End-of-year Rugby Union Internationals
The end-of-year rugby union internationals (also known as the autumn internationals in Six Nations countries and the spring internationals in SANZAAR countries) are rugby union games contested by men's national teams during World Rugby's international window in October and November. Matches in this window are held annually except during the years of the Rugby World Cup. In general SANZAAR teams travel in this window. Usually, Second-tier national teams also have games. Grand Slam tours can occur in this window. This is where a nation plays the four home unions of the British Isles – England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. See also * Mid-year rugby union internationals The mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in Six Nations countries and the winter internationals in SANZAAR countries) are rugby union games contested by men's national teams during World Rugby's internati ... References Rugby union matches {{Rugbyu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rugby Union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, 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 Rugby ball, oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped Goal (sports)#Structure, goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people regardless of gender, age or size. In 2023, there were more than 10 million people playing worldwide, of whom 8.4 million were registered players. World Rugby, previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament contested by the Home Nations. The championship holders are France, who won the 2025 tournament. The tournament is organised by the unions of the six participating nations under the banner of Six Nations Rugby, which is responsible for the promotion and operation of the men's, women's and under-20s tournaments, and the Autumn International Series, as well as the negotiation and management of their centralised commercial rights. The Six Nations is the successor to the Home Nations Championship (1883–1909 and 1932–39), played by teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, which was the first international rugby union tournament.Godwin (1984), pg 1. Though only matches involving Ireland could properly be considered international, an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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SANZAAR
SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from its member unions. It was formed as SANZAR in 1996 as a joint venture of the South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Union, and the Australian Rugby Union. From the 2016 season, its name was changed to SANZAAR following the inclusion of the Argentine Rugby Union as a full member of the organisation. History Tri-Nations and Super 12: 1996 SANZAR was formed in 1995, shortly after rugby's move to professionalism, to counter the threat of Australia's Super League, a new rugby league competition that offered large salaries to players. SANZAR proposed the Super 12, an annual provincial competition with teams from all three countries, and the Tri Nations Series, an annual competition between each country's Test teams. This ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rugby Union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, 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 Rugby ball, oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped Goal (sports)#Structure, goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people regardless of gender, age or size. In 2023, there were more than 10 million people playing worldwide, of whom 8.4 million were registered players. World Rugby, previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World Rugby
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 Rugby Under 20 Championship, World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup. World Rugby's headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. Its membership now comprises 133 national unions. Each member country must also be a member of one of the six regional unions into which the world is divided: Africa, North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and Oceania. World Rugby was founded as the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) in 1886 by , and , with joining in 1890. , and became full members in 1949. became a member in 1978 and a further 80 members joined from 1987 to 1999. The body was renamed the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1998, and took ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rugby World Cup
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis who, according to a popular legend, invented rugby by picking up the ball during a football game and running with it. The tournament was first held in 1987 and was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Four countries have won the trophy; South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa four times, New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand three times, Australia national rugby union team, Australia twice, and England national rugby union team, England once. South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa is the current champion, having defeated New Zealand national rugby union team, New ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of International Rugby Union Teams
The following is a list of international rugby union teams: National teams – band classification Starting in 2008, in addition to the existing tier system, the IRB introduced a four-band system of classification in which unions are classified based on "their development status and record on the international stage". The new structure is: High performance All countries previously in Tiers 1 and 2. Now under "High Performance" status are still divided in "Tier 1" and "Tier 2". Tier 1 Tier 2 Developmental Development One Developmental World Rugby associates in ''italics'' Other teams Multinational teams * The British and Irish Lions. ** ** ** ** * Established in 1950, East Africa rugby union team, East Africa conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982 and played against incoming international, representative and club touring sides including twice against the British and Irish Lions, British Lions; perhaps the only example of representative (as op ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grand Slam Tour
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship (or its Five Nations predecessor) beats all the others during one year's competition. This has been achieved 42 times in total, for the first time by Wales in 1908, and most recently by the Irish team in 2023. The team with the most Grand Slams is England with 13. It can also apply to the U20 and Women's Six Nations Championships. In another context, a Grand Slam tour refers to a touring side – South Africa, Australia or New Zealand – which plays fixtures against all four home nations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) during their tour. If the tourists win all of those matches, they are said to have achieved a Grand Slam. This has been done nine times, first by South Africa in 1912–13, and most recently by New Zealand in 2010. Five and Six Nations Grand Slams In the annual Six Nations Championship (among England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy), and its predecessor the Fi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebrides, Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland), and over six thousand smaller islands. They have a total area of and a combined population of almost 72 million, and include two sovereign states, the Republic of Ireland (which covers roughly five-sixths of Ireland), and the United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands, off the north coast of France, are normally taken to be part of the British Isles, even though geographically they do not form part of the archipelago. Under the UK Interpretation Act 1978, the Channel Islands are clarified as forming part of the British Islands, not to be confused with the British Isles. The oldest rocks are 2.7 billion years old and are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mid-year Rugby Union Internationals
The mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in Six Nations countries and the winter internationals in SANZAAR countries) are rugby union games contested by men's national teams during World Rugby's international window in July. The window, originally in June, was created in 2008, though matches occurred around this time in earlier years. In 2020 World Rugby moved the window from June to July. Matches in this window are held annually. In general Six Nations teams travel in this window. Usually, Second-tier national teams also have games. British and Irish Lions tours occur in this window every four years. List of test series 2004 Australia hosted a tour by Scotland and won 2-0, while New Zealand won their home series against England by the same score. Ireland made a tour of South Africa, losing their 2-0. The Pacific Islanders (made up of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa players) played Australia, New Zealand and South Africa once each, losing al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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End-of-year Rugby Union Internationals
The end-of-year rugby union internationals (also known as the autumn internationals in Six Nations countries and the spring internationals in SANZAAR countries) are rugby union games contested by men's national teams during World Rugby's international window in October and November. Matches in this window are held annually except during the years of the Rugby World Cup. In general SANZAAR teams travel in this window. Usually, Second-tier national teams also have games. Grand Slam tours can occur in this window. This is where a nation plays the four home unions of the British Isles – England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. See also * Mid-year rugby union internationals The mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in Six Nations countries and the winter internationals in SANZAAR countries) are rugby union games contested by men's national teams during World Rugby's internati ... References Rugby union matches {{Rugbyu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |