england v south africa

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Notable players

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.

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.

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, Martin Johnson played 84 Tests for England, and eight Tests for the British and Irish Lions. 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. 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.

Jason Leonard, also known as "The Fun Bus", 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. 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.

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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Overall

England have won 329 of their 624 Test matches, a winning record of 52.72%.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, France, Australia and Ireland - as of 21 June 2010.

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. England have the fourth most points in World Cup history with 957, and the highest number of drop-goals (18).
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Grounds

Wales' first home international was played at St Helen's ground, Swansea in 1882. In the 1880s and 1890s, home Welsh internationals were played at Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Llanelli. Swansea continued to be used as an international venue until 1954, when Cardiff Arms Park became Wales' primary home venue. Cardiff Arms Park first had a stand erected in 1881, and continued to expand its seating that decade. Crowds continued to grow and in 1902 in Wales' match against Scotland a world record 40,000 spectators paid to see the match.In 1911, the owners of the Arms Park, the Marquess of Bute's familyconfirmed Wales' tenure and the 1920s and 1930s, Wales gradually gained increasing control. A new stand was built at the park in the 1933-34 season, which increased the grounds capacity to 56,000.

By 1958, the WRU had concluded that a new national ground was needed due to flooding that often plagued Arms Park. After debate and disputes between the WRU and various other parties, including Cardiff RFC, in the 1960s, it was decided that a new national stadium would be built with a new ground for the Cardiff club backing onto it. The National Stadium, as it was known, was officially opened in 1970.
Currently, Wales play all their home matches at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, which is also Wales' national stadium. The Millennium Stadium has a capacity of 74,500,and is the largest stadium in Wales, as well as the fourth-most capacious in the entire United Kingdom, behind Wembley, Twickenham and Old Trafford. The Millennium Stadium was first conceived in 1994, when a group redevelopment committee was set up. It was decided to replace the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park after a review found it was out of date; new legislation also required stadia to be all seated. Construction began in September 1997, and was completed by June 1999, in time for the Rugby World Cup. The construction cost the WRU £126 million, which was funded by private investment, £46 million of public funds from the National Lottery, the sale of debentures to supporters (which offered guaranteed tickets in exchange for an interest-free loan), and loans. While the new ground was being built, Wales used the old Wembley Stadium for their home matches, a deal reciprocated during construction of the new Wembley, when FA Cup finals were held at the Millennium Stadium.
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Support

Rugby union and Wales' national team hold an important place in Welsh culture and society. Sport historian John Bale has stated that "rugby is characteristically Welsh", and David Andrew said that "To the popular consciousness, rugby is as Welsh as coal mining, male voice choirs, 'How Green Was My Valley,' Dylan Thomas, and Tom Jones".Welsh rugby's first 'golden age' (1910–1911) coincided with the country's zenith during the 20th century, and rugby was important in building Wales' modern identity.

The 2004-2005 season saw record attendances for Welsh home internationals.For Wales' 2005 Six Nations match against Scotland in Edinburgh, 40,000 Welsh fans travelled to see the game.^[ The home attendance record was bettered the next year when over 500,000 fans attended Wales' seven home matches. The Millennium Stadium regularly sells out all of its 74,500 seats.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Strip

England have returned to the traditional all-white shirts, white shorts with navy and white socks. (The emblem on the shirts is a red rose, rather than the Plantagenet Three Lions displayed on the shirts of the England football and England cricket teams. The strip is manufactured by Nike and O₂ is the shirt sponsor. Red was the change strip, although prior to the introduction of the red strip, navy blue was used. Purple was used as the change strip as of the 2009 autumn internationals, reflecting the traditional colour of the original England track-suits from the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) had created the national side's emblem prior to an English team being sent to Edinburgh to play a Scottish side. A red rose was chosen to be the side’s emblem. The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used at Rugby School. Alfred Wright, an employee of the Rugby Football Union, is credited with the standardisation and new design of the rose, which up until 1920 had undergone many variations in its depiction. The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s. It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised when Nike became the official strip supplier.

In 2003 England first used a skin-tight strip. This was intended to make it more difficult for the opposition to grasp the shirt when tackling. The home and away strips for 2007 were unveiled on 15 May that year. The materials used are superior, offering improved performance to the 2003 kit. However, a sweeping red mark on the base-white front which forms St George's Cross on the top left, and a changed away-strip (dark blue to red), have received criticism because it is felt that emphasis has been placed on St George's Cross at the expense of the traditional red rose. The new strip was introduced in England's home game against Wales on 4 August, while the alternative strip was first used against France on 18 August.

The current england home strip is white with a strip of red around the neck, and the away strip for the first time is purple, both kits have a ground breaking new technology in the form of a gripper print. A special strip was worn during the match versus Wales in the 2010 Six Nations Championship which replicated that worn in 1910 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Twickenham.