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European Shield
The European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was a repechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup. As such, it formed Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. The name "European Shield" had previously been used for the now renamed European Challenge Cup. A total of 16 teams participated in each season. The competition was contested between the first round losers from the European Challenge Cup with teams being added directly to make up the full 16 team complement. The structure of the competition was a purely knockout format; teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg. The competition had a brief existence, running for just three seasons in 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05. Three clubs won the competition in each year that it was run an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rugby League
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playing field, field measuring wide and long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two major codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union. It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, as the result of a History of rugby league#The schism in England, split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over the issue of payments to players.Tony Collins, ''Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain'' (2006), p.3 The rules of the game governed by the new Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to paying spectators, on whose income the new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madejski Stadium
The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon. It is an all-seater bowl stadium with a capacity of 24,161 and is located close to the M4 motorway and Reading Green Park railway station. The West Stand contains the Voco Reading Hotel. The stadium was opened on 22 August 1998 and replaced Elm Park as Reading's home ground. It was named after John Madejski, who was chairman of Reading FC and provided most of the funding. History In January 1990, the Taylor Report made all-seater stadiums compulsory in the top two divisions of English football for the 1994–95 season. Having played in the second tier of the English league several times before, Reading were champions of Division Two in 1994, and were promoted to Division One. Reading became sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L'Aquila Rugby
L'Aquila Rugby 1936 was an Italy, Italian rugby union club based in L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo. The official colours of the club were black and green, the colours of the city of L'Aquila. The club went into liquidation and disbanded in 2018. History The roots of L'Aquila Rugby date back to the 1930s when, between 1936 and 1942, L'Aquila took part in tournaments organized by the Comandi Federali della GIL. It reached its peak in the 1937–38 season when, after Tommaso Fattori, a legendary figure for the history of the club (the stadium of L'Aquila, Stadio Tommaso Fattori is named after him), joined the team, the club won the local tournament qualifying for the final one, where it finished the season fourth out of 54 participants. It first played in a championship in 1948. In 1949–50 L'Aquila participated in the Serie B and were in contention for promotion to Serie A up to the final game of the season, Genoa eventually winning out. The following year the team won promotion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gran Parma Rugby
Amatori Parma Rugby is a historical Italian rugby union team founded in 1971. History From Amatori to Gran Ducato Gran Parma Rugby was founded in 1999 following the merger of ''Amatori Parma Rugby'' and ''Rugby Noceto''. From 1999 to 2002 they competed in Seria A2 and won promotion to Serie A1. They finished eighth in their first season in the top flight which gave them the right to join the newly formed Super 10 (now Top12). They made their European debut in 2002–03 in the European Shield. GranDucato Parma Rugby was formed in June 2010 through the merger of ''Gran Parma Rugby'', ''Rugby Colorno'' and Rugby Viadana. With the formation of Aironi to play in the Celtic League, the best players and sponsorship from the three participating clubs were concentrated in this new single club Aironi. As a result of Aironi, these three teams decided to merge their senior and U-20 teams in order to better compete in the National Championship of Excellence for the 2010/2011 season. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Section Paloise
Section Paloise (), often referred to simply as la Section or Pau (), is a professional rugby union club based in Pau, France. They are participants in the Top 14, France's premier rugby division, and also compete in the EPCR Challenge Cup. Their home matches are played at the Stade du Hameau, following 80 years of hosting games at the Stade de la Croix du Prince (1910–1990). The club boasts an impressive history, having clinched the Bouclier de Brennus three times in 1928, 1946, and 1964 along with securing the European Challenge in 2000. Section Paloise has also earned victories in the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1939, 1952 and 1997. Additionally, they claimed the French Pro D2 title in 2015. As a formidable presence in French rugby, the club has become a cherished symbol of Béarn culture and heritage. The official anthem of Section Paloise is "Honhada," a tradition that began in March 2012. The lyrics of this anthem were composed to the tune of the famous Scottish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stade Montois
Stade Montois Rugby is a French rugby union team that currently is playing in Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They were founded in 1908 and play in yellow and black. They are based in Mont-de-Marsan, the capital of the Landes ''département'', in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and play at the Stade Guy Boniface. History Stade Montois is a multi-sports club (28 sections) but its rugby team has always been its flagship. After winning a few regional titles between the two world wars, it reached the top of French club rugby four times in 15 years. It lost its first three French championship finals to Castres Olympique in 1949 (3-14, in a replay, after the original final had ended in a 3-3 draw), to FC Lourdes in 1953 (16-21), and to Racing Club de France in 1959 (3-8). Their finest hour came in 1963 in an all Landes-final against US Dax, won by the Yellow and Black 9-6. They had finally won one, whereas their Dax neighbours would lose all five finals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FC Grenoble
The Football Club de Grenoble Rugby (FCG) is a French rugby union club based in Grenoble and founded in 1892. FCG was champion of France in 1953–54 French Rugby Union Championship, 1954 and runner-up in 1992–93 French Rugby Union Championship, 1993 during a controversial final, being deprived of the title of champion of France following a refereeing error. The club also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1987 and was finalist in 1969, 1986 and 1990. FC Grenoble played in the Top 14, the top level of the National Rugby League (France), French league system, for the 2019–2020 season, but were relegated to Pro D2 at the season end. Grenoble have played home matches at the Stade des Alpes (capacity 20,068) since 2014–2015. The club's colors are red and blue. The FCG is currently chaired by Patrick Goffi. The first team is supervised by several specialists: Aubin Hueber as head coach, Nicolas Nadau senior coach, Patrick Pézery forwards coach and Tom Palmer (rugby union), To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of Architecture of England, English architecture since late History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, science, and information technologies. Founded in the 8th century, it was granted city status in 1542. The city is located at the confluence of the rivers Thames (locally known as the Isis) and River Cherwell, Cherwell. It had a population of in . It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the History of Anglo-Saxon England, Saxon period. The name � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kassam Stadium
The Kassam Stadium (also known as Grenoble Road) is the home of Oxford United F.C., and is named after the ground's owner and former chairman of the football club, Firoz Kassam. The Kassam Stadium was built whilst Oxford United played in Division Two (third tier); however, Oxford were relegated to Division Three (fourth tier) the season before the new stadium was built and were further relegated to the Conference National (fifth tier) in 2005–06. The club was previously based at The Manor Ground from 1925 until the opening of the Kassam Stadium in 2001. Following Oxford's promotion from League One at the end of the 2023–24 season, the stadium hosted Championship (second-tier) games for the first time in its history in the 2024–25 season. Construction On 7 June 1995, directors of Oxford United Football Club announced that the cramped and outdated Manor Ground would be replaced by a new 16,000-seat stadium, situated in the Blackbird Leys area of the city, by the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2022 due to financial insolvency. Following a period of administration, the club was reformed and is set to and will play in RFU Championship, Champ Rugby from the 2025–26 Champ Rugby, 2025–26 season. Overview Using the colours gold and blue, they are based in Worcester, England. In 1975, the team moved to Sixways Stadium, located to the north of the city. Placed in the eighth tier of English rugby with the advent of the English rugby union league competition, the club were able to build a strong team due to extensive financial support from their backer and chairman Cecil Duckworth, being promoted repeatedly through the league system. Worcester were first promoted to the highest tier, the Premiership, in 2004, and returned there on two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, Parma is the second most populous city in Emilia-Romagna after Bologna, the region's capital. The city is home to the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world. Parma is divided into two parts by the Parma (river), stream of the same name. The district on the west side of the river is ''Oltretorrente'', meaning ''The other side of the stream''. Parma's Etruscan name was adapted by Romans to describe the round shield called ''Parma (shield), Parma''. History Prehistory Parma was already a built-up area in the Bronze Age. In the current position of the city rose a Terramare culture, terramare. The "terramare" (marl earth) were ancient villages built of wood on piles according to a defined scheme and squared form; c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi (original)
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi (or ''Sergio Lanfranchi Stadium'') was a sports stadium in the city of Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The stadium was named after Sergio Lanfranchi (1925–2001), an international rugby union forward from Parma who played for Italy from 1949 to 1961 and spent most of his club career in France. It was a 3,600-seat arena which hosted Gran Parma Rugby and Rugby Parma F.C. 1931 Rugby Union teams. It also hosted the Parma Panthers American Football team. The stadium is described and referenced numerous times in the book Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. The stadium was demolished in July 2008 because the area was chosen for the Headquarters building of the European Food Safety Authority The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
