"2012 Six Nations Championship The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Including the competition's previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 118th tournament of the annual European championship. For the first time since 2008, there were no Friday night fixtures. Whilst Italy continued to play their home matches in Rome, they"
"the second time in thirty years. Scotland's Gregor Townsend became only the fifth player in history to score a try against each other country in the five nations tournament. He also became the second Scotsman to do so, following on from Johnnie Wallace in 1925. The other men to achieve the feat were Carston Catcheside (England 1924), Patrick Esteve (France 1983) and Phillipe Sella (France 1986). After him, French Philippe Bernat-Salles scored a try in the 5 games of the new '6 Nations' in 2001. This was the last Five Nations Championship; in 2000, joined the tournament, which became the"
"outstanding display of attacking rugby, scoring 30 consecutive points to triumph 43–31. In the final,they met Australia; fatigue took hold as they were beaten convincingly 35 to 12 at Cardiff's new Millennium Stadium. In 2000, Italy joined the Five Nations, making the tournament the Six Nations. France did not perform to expectations in the revamped tournament, losing to both England and Ireland and finishing second behind England. After defeating Romania 67 to 20, France hosted Australia in Paris, who beat them 18 to 13 in a 1999 World Cup final re-match. This was followed by a two Test series against"
"Five Nations begins in 1999), and growing numbers of headlines. In 2000 the Irish WRFU affiliated fully with the IRFU—but there were still set-backs. In 2002 the Australian RFU dropped support for the women's team's entry to the World Cup. The decision was seen as a factor in IOC rejection of rugby as an Olympic sport, and was reversed two years later. But this was unusual. Women's teams were now being accepted on the main stage. In 2002 Scotland played their first women’s match at Murrayfield and in 2003 England staged the first women’s international at Twickenham. In 2006 the"
"in the final to Australia. Franck Tournaire Franck Tournaire (born 4 December 1972 in Narbonne) is a former French international professional rugby union player now playing amateur rugby for US Carcassonne. As a prop, Tournaire played for Narbonne, Toulouse, Leicester, Perpignan and Narbonne again, ending in Pro D2 his professional career at the Racing Métro 92 Paris. After retiring in 2008, Tournaire joined amateur club US Carcassonne in southern France. Tournaire won 49 full caps for the French national team and won 2 Five Nations (1997 and 1998 both Grand Slams) and played in the 1999 Rugby World Cup where"
"2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, was the 10th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Wales were the defending champions. The competition was won by England, who completed a Grand Slam by winning all their five matches. For the first time, the 2017 tournament used the bonus point system common to most other professional rugby union tournaments. As well as the standard four points for a win and two for a draw, a team scoring four tries in a match received an additional league"
"and an under-19 World Cup win in 1998 occurred with many members of those teams going on to become the golden generation of the 2000s. The senior team had only once in the 1990s won two Five Nations Championship games in one year (1995). However, the team of the 2000s were close runners-up in the expanded Six Nations Championship several times, and were disappointingly knocked out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, failing to advance from the pool stage. Four Triple Crowns during the 2000s equaled the amount Ireland had won in the previous one hundred years. A two-win Six"
"against Zimbabwe at the 1991 Rugby World Cup. It was also the first hat-trick scored by an Ireland player in the Six Nations since Brian O'Driscoll's against Scotland in the 2002 tournament. Furthermore, it was the first hat-trick scored by a forward in Six Nations Championship history and the first by a forward since Frenchman Michel Crauste's in the 1962 Five Nations Championship. Stander's teammate, Craig Gilroy, also scored a hat-trick in the match, making Ireland the first team since England in 1914 to have two hat-trick scorers in a Five or Six Nations game. On 18 March 2017, Stander"
"The Rugby Championship, held in Europe and the Southern Hemisphere respectively. The Six Nations is an annual competition involving the European teams , , , , and . Each country plays the other five once. After the initial internationals between England and Scotland, Ireland and Wales began competing in the 1880s, forming the ""Home International Championships"". France joined the tournament in the 1900s and in 1910 the term ""Five Nations"" first appeared. However, the Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) excluded France in 1931 amid a run of poor results, allegations of professionalism and concerns over on-field violence. France"
"1986 Five Nations Championship The 1986 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninety-second series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends between 18 January and 15 March. France and Scotland shared the title. Phillipe Sella of France scored a try in every match, repeating the feat achieved three years earlier by fellow Frenchman Patrick Estève. This championship marked a turnaround in the fortunes of the Irish team who won the competition"
"Budge Pountney Anthony (Budge) Charles Pountney (born 13 November 1973) is a former Director of Rugby at Northampton Saints and a retired rugby union player who played at flanker and won 31 caps for Scotland (1998–2002). He was part of the Northampton side that won the 1999–2000 Heineken Cup. He was part of the Scotland team that won the 1999 Five Nations Championship, played in the 1999 World Cup, later captaining the team. Pountney was born in Southampton, the son of a farm manager. He attended Kings' School and Peter Symonds College in Winchester. He studied at Bedford College and"
"2000 Tri Nations Series The 2000 Tri Nations Series was contested from 15 July to 26 August between the Australia, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union teams. The Wallabies won the tournament for the first time after a thrilling 19–18 win in Durban. The opening game of the tournament between Australia and New Zealand attracted a world record rugby union crowd of 109,874 to the Sydney Olympic Stadium. Australia made it 3 wins in a row in the Bledisloe Cup, having taken it from New Zealand in 1998. (They also won the first ever Mandela Challenge Plate in"
"of Fiji at the 1999 Rugby World Cup finals. He was assigned subsequently to Italy, where he stayed from 2000 to 2002. The team won his very first match in the new Six Nations, inaugurated in 2000 with the admission of Italy into the previous Five Nations, against Scotland; however, Italy failed to score a victory in the following 14 matches. Problems with the Italian Rugby Federation led to Johnstone's dismissal in 2002. <br> Brad Johnstone Bradley Ronald Johnstone (born 30 July 1950), known as Brad Johnstone, is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and a current coach. He"
"in 1999. The centrepiece venue for the tournament was the Millennium Stadium, built on the site of the old National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park at a cost of £126 million from Lottery money and private investment. Other venues in Wales were the Racecourse Ground and Stradey Park. An agreement was reached so that the other unions in the Five Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland and Scotland) also hosted matches. Venues in England included Twickenham and Welford Road, rugby union venues, as well as Ashton Gate in Bristol and the McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield, which normally host football. Scottish venues"
"tournament at the quarter-final stage by South Africa. The new Millennium saw Leonard break several records; he surpassed Rory Underwood as England's most capped player with his 86th cap against Argentina in November 2000, and 12 months later against Romania he overtook former New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick as the world's most capped forward in his 93rd appearance. For the 2000 Autumn internationals, Leonard was dropped to the bench and replaced by Graham Rowntree. In 2001, although England had scored 28 tries in their first four Six Nations matches, they lost the fifth to Ireland after the match had been"
"in 2000 at the inaugural Six Nations Championship match against Ireland, coming on as a substitute. In November 2000, he came on late in the England-Australia autumn International at Twickenham to give Dan Luger a last minute winning try. In the following 2001 Six Nations he finally made the starting line-up for England at full back and stunned the Welsh in the opening game at the Millennium Stadium; England winning 44–15. He toured Australia with the British and Irish Lions in June 2001, but did not start in the Test matches. However, the 2002/2003 season saw him as a member"
"2000 Rugby League World Cup The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was held during October and November of that year in Great Britain, Ireland and France. Sixteen national teams competed in four groups of four, playing each other once over three weekly rounds before a series of play-offs that culminated in the final between Australia and New Zealand. Tournament favourites Australia defeated New Zealand in the final, claiming their sixth consecutive and ninth total Rugby League World Cup title. Australian winger Wendell Sailor was named player of the tournament. Building on the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, it was decided"
"Five Nations Championship. The game was won 27–22 and France went on to win the tournament with a Grand Slam. He played a starring role in the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups, playing in all France’s matches in both tournaments. The highlight of his career was probably the 1999 Rugby World Cup final, where he ended on the losing side as France were beaten 35–12. He also played a barnstorming role in the 1999 semi-final defeat of the All Blacks. He is only one of two French forwards to have participated in four Grand Slam-winning teams. He was a"
"1999 Five Nations Championship The 1999 Five Nations Championship (sponsored by Lloyds TSB) was the seventieth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-fifth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 6 February to 11 April. The tournament was won by , who beat on points difference. Scotland scored sixteen tries in the tournament, to England's eight. It was notable for the dramatic climax to the tournament, which was decided in the dying minutes of the"
"Nations Championship. As a result of his incredibly reliable kicking and elusive running from full-back during the 2005 Six Nations Championship, especially in the Calcutta Cup game, Paterson's omission from Clive Woodward's squad for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand surprised many critics and fans alike. This was to fuelled criticism that Woodward had placed too much reliance upon his England team who won the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Ultimately, Woodward’s 2005 Lions were unsuccessful losing the test series 3–0. Paterson played as part of a resurgent Scotland team of the 2006 Six Nations Championship who"
"the most famous rugby players of the 1970s and early 1980s from the Five Nations to play against a Belgian Select side, which at the same time raised over 2.5 million Francs for various deserving charities. The last occasion in 1991 was for the support of the Belgian wife and children of Brussels British's captain Leslie Joyce following his death in a car crash a few months earlier. Whilst the majority of players come from Great Britain and Ireland, there are nearly always members from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA plus other neighbouring European countries. At one point, all"
"than Italy and Ireland among the Six Nations teams. Australia and New Zealand first played each other in 1903. South Africa toured both nations in 1921 but there was never any formal competition between these teams, unlike the Home Nations (now known as the Six Nations Championship) in the Northern Hemisphere and the three nations only met sporadically. In the 1930s, Australia and New Zealand started contesting the Bledisloe Cup during rugby tours between the two countries. The final acceptance of professionalism in rugby union launched the Tri Nations concept - nearing the completion of the 1995 Rugby World Cup,"
"to clinch the championship themselves thanks to superior points difference, but lost by a single point to Wales, who not only avoided a whitewash but climbed above Ireland on points difference in doing so. The teams involved were: 1996 Five Nations Championship The 1996 Five Nations Championship was the sixty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship, and the first in the sport's professional era, which officially began in August 1995. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-second series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over"
"1996 Five Nations Championship The 1996 Five Nations Championship was the sixty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship, and the first in the sport's professional era, which officially began in August 1995. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-second series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends from 20 January to 16 March. England were the winners, losing only the first game with France, thus missing the Grand Slam, but winning the Triple Crown. France went into the final week needing a victory"
"de France. Laporte took over as head coach of the national team at the end of 1999. His first task was the 2000 Six Nations Championship, the first of its format, since the addition of Italy. Laporte drew on the experience of the 1999 Rugby World Cup, where France had been losing finalists (to Australia). Laporte named Fabien Pelous as captain. In France's first game under Laporte, they defeated Wales 36–3. France ended up winning three of their five matches which saw them finish second, behind winner England. Laporte became renowned for his commitment to improving discipline; he even suspended"
"is the oldest international rugby tournament. The tournament has been known as the Six Nations Championship since 2000, when Italy joined; it had previously been known as the Five Nations. There is no promotion or relegation, and since 2000, no country has entered or left the Six Nations. The next level of international rugby, played by tier-2 and tier-3 European countries, is the Rugby Europe International Championships. It is made up of five levels or divisions: Championship, Trophy, Conference 1, Conference 2 and Development. Each division consists of five or six teams, and is played on a round robbin format"
"in 1994, he tried hard to establish a Central European equivalent of the Five Nations between Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia. There are over two thousand registered players in the country. On 6 October 2012 a new record was set for most spectators to watch a rugby match in the country with over 3000 people watching Hungary win against Bulgaria 28-23 in a Rugby World Cup 2015 qualifier. Hungarian actor András Stohl played scrum-half for the now-defunct ELTE-BEAC in the 1980's. He was also involved with the MRgSz in some capacity in the first decade of the 2000's. Rugby"
"sole host nation to fail to qualify for the knockout stage, exiting the pool stage after losses to Wales and Australia. England's Jonny Wilkinson is the highest points scorer in the rugby world cup, having scored 277 points between 1999 and 2011. England have the fourth most points and fourth most tries scored in the World Cup. When the World Rugby Rankings were introduced in October 2003, England was ranked 1st. They briefly fell to 2nd in September that year before regaining 1st place. They fell to 2nd, and then to 3rd in June 2004. After the 2005 Six Nations"
"when a youth tournament was held in Moscow. The Bears would have to wait until 2000 to play another international, when they played France in the lead-up to the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. The 2000 RLWC provided the Bears with the opportunity to compete with the international heavyweights of rugby league: England and Australia. Also in their group was Fiji, who the Bears played first up in Barrow. Led by Sydney Roosters prop Ian Rubin, who was born in Odessa, Ukraine, the Bears were involved in a tight struggle and it was Fijian captain, winger Lote Tuquri, who proved"
"to South Africa in 2000. He played some of the best rugby of his career and selection for the autumn internationals followed. Phil Greening's knee and hand injuries allowed him to take over as England's number one hooker for the Six Nations Championship; however, Clive Woodward opted for Leicester Tigers Dorian West and Regan was forced to sit on the bench for most of the campaign. Though he missed out on the Lions tour to Australia during the summer, Regan was selected for England's summer tour. However, hindered by his injury, Regan struggled to find his early season form. He"
"1924 Five Nations Championship The 1924 Five Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-seventh series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 1 January and 27 March. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Carston Catcheside, the England winger, became the first player to score a try against each other team in the five nations. Until the tournament became the 6 nations in 2000, only"
"four other players managed this achievement, Johnnie Wallace (Scotland 1925), Patrick Estève (France 1983), Philippe Sella (France 1986) and Gregor Townsend (Scotland 1999). 1924 Five Nations Championship The 1924 Five Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-seventh series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 1 January and 27 March. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Carston Catcheside, the England winger, became the first"
"rugby historian John Griffiths, the worldwide adoption of the current law restricting direct kicking into touch in September 1968 (a law previously used in Australia) ""revolutionised full-back play"". JPR Williams of Wales was the first full-back to regularly score tries after the law change, scoring six times in Five Nations matches in the 1970s. Notable full-backs include Serge Blanco, who scored 38 tries in 93 tests for France and was known for his counter-attacking ability. In 1997, Serge Blanco was among the inaugural set of rugby players inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame and in 2011 he was"