton Schifcofske	1,604
7	Matt Orford	1,500
8	Luke Burt[99]	1,356
9	Mat Rogers[99]	1,304
10	Brett Hodgson	1,289
As of 29 March 2010.

The Brisbane Broncos (1998, 2000 and 2006) have the distinction of winning the most premierships (three) since the creation of the National Rugby League. The Melbourne Storm had also won three premierships until being stripped of two of these premierships in April 2010.^[100][101]

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs hold the record for the most consecutive wins, having won 17 matches in a row between 31 March 2002 and 3 August 2002.^[102] However this was the year that they went over the salary cap by over $1.5 million. The Parramatta Eels set the records for the highest score and margin of victory in a 74–4 victory over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on 23 August 2003.^[103] The most victories achieved within a regular season is 21 (excluding a further 3 wins in the finals series), was held by the Melbourne Storm in 2007.^[104] It is unknown as of April 2010 whether Melbourne’s team records from the 2006-2010 period will stand, after salary cap breaches were announced as having occurred over this time, resulting in the stripping of the Storm’s major and minor premierships in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.^[100][101] (Should this record be stripped of the Storm, the Parramatta Eels would hold the record with 20 wins in 2001. The Storm also won 20 wins in 2006, but this would likewise be in question.)

Since the first National Rugby League season in 1998, a total of six players have topped the scorers list in a season. However, the only player to have won the title more than once is Hazem El Masri, the overall top scorer in the National Rugby League’s history, having claimed the title in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2009. Hazem El Masri was leading the top scoring table in 2005 until sidelined through injury. His tally of 342 points in 2004^[105] remains the most points scored by an individual in a season. He is also the 2000s’ most-served player with 249 games (out of 259)^[106]; at a match in 2004 he equaled the record for most successful goals with 35 (a feat which he also nearly matched that year in international tests); he is the third most successful goal-scorer in the NRl with 891 two-pointers to his name (beaten by Jason Taylor with 941 and Andrew Johns with 917); and he is tied fifth on most tries scored with 159.

Nigel Vagana’s 154 tries scored across all nine seasons of the National Rugby League^[107] makes him the most prolific try scorer in the competition’s history ( as Ken Irvine and Steve Menzies, the games actual highest try scorers, played before the creation of the NRL). Nathan Blacklock holds the record for the most tries in a season, with 27 scored in 2001^[108] for his team, the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Terry Campese holds the record for the most points scored in a game with 36 points in a match featuring Canberra vs Panthers Round 22 2008 (Canberra 74 defeated Penrith 12).^[109] Only three players have scored five tries in a game; Francis Meli, Jamie Lyon, and Nigel Vagana.^[109]

It should be noted, however, that the official records of the NRL do not differentiate between the various top level competitions. For more information on official records, see this page List of NSWRL/ARL/SL/NRL records

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