Portal:Rugby union
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Like other forms of rugby football the game was developed from the rules used to play football at Rugby school in England. The crucial differences from football (soccer) are that in rugby the ball is a prolate spheroid instead of a sphere and that the players are allowed to pick the ball up and run with it. The players are also allowed to throw the ball from player to player, but unlike American football they are not allowed to throw it forwards; ie the ball must only go sideways or backwards.
Rugby union was invented in the town of Rugby, England in 1823. It has established itself as a major global sport, especially popular in New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Wales, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Australia, Argentina and South Africa. Rugby is also gaining popularity in Italy, following its acceptance into the Six Nations and Japan, despite their unsuccessful bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which went to New Zealand.
The Top 14 is a professional rugby union club competition played throughout France. The Top 14 is the top competition of the national league system of Ligue Nationale de Rugby. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next competition down, the Rugby Pro D2. Currently there are 14 teams in the competition, though the competition was previously known as the Top 16, with 16 clubs. The first ever final took place in 1892, between two Paris-based sides, Stade Français and Racing Club, with the latter becoming the inaugural champions. The competition has been held on an annual basis since, with the exception being between 1915 and 1919 due to World War I. The current champions are Biarritz Olympique. (More...)
- 7 June: The 2008 mid-year rugby Tests kick off with the All Blacks defeating Ireland and South Africa defeating Wales.
- 7 June: Fiji defeats Samoa 34–17 in the first match of the 2008 IRB Pacific Nations Cup.
- 31 May: The Crusaders defeat the New South Wales Waratahs 20–12 to win the 2008 Super 14 Final.
- 25 May: New Zealand win the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series after fifth place in the London tournament gives them an unassailable series lead.
- 24 May: The Crusaders will host the Waratahs in the 2008 Super 14 Final following semi-final wins over the Hurricanes and Sharks respectively.
- 24 May: Munster defeat Toulouse in the Millennium Stadium to win the 2007-08 Heineken Cup.
- 18 May: Japan defeat Hong Kong 75–29 to go unbeaten and claim the inaugural 2008 HSBC Asian Five Nations.
- 18 May: London Wasps defeat Bath, and Leicester defeat Gloucester respectively to qualify for the final of the 2007-08 Guinness Premiership.
- 17 May: The remaining three semi-finalists of the 2008 Super 14 are decided in the last round of the regular season; the New South Wales Waratahs, Sharks and Hurricanes join the Crusaders as semi-finalists.
- 14 May: Ian McGeechan is appointed coach of the British and Irish Lions for their 2009 tour to South Africa.
- 10 May: The Crusaders defeat the Queensland Reds 27–21 to guarantee they finish the 2008 Super 14 round-robin top of the table.
- ...that rugby union footballer Farah Palmer captained the Black Ferns to three consecutive Women's Rugby World Cup titles?
- ...that Bennie Osler played 17 consecutive rugby union matches for South Africa between 1924 and 1933?
- ...that South Africa and England had already played each other during pool play before meeting in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final?
- ...that South African rugby player Jannie du Plessis is both a physician and professional athlete?
- ...that the rules for a scrum in rugby union were changed in 2007 to try and reduce the number of serious neck injuries to players?
- ... that 13 June 2007 was the 25th anniversary of the first women's rugby international - Netherlands versus France, at Utrecht?
England and the All Blacks compete for the ball in a line out.
Rugby football is a game I can't claim absolutely to understand in all its niceties, if you know what I mean. I can follow the broad, general principles, of course. I mean to say, I know that the main scheme is to work the ball down the field somehow and deposit it over the line at the other end and that, in order to squalch this programme, each side is allowed to put in a certain amount of assault and battery and do things to its fellow man which, if done elsewhere, would result in 14 days without the option, coupled with some strong remarks from the Bench.
Waisale Serevi (born 20 May 1968 in Qarani on the island of Gau, Fiji) is a Fijian rugby union footballer. Although he has played fifteen a side rugby all his career, Serevi is most notable for his rugby sevens achievements. He is widely considered the greatest rugby sevens player of all time. He played for Fiji 39 times between 1989 and 2003, and scored 376 points. This included representing Fiji in the 1991, 1999, and 2003 Rugby World Cups. He also played professionally for Mitsubishi, Leicester, Stade Montois, Stade Bordelais and Staines.
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