A Wisdom Archive on European Rugby Shield

The Connacht Branch of the IRFU was founded in 1885 and is currently made up of 19 clubs. Connacht was the first ever Irish provincial team to win in France and England in 1997. Connacht were quarterfinalists in the European Challenge Cup in 1997/98. In 2001/02, Connacht made it to the semifinals of the Celtic League, but only reached the quarters in 2002/2003. The 2003/04 season will live long in the memory of all Connacht fans. Their efforts in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup took them to within touching distance of the f ...

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List of professional sports leagues - Rugby Union. Celtic League (Regional sides from Ireland, Scotland, Wales) England Guinness Premiership New Zealand National Provincial Championship South Africa Currie Cup Super 14 (Regional sides from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) Heineken Cup (European elite club competition) European Rugby Shield (European club competition) Six Nations Champio ...

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Edinburgh Rugby were created to compete in the Heineken Cup as the SRU did not think that Scottish club sides could compete against the best teams from France and England. Due to the SRU's high debt, partly as a result of the redevelopment of Murrayfield Stadium, retrenchment was called for. After two seasons, Edinburgh merged with the Border Reivers to form a team to be known as Edinburgh Reivers. From the 2001-02 season, the Reivers label was dropped and the team were simply known as Edinburgh Rugby, nicknamed The Gunners. For the 2005-06 season, the team incorporated the nickname into their official ...

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Glasgow Rugby were created to compete in the Heineken Cup as the SRU did not think that Scottish club sides could compete against the best teams from France and England. Glasgow, however, did not compete in the Heineken Cup until the 1997-98 season. Due to the SRU's high debt, partly as a result of the redevelopment of Murrayfield - called for retrenchment. After two seasons, Glasgow merged with Caledonian to form a team to be known as Glasgow Caledonian. From the 2002-03 season the Caledonian label was dropped and the team were simply known as Glasgow Rugby. Starting with the 2005-06 season, the team were ...

Read more here: » Glasgow Warriors: Encyclopedia II - Glasgow Warriors - History

There have been many changes in format as well as name. In 1996 there were 24 teams from England, France, Italy, Romania, Scotland and Wales divided into 4 groups of 6. Eight teams went on to the knock-out stages. The final was an all French affair with Bourgoin beating Castres to win the first shield. In 1997 there were 8 groups of 4 teams. Colomiers continued the French dominance of the European Shield, defeating Agen convincingly in the final. In 1998 there were 3 groups of 7 teams with the national Spanish and Portuguese teams added in. Once again, a French team was triumphant, with Mont ...

Read more here: » European Challenge Cup: Encyclopedia II - European Challenge Cup - Tournament history

Celtic Warriors - Celtic League. Celtic Warriors - Celtic League Cup. Celtic Warriors - European Rugby Cup. ...

Read more here: » Celtic Warriors: Encyclopedia II - Celtic Warriors - Statistics

Cardiff Blues - Celtic League. Cardiff Blues - Celtic League Cup. Cardiff Blues - European Rugby Cup. ...

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Once Rugby Union was forced to go professional in 1995, the old order changed overnight and by 2002 the Welsh Rugby Union was bankrupt whilst former rivals took the game on to new levels. Months of negotiation between the nine former Premiership clubs and the Welsh Rugby Union finally reached a conclusions during the Summer of 2003 when an agreement was reached to establish a regional structure in place at the top of the game in Wales. Cardiff Rugby Football Club was allowed to form a region by itself and was the first to launch as a new regional entity. The official Cardiff Blues launch event took pl ...

Read more here: » Cardiff Blues: Encyclopedia II - Cardiff Blues - History

The Warriors were one of the five original regions of the Welsh Regional Rugby Era. The club came into being in the summer of 2003 when the WRU controversially elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh Professional Rugby from nine clubs into five regions, attempting to mirror the successful formats in Ireland and the Southern Hemisphere countries of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Officially representing the Mid-Glamorgan Valleys area, including Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare, Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Bridgend, and s ...

Read more here: » Celtic Warriors: Encyclopedia II - Celtic Warriors - Club History

The Heineken Cup began in 1995-96 with a dozen sides representing Ireland, Wales, Italy, Romania (though Romanian teams no longer take part) and France. English and Scottish teams did not compete until 1996-97 as they were already committed to their domestic schedules. From an inauspicious beginning in Romania, where Toulouse thrashed Farul Constanta 54-10 in front of a small crowd, the competition gathered momentum and crowds grew. Toulouse went on to become the first European rugby champions, eventually beating the world renowned Cardiff RFC in extra time. A tense and historic occasion at the now demoli ...

Read more here: » Heineken Cup: Encyclopedia II - Heineken Cup - History