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Soane Tongaʻuiha
Soane Tonga'uiha (born 21 January 1982) is a Tongan-born, New Zealand-educated, rugby union player and coach. He plays for Chinnor and internationally for Tonga. His position of choice is loose-head prop, although he sometimes plays at tight-head. He is known for his large size and fierce runs. Club career Tonga’uiha moved from Tonga to Auckland, New Zealand with his family at the age of eight. At first, in Auckland, he played rugby league. He played rugby union from the age of 15 when he went to St Peter's College, Auckland the same Catholic school attended by Pat Lam who also taught there. In his final year at school, in 2000, the team went through the season undefeated, winning the Auckland Championship and the New Zealand First XV Knock out competition. The team was inspired by Pat Lam. In 2001, Tonga’uiha joined the Ponsonby rugby club in Auckland.where he was selected for the Auckland Colts side, playing one game against Japan. Tonga’uiha was selected for the Auckland ...
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Houma (Tongatapu)
Houma is a village in Tongatapu, Tonga. It contains Mapu a Vaea The Mapu a Vaea or "Whistle of the Noble" are natural blowholes on the island of Tongatapu in the village of Houma in the Kingdom of Tonga. When waves Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that t .... It had a population of 2086 in 2016. References Populated places in Tonga Tongatapu {{tonga-geo-stub ...
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St Peter's College, Auckland
, seal_image = , image = St Peter's College, Auckland; Bro O'Driscoll Building.JPG , image_size = 270px , caption = St Peter's College (Bro. O'Driscoll Building, 2009) (constructed 1939) , motto = la, Amare et Servire , motto_translation = To Love and To Serve , coordinates = , type = State Integrated, boys secondary, years 7–13 , religion = Catholic , established = 1939; years ago (original schools founded 1841 and 1857) , MOE = 62 , headmaster = James Bentley , years = 7- 13 , gender = Boys , decile = 8P , address = 23 Mountain Road, Grafton , city = Auckland , postcode = 1023 , country = New Zealand , roll = () , homepage = St Peter's College ( mi, Te Kura Teitei o Hāto Petera) is a Catholic secondary school for boys in the Edmund Rice tradition, and dedicated to St Peter. it is located in the central Auckland area of Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. With a roll ...
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Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Rugby Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16. The league is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership and the United Rugby Championship, which brings together top clubs from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa), from which the most successful European teams go forward to compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup, the pan-European championship which replaced the Heineken Cup after the 2013–14 season. The first ever final took place in 1892, between two Paris-based sides, ...
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Saracens F
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Petraea and Arabia Deserta. The term's meaning evolved during its history of usage. During the Early Middle Ages, the term came to be associated with the tribes of Arabia. The oldest known source mentioning "Saracens" in relation to Islam dates back to the 7th century, in the Greek-language Christian tract ''Doctrina Jacobi''. Among other major events, the tract discusses the Muslim conquest of the Levant, which occurred after the rise of the Rashidun Caliphate following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Roman-Catholic church and European Christian leaders used the term during the Middle Ages to refer to Muslims—usually Arabs, Turks, and Iranians. By the 12th century, "Saracen" had become synonymous with "Muslim" in Me ...
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Franklin's Gardens
Franklin's Gardens (currently known for sponsorship purposes as cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens) is a purpose-built rugby stadium in Northampton, England. It is the home stadium of Northampton Saints. The stadium holds 15,249 people. The four stands are: Carlsberg Stand; Cinch Stand; Church's Stand; and Barwell Stand. It is also conference, meeting & events venueas well as the only Premiership Rugby ground with its own cenotaph, the setting for a ceremony every Remembrance Weekend. History of Franklin's Gardens The Gardens, originally known as Melbourne Gardens, were created by John Collier, and opened in 1864. After his death in 1885 they were bought by John Franklin, a successful hotelier, in 1886 who renamed them Franklin's Gardens the following year. In 1888 the Gardens were sold for £17,000 to the Northampton Brewery Company who started making extensive improvements. New features included a running track, bicycle track, cricket ground, swimming pool, bear pit, a lar ...
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Guinness Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the top division of the English rugby union system. Premiership clubs qualify for Europe's two main club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup. The winner of the second division, the RFU Championship is promoted to the Premiership and until 2020, the team finishing at the bottom of the Premiership each season was relegated to the Championship. The competition is regarded as one of the three top-level professional leagues in the Northern and Western Hemispheres, along with the Top 14 in France, and the cross-border United Rugby Championship for teams from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Italy and South Africa. The competition has been played since 1987, and has evolved into the current Premiership s ...
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Tom Smith (rugby Union Player Born 1971)
, ru_coachyears = 2009–20122012–20152019–2020 , death_date= Thomas James Smith (31 October 1971 – 6 April 2022) was an English-born Scotland international rugby union loosehead prop who played for Glasgow Warriors, Caledonia Reds and Northampton Saints and also represented the British and Irish Lions. He became a rugby coach after retiring from play. Smith was one of the finest loosehead props of the modern era. Education and background Born to a Scottish mother and an English father, Smith is the great-grandson of Scottish international footballer Jack Bell.Union Jack
Rob Sawyer, Everton FC Heritage Society, 8 May 2020
Smith's father died when Tom was six years old. He was first educated at

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British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national team, although they can pick uncapped players who are eligible for any of the four unions. The team currently tours every four years, with these rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in order. The most recent test series, the 2021 series against South Africa, was won 2–1 by South Africa. From 1888 onwards, combined British rugby sides toured the Southern Hemisphere. The first tour was a commercial venture, undertaken without official backing. The six subsequent visits enjoyed a growing degree of support from the authorities, before the 1910 South Africa tour, which was the first tour representative of the four Home Unions. In 1949 the four Home Unions formally created a Tours Committee and for the first time, every ...
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Scotland National Rugby Union Team
The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 4 December 2022, Scotland are 7th in the World Rugby Rankings. The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the Scottish rugby team played their first official test match, winning 1–0 against England at Raeburn Place. Scotland competed in the Five Nations from the inaugural tournament in 1883, winning it 14 times outright—including the last Five Nations in 1999—and sharing it another 8. In 2000 the competition accepted a sixth competitor, Italy, thus forming the Six Nations. Since this change, Scotland have yet to win the competition. The Rugby World Cup was introduced in 1987 and Scotland have competed in all nine competitions, the most recent being in 2019, where they failed t ...
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Powergen Cup
The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1987. The competition was replaced by the Anglo-Welsh Cup, involving 4 Welsh regional sides in addition to the 12 English Premiership clubs, beginning with the 2005–06 season. History Background The RFU had long resisted national competitions as it was thought that they would encourage player payments. Thus, most club matches were only organised friendlies, with competitions such as the County Cups being the highest honours a club could win. The County Championship, established in 1889, was the only national competition for 82 years. 1971–75: RFU Knockout Cup The first competition took place in the 1971-72 season, where Gloucester defeated Moseley in the final 17–6, to become the inaugural champions. Coventry RFC won two titles ...
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EDF Energy Trophy
The EDF National Trophy was a cup competition which ran from 2006 to 2009 for the 118 clubs of the Rugby Football Union from National Division One and below. Previously these teams had played in the Powergen Cup, but were excluded from that cup under a new format adopted for the 2005–06 season. The Trophy was replaced by the British and Irish Cup from the 2009–10 season. The EDF National Trophy retained the knock-out structure of the old Powergen Cup. In addition to gate receipts, prize money was awarded on an elimination basis. Teams who exited the competition in the third round were reported to have earned £5,500, teams eliminated in the fourth round were paid £6,600 for their participation. Winners Powergen Shield :2002 – Rotherham Titans 35–26 Exeter Chiefs :2003 – Orrell 26–20 Exeter Chiefs :2004 – Bristol Shoguns 53–24 Waterloo :2005 – Bedford Blues 14–13 Plymouth Albion EDF Energy Trophy :2006 – NEC Harlequins 39–23 Bedford Blues :2007 – Co ...
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Harlequin F
Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the '' zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by Zan Ganassa in the late 16th century, was definitively popularized by the Italian actor Tristano Martinelli in Paris in 1584–1585, and became a stock character after Martinelli's death in 1630. The Harlequin is characterized by his checkered costume. His role is that of a light-hearted, nimble, and astute servant, often acting to thwart the plans of his master, and pursuing his own love interest, Columbina, with wit and resourcefulness, often competing with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot. He later develops into a prototype of the romantic hero. Harlequin inherits his physical agility and his trickster qualities, as well as his name, from a mischievous "devil" character in medieval passio ...
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