"Basque Country national rugby union team Basque Country national rugby union team (Basque: ""Euskadiko errugbi selekzioa"") is the national and/or representative rugby union team of the Basque Country. It is also sometimes referred to as the Basque Selection. They made their international debut on 14 May 1983 against Wales while the latter were on a tour of Spain. The Basque Country lost this game 3–24. Since 1985 the team has been organised by the Basque Rugby Federation. Since making their international debut against Wales in 1983, the Basque Country has regularly played international friendlies. They have also played regular friendlies"
"for Samoa. He is married and has two sons Gavin and Paul, who also play rugby union: Gavin plays internationally for Samoa and plays club for French side US Dax; and his other son Paul played for the Auckland Super Rugby side the Blues before playing for Sale in the English Premiership and debuting for Samoa in 2010. Williams now coaches at the Ponsonby Rugby Club and the Mt Albert Grammar School Rugby Academy. Williams was appointed President of the NZRU in 2011. In the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, Williams was appointed a Member of the Order of the British"
"Awards for Rookie of the Year in 2004 and International Player of the Year in 2013. He first moved to rugby union in 2010 and has since had spells playing for Toulon in France, Canterbury, Counties Manukau, the Crusaders, Chiefs and Blues in New Zealand and Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan. He has won 47 caps for New Zealand (the All Blacks), and was part of the teams that won the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups. He has also played rugby sevens for New Zealand, competing in the 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series and the 2016 Olympics. Williams has"
"Jeff Williams (rugby union) Jeff Williams (born 16 August 1988) is a South Africa born English professional rugby union player. He last played for Bath. Williams previously played Rugby sevens for England and was a member of the team which won the Tokyo Sevens tournament in 2015. Williams was born in South Africa to an English father andgrew up in the suburb of Sunnyridge. He attended George Randell Primary School, in Greenfields from grade one to seven. He then moved on to Selborne College where he finished his high school career. Williams played Rugby Union for the Hamiltons club in"
"series he scored in each of the first and fourth Tests. This was during apartheid, so with his parentage he was only able to tour after honorary white status was granted. Williams' international rugby career lasted from 1970 to 1978 in which he played 113 matches (including 38 international Tests) and scored 66 tries in all matches as an All Black (ten tries in Tests), which was a record until beaten by John Kirwan. After he retired from rugby, he coached a number of club sides in New Zealand. During the 1990s onwards, he has been the national rugby coach"
"Jason Williams (rugby league, born 1966) Jason Paul Williams (born 23 April 1966 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 1990s. A New Zealand national representative , he played his club football in Australia for Sydney's Western Suburbs Magpies, Eastern Suburbs Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Penrith Panthers as well as in England for Salford. Williams played 145 games in the Australian competition from 1987–88 and 1991–98, scoring a total of 63 tries and winning the 1995 ARL Premiership with the Bulldogs. Williams played in 12 test matches for New"
"at the time and nine players were later suspended by the Romanian Rugby Federation. In a 1927 match involving Quillan, the strongest team in France at the time, and Perpignan, the Quillan hooker Gaston Riviere received such a kicking that he died from his injuries. Welsh fullback JPR Williams was the victim of stamping by touring New Zealand prop John Ashworth in 1978. After receiving 30 stitches from his father he returned to the game. A player for Welsh club Pontycymmer was jailed for 15 months after stomping on an opposition player's head during a rugby game in 2005. In"
"Cups. In 2005, ""NZ Rugby Almanack"" chose him as one of its five players of the year. Williams spent what were to have been the final two seasons of his career in France with Toulon, playing there from 2013 to 2015. He came out of retirement to play in the 2016/17 season for top French club Racing 92. On 25 February 2017 Williams was arrested in Paris for allegedly buying cocaine. Williams did not begin playing rugby until 1998 when, aged 17 during his time in Greenbank house at King's college. He played for the King's College Second XV. He"
"1979 England rugby union tour of Japan, Fiji and Tonga In 1979 an rugby union touring team toured Japan, Fiji and Tonga. The tourists won all their seven matches, scoring 270 points and conceding only 93. Only the first international against was close, with Japan leading 19–15 going into injury time – a converted try by Peter Squires allowed England to win the match. England did not award full international caps for the matches against Japan, Fiji and Tonga and the tourists played under the name of England XV rather than England in those games. The Welsh referee Clive Norling"
"Rhodri Williams Rhodri Williams (born 10 May 1968 as Rhodri Ogwen Williams) is a Welsh sports journalist from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. He is currently employed by Qatar's Al-Kass Sports Channel and anchors the network's English-speaking studio. Williams was a main presenter for Sky Sports News and was one of Sky Sports' main rugby presenters - hosting the Heineken Cup and Southern Hemisphere rugby including the Tri Nations, the NPC in New Zealand and the Currie Cup in South Africa. He was sacked by Sky Sports in 2006 after tabloid revelations regarding his personal life. He was the first"
"Mandisa Williams Mandisa Williams (born 8 November 1984) is a retired women's rugby union player from Jongalanga, Eastern Cape, South Africa. She played for Imonti Penguins, Border Bulldogs and the South Africa women's national rugby union team as a Number 8. Williams started playing rugby for Jogalanga Women, a club founded by her father, in 1999. When she was 16, she was invited to Border Bulldogs trials and was selected for the team to play in the women's Currie Cup. Shortly afterwards she made her international debut for South Africa in 2004. In 2006, she was awarded the South African"
"the NSW Cup. In 2013 he joined the Wests Tigers as an assistant coach for the clubs NSW Cup team. Jason Williams (rugby league, born 1966) Jason Paul Williams (born 23 April 1966 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 1990s. A New Zealand national representative , he played his club football in Australia for Sydney's Western Suburbs Magpies, Eastern Suburbs Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Penrith Panthers as well as in England for Salford. Williams played 145 games in the Australian competition from 1987–88 and 1991–98, scoring a total"
"the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to rugby. Williams extended his stay in Japan several times, taking on a role as player-coach and turning down an offer from French Top 14 side Toulon in the process. Before finally announcing he would be returning home at the end of the 2014–15 Japanese Top League season. In November 2016, Williams was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame during opening ceremonies for the Hall's first physical home in Rugby, Warwickshire. Williams was born in Morriston in Swansea, but grew up in Glanamman in"
"at Walter Sisulu University. Following retirement, she became a sports commentator. Mandisa Williams Mandisa Williams (born 8 November 1984) is a retired women's rugby union player from Jongalanga, Eastern Cape, South Africa. She played for Imonti Penguins, Border Bulldogs and the South Africa women's national rugby union team as a Number 8. Williams started playing rugby for Jogalanga Women, a club founded by her father, in 1999. When she was 16, she was invited to Border Bulldogs trials and was selected for the team to play in the women's Currie Cup. Shortly afterwards she made her international debut for South"
"Boet Erasmus Stadium', in Port Elizabeth, one of the most violent matches in rugby history, there is famous video footage of JPR Williams running over half of the pitch and launching himself at Moaner van Heerden after such a call. Although an extreme response, the 99 call was only used once (according to McBride), as it sent out the message that the Lions were willing and more than able to respond in kind and protect themselves. Fullbacks: Wings: Centres: Flyhalves: Scrumhalves: Hookers Props Locks Loose Forwards 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1974 the British Lions toured South"
"Ali Williams Alexander James ""Ali"" Williams (born 30 April 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union player who played at lock, spending almost all of his playing career in his homeland. At provincial level, he played mainly with Auckland, though he spent one season with Tasman and was also loaned out to Nottingham in England's second-level RFU Championship in 2010. At Super Rugby level, he played for both the Blues and Crusaders. Williams played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, between 2002 and 2012. He was in the All Blacks squad for the 2003, 2007 and 2011 World"
"Rugby union and apartheid Rugby union and apartheid had a complex relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era. Halt All Racist Tours was established in New Zealand in 1969 to oppose continued tours to and from South Africa. Though contacts were restricted after the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, there were controversial tours in 1980 by the British Lions and by France, in 1981 by Ireland, and in 1984"
"of Scotland. This unique challenge saw Williams as only the second Australian in over a century to be appointed as a head coach in the Six Nations Championship and the first foreign head coach of the Scotland national rugby union team, holding the position from December 2003 to April 2005. He returned to Australia and became head coach of West Harbour rugby club in Sydney from 2006-07 before returning to Ireland to take over a very troubled Ulster team mid season, after they had sacked former coach Mark McCall. Ulster were last in the Magners League and in danger of"
"Rugby Union's Women's player of the year award after playing in South Africa's first women's World Cup campaign at the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup. In 2012, Williams was named as captain of the South Africa women's national rugby sevens team for the inaugural IRB Women's Sevens Series. During the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup, Williams served as captain however after South Africa's first match, she was banned for 16 weeks for eye-gouging and missed the rest of the tournament. She appealed against this but failed to overturn the ban. Williams retired from rugby in 2016. Williams studied sports management"
"on tour. For example, they played Rhodesia (the future Zimbabwe) in 1910, 1924, 1938, 1955, 1962, 1968 & 1974 during their tours to South Africa. They also were beaten by Fiji on their 1977 tour to New Zealand. In addition, they toured pre-independence Namibia (then South West Africa), in 1955, 1962, 1968, and 1974. There have also been games in other countries on the way home. These include games in in 1959 and 1966, East Africa (then mostly Kenya, and held in Nairobi), and an unofficial game against Ceylon (future Sri Lanka) in 1950. Previous tours have seen some non-Test"
"position often following an audacious jump for a high ball. He is also remembered for his part in The greatest try ever scored. Williams chose not to go on the 1977 British Lions tour to New Zealand, after being advised by his consultant to focus on his medical career. In the same year he was appointed MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to Rugby. Williams was one of the inaugural inductees of the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 1997. Williams retired from international rugby union in 1981 and continued his career as an orthopaedic"
"John Walsh (rugby league) John Walsh (birth unknown), also known by the nicknames of ""Johnny"", and ""Waller"", is an English former World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for St. Helens, as a , or , i.e. number 1, 2 or 5, 3 or 4, or 6. John Walsh won caps for England while at St. Helens in 1975 against France, in the 1975 Rugby League World Cup against Australia, and New Zealand, in 1975 against Papua New Guinea"
"national rugby union team from 1950 to 1954. He won his first senior cap in the Triple Crown deciding match against Ireland in 1950. In 1952, Williams played on the Grand Slam winning team, and he was the fullback in the last Wales team to beat the New Zealand All Blacks. Williams was forced to retire from rugby due to a recurring collar-bone injury. In his post-rugby career, he became a school PE teacher in Harrow Grammar school, before moving to private education at Whitgift School in Croydon. Williams was the author of four rugby union training manuals: He died"
"of J.P.R. Williams running over half of the pitch and launching himself at Moaner van Heerden after such a call, something that Williams says he is not proud of. 99 call In rugby union, the ""99"" call was a policy of simultaneous retaliation by the Lions during their 1974 tour to South Africa. The tour was marred by on-pitch violence, which the match officials did little to control and the relative absence of cameras compared to the modern game made citing and punishment after the fact unlikely. Lions' captain Willie John McBride therefore instigated a policy of ""one in, all"
"the semi-final against France and the third-place play-off against Wales. Sixteen teams competed in the inaugural tournament. Seven of the 16 places were automatically filled by the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) members – New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France. South Africa was unable to compete because of the international sporting boycott due to apartheid. There was no qualification process to fill the remaining nine spots. Instead invitations were sent out to Argentina, Fiji, Italy, Canada, Romania, Tonga, Japan, Zimbabwe and the United States. This left Western Samoa controversially excluded, despite their better playing standard than some"
"Vale. Denzil Williams Denzil Williams (born 17 October 1938) is a former Wales international rugby union player. He was capped 36 times for Wales between 1963 and 1971, including Wales' first overseas tour in 1964. He played in the Welsh rugby team's first match outside Europe and its first in the Southern Hemisphere; played against East Africa in Nairobi on 12 May 1964, Wales winning 8-26. He was also selected fives times for the British and Irish Lions in 1966. His first international match was in the Five Nations tournament on 19 January 1963. Williams also played club rugby for"
"the former USSR competed under the Commonwealth of Independent States banner, but this itself terminated in 1992. It had played four matches. The most successful ""successor"" rugby team has been Georgia, which competed in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. They had a respectable performance against Ireland and defeated Namibia twice in 2007 and 2015, defeated Tonga 17-10 in 2015. The Rugby World Cup, coincidentally, got going at around the point that the Soviet Union was disintegrating – no other ex-Soviet team other than Georgia had ever qualified until 2011 when Russia qualified, and the early"
"every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987. They will host the tournament for the first time in the 2019 Rugby World Cup. With their victory over South Africa in the 2015 they won their second-ever game in the Rugby World Cup. They went on to become the first team ever to win three pool matches in a single World Cup but still fail to advance to the knockout stage. The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between six Pacific rim sides; Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, Australia A and New Zealand Māori. The Asian"
"only one was won by the Jaguars. This single victory came at Bloemfontein in 1982. The Jaguars was a 'shadow' Argentine national team, not officially recognized by Union Argentina de Rugby, a stratagem to elude the prohibition of the Argentine government that since the early 1970s forbade any official relationship between any Argentine sport federation and South African and Rhodesian ones, due to the apartheid politics of those countries. This ostracism started in 1971 when the Argentine government forbade the ""Pumas"" to play a match in Rhodesia during the tour in South Africa. In March 1973, the Argentine government and"
"in the United Kingdom enjoyed considerable popularity in Rhodesia; especially cricket, rugby, football (""soccer""), netball, golf, tennis, lawn bowls, field hockey, etc. Just like neighbouring South Africa, Rhodesia was barred from both competing against and participating with Commonwealth member countries. Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ) was an unrecognised state in southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ""de facto"" successor state to the British colony of Southern Rhodesia, which had been self-governing since achieving responsible government in 1923. A landlocked nation, Rhodesia was bordered by South Africa to the south, Bechuanaland (later Botswana)"
"career as a chartered accountant. Heimar Williams Heimar Williams is a former South African rugby union played that played first class rugby between 2011 and 2017. His regular position was centre and he spent the bulk of his career playing in Durban with the , representing them in Super Rugby, the Currie Cup and the Vodacom Cup. He also made two appearances for the in the 2017 Rugby Challenge. Williams was included in the squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season and made his debut in a 31–16 victory against the in Durban. He retired after the 2016 season, aged"
"Jason Williams (rugby league, born 1981) Jason Williams (born 21 January 1981 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a rugby league footballer and heavyweight boxer who currently plays for the Glenora Bears in the Auckland Rugby League. His position of choice is at Prop Forward. Williams attended Mount Albert Grammar and represented the New Zealand Secondary Schools and the Junior Kiwis in 1998. He then played for the Marist Richmond Brothers in the Bartercard Cup. Williams signed with the Cronulla Sharks in 2004. However he was charged with an assault on teammate Jeremy Smith, who was left with a fractured cheekbone,"
"year Toulon reportedly tabled a three-year, $6 million offer to Williams, while the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) came up with a $550,000 per year deal. He was also offered the French number twelve jersey at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Williams rejected Toulon's offer—reportedly the largest in rugby union history—and opted to sign with the NZRU in a bid to play for the All Blacks. He then chose to play with Canterbury in the ITM Cup and the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition. On 3 September, Williams made his Canterbury debut against Bay of Plenty after previously playing"