Australia have competed in all six Rugby World Cup, and have won the World Cup on two occasions, in 1991 against England, and in 1999 against France. Australia also lost in the final after extra time to England in the 2003 competition. Australia are governed by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU). Seven former Australian players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, with one of those also having been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.
Australia automatically qualified for the 1991 World Cup in Europe. Australia again finished at the top of their pool, defeating Western Samoa, Wales and Argentina during the group stages. They met Ireland yet again in the quarter finals, defeating them by one point to go through to the semi-finals, where they defeated the All Blacks 16-6 to qualify for their first World Cup final. Australia defeated England 12-6 at Twickenham in the 1991 Rugby World Cup Final to become world champions. Australia were again automatically qualified for the 1995 World Cup in South Africa.
Rugby union is a popular sport in Italy. The sport is thought to have been introduced to the country in the early 1900s, with an organisational committee being established in 1911. The Super 10 competition is the main club rugby competition in the country, although clubs also participate in Europe's Heineken Cup. Italy compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, and have competed at the Rugby World Cup. Italy is classified as a tier one nation by the International Rugby Board.
The governing body of Italian rugby union is the Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR). An original organisational committee was established in 1911, although it was in 1928 when the body became the FIR, and in 1987, they joined the International Rugby Board. In 1934 the FIR became founding members of the Federation Internationale de Rugby Amateur.
No comments:
Post a Comment