Heineken Cup

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 ...

See also:

Heineken Cup, Heineken Cup - History, Heineken Cup - Heineken Cup qualification, Heineken Cup - Heineken Cup rules, Heineken Cup - Quarter-finals, Heineken Cup - Semi-finals & Final, Heineken Cup - 2005/06 groups, Heineken Cup - Winners, Heineken Cup - By Year, Heineken Cup - By Total Wins

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

2005 Biarritz 2004 Stade Français 2003 Stade Français 2002 Biarritz 2001 Toulouse 2000 Stade Français 1999 Toulouse 1998 Stade Français 1997 Toulouse 1996 Toulouse 1995 Toulouse 1994 Toulouse 1993 Castres 1992 Toulon 1991 Bègles 1990 Racing C.F. 1989 Toulouse 1988 Agen 1987 Toulon 1986 Toulouse 1985 Toulouse 1984 Béziers 1983 Béziers 1982 Agen 1981 Béziers 1980 Béziers 1979 Narbonne 1978 Béziers 1977 BéziersSee also:

Ligue Nationale de Rugby, Ligue Nationale de Rugby - TOP 14 first division, Ligue Nationale de Rugby - Rugby Pro D2 second division, Ligue Nationale de Rugby - Past winners, Ligue Nationale de Rugby - Total wins

Read more here: » Ligue Nationale de Rugby: Encyclopedia II - Ligue Nationale de Rugby - Past winners

Llanelli Scarlets are one of the five original regions of the Welsh Regional Rugby Era. They are also one of only two of those regions who were not brought about by amalgamation of two or more clubs. In 2003, the WRU controversially elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh professional rugby from nine clubs into five clubs, attempting to mirror the successful formats in Ireland and the Southern Hemisphere cou ...

See also:

Llanelli Scarlets, Llanelli Scarlets - Club History, Llanelli Scarlets - Home Ground, Llanelli Scarlets - Statistics, Llanelli Scarlets - Celtic League, Llanelli Scarlets - Celtic League Cup, Llanelli Scarlets - European Rugby Cup, Llanelli Scarlets - Notable Current Players, Llanelli Scarlets - Notable Former Players, Llanelli Scarlets - Club Honours

Read more here: » Llanelli Scarlets: Encyclopedia II - Llanelli Scarlets - Club History

The Leinster Branch was formed in 1875. In amateur days the four provinces played against each other in the Inter-provincial Championship and also played touring sides (usually midweek). When rugby union was declared 'open' in 1995, these four teams became the four professional teams ran by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). Leinster reached the Heineken Cup semi-final in 1995/96 and 2002/03. They were the inaugural Celtic League Champions (01/02) beating rivals Mun ...

See also:

Leinster Rugby, Leinster Rugby - History, Leinster Rugby - Famous players, Leinster Rugby - Club honours

Read more here: » Leinster Rugby: Encyclopedia II - Leinster Rugby - History

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. Newport Gwent Dragons officially represent southeast Wales, and play all of their matches at Rodney Parade, situated in the city of Newport, although friendly (pre-season) games have been played at a number of other grounds around a region that includes well-known club sides suc ...

See also:

Newport Gwent Dragons, Newport Gwent Dragons - Club History, Newport Gwent Dragons - Home Ground, Newport Gwent Dragons - Statistics, Newport Gwent Dragons - Celtic League, Newport Gwent Dragons - Celtic League Cup, Newport Gwent Dragons - European Rugby Cup, Newport Gwent Dragons - Notable Current Players, Newport Gwent Dragons - Notable Former Players, Newport Gwent Dragons - Notable Former Coaches

Read more here: » Newport Gwent Dragons: Encyclopedia II - Newport Gwent Dragons - Club History

1929 Ambrosiana Milano 1930 Amatori Milano 1931 Amatori Milano 1932 Amatori Milano 1933 Amatori Milano 1934 Amatori Milano 1935 Rugby Roma 1936 Amatori Milano 1937 Rugby Roma 1938 Amatori Milano 1939 Amatori Milano 1940 Amatori Milano 1941 Amatori Milano 1942 Amatori Milano 1943 Amatori Milano 1946 Amatori Milano 1947 Ginnastica Torino 1978 Rugby Roma 1949 Rugby Roma 1950 Parma 1951 Rovigo 1951 Rovigo 1952 Rovigo 1953 Rovigo 1954 Rovigo< ...

See also:

Super 10 Italian premiership, Super 10 Italian premiership - Teams 2005/06, Super 10 Italian premiership - Past winners

Read more here: » Super 10 Italian premiership: Encyclopedia II - Super 10 Italian premiership - Past winners

The Ulster Branch of the IRFU was founded in 1879. In the time since Ulster has arguably been the most consistently successful of the four Irish provinces (the others are Connacht, Leinster and Munster) having won the Inter-Provincial Championship a record 26 times. In the amateur Rugby Union era Ulster regularly played international touring sides from the southern hemisphere, their most impressive performance coming in the 1983/4 season when they defeated Andrew Slack's "Grand Slam" Wallabies, the only loss of any kind for the Australians on a tour which saw them defe ...

See also:

Ulster Rugby, Ulster Rugby - History, Ulster Rugby - Club honours, Ulster Rugby - Famous players, Ulster Rugby - Current Internationals, Ulster Rugby - Famous Former Players

Read more here: » Ulster Rugby: Encyclopedia II - Ulster Rugby - 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 ...

See also:

European Challenge Cup, European Challenge Cup - Tournament history, European Challenge Cup - Draw for 2005/6, European Challenge Cup - Previous Winners of the European Challenge Cup

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

The Ospreys are one of the five original clubs of the Welsh Regional Rugby Era. The club came into being in the summer of 2003 when the WRU elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh professional rugby from nine clubs into five regions, effectively mirroring the successful formats in Ireland and the Southern Hemisphere countries of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The Ospreys represent the whole of the Neath and Swansea areas, also encompassing Port Talbot and Aberavon. They were initially created by merging the area's two most successful clubs - Neath RFC and Swansea RFC - ...

See also:

Ospreys rugby union team, Ospreys rugby union team - Club history, Ospreys rugby union team - Home ground, Ospreys rugby union team - Statistics, Ospreys rugby union team - Celtic League, Ospreys rugby union team - Celtic League Cup, Ospreys rugby union team - European Rugby Cup, Ospreys rugby union team - Notable current players, Ospreys rugby union team - Notable former players, Ospreys rugby union team - Club honours, Ospreys rugby union team - Footnotes

Read more here: » Ospreys rugby union team: Encyclopedia II - Ospreys rugby union team - Club history

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 ...

See also:

Glasgow Warriors, Glasgow Warriors - History, Glasgow Warriors - Famous players, Glasgow Warriors - Former players

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

Two seasons of a Scottish / Welsh league (essentially the Welsh Premier Division with (The Borders, Edinburgh and Glasgow) added on) had been played before an agreement was made between the IRFU, SRU and WRU to create a new competition which would bring in the four Irish provinces. 2001 would see the very first incarnation of the Celtic League. Some saw the competition as the forerunner of a British / Irish league with teams from England also taking part. The WRU had previously negotiated with the RFU to form an Anglo-Welsh league but negotiations had broken down ...

See also:

Celtic League rugby union, Celtic League rugby union - History, Celtic League rugby union - 2001/02 and 2002/03, Celtic League rugby union - 2003/04, Celtic League rugby union - 2004/05 and 2005/06, Celtic League rugby union - Statistics

Read more here: » Celtic League rugby union: Encyclopedia II - Celtic League rugby union - History

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 ...

See also:

Cardiff Blues, Cardiff Blues - Cardiff Blues, Cardiff Blues - History, Cardiff Blues - Statistics, Cardiff Blues - Celtic League, Cardiff Blues - Celtic League Cup, Cardiff Blues - European Rugby Cup, Cardiff Blues - Notable Current Players, Cardiff Blues - Notable Former Players

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

Starting in 2005-06, the Powergen cup will feature a new format including the twelve teams from the Guinness Premiership and the four regional Welsh clubs. Teams from National Division One and below will now play for the Powergen National Trophy. In place of the knock-out format, the 16 sixteen clubs are placed in four pools with 3 English clubs and 1 Welsh club. The pool stages of the Anglo-Welsh Cup tournament feature one game against each team. The winners of each of the four groups progress to the semi-finals. The pools will stay ...

See also:

Powergen Cup, Powergen Cup - Anglo-Welsh Cup, Powergen Cup - Pools, Powergen Cup - List of winners, Powergen Cup - By year, Powergen Cup - By number won

Read more here: » Powergen Cup: Encyclopedia II - Powergen Cup - Anglo-Welsh Cup

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 ...

See also:

Celtic Warriors, Celtic Warriors - Club History, Celtic Warriors - Home Ground, Celtic Warriors - Statistics, Celtic Warriors - Celtic League, Celtic Warriors - Celtic League Cup, Celtic Warriors - European Rugby Cup, Celtic Warriors - Notable Former Players

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

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 ...

See also:

Edinburgh Gunners, Edinburgh Gunners - History, Edinburgh Gunners - Famous players

Read more here: » Edinburgh Gunners: Encyclopedia II - Edinburgh Gunners - History

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 ...

See also:

Connacht Rugby, Connacht Rugby - History, Connacht Rugby - Club honours

Read more here: » Connacht Rugby: Encyclopedia II - Connacht Rugby - History

Guinness Premiership - By year. 1987–88 Leicester Tigers 1988–89 Bath 1989–90 Wasps 1990–91 Bath 1991–92 Bath 1992–93 Bath 1993–94 Bath 1994–95 Leicester Tigers 1995–96 Bath 1996–97 Wasps 1997–98 Newcastle Falcons 1998–99 Leicester Tigers 1999–00 Leicester T ...

See also:

Guinness Premiership, Guinness Premiership - Teams, Guinness Premiership - Winners, Guinness Premiership - By year, Guinness Premiership - By Championship Total Wins

Read more here: » Guinness Premiership: Encyclopedia II - Guinness Premiership - Winners

The culture of Scotland is the national culture of Scotland (which has a civic culture somewhat distinct from that of the rest of the British Isles). It originates from various differences, some entrenched as part of the Act of Union, others facets of nationhood not readily defined but readily identifiable. Culture of Scotland - Scots law. , see also Category:Scottish law. Scotland retains Scots Law, its own unique legal system, based on Roman law, which combines features of both civil law and ...

Including:

• Culture of Scotland - Scots law
• Culture of Scotland - Scottish education
• Culture of Scotland - Banking and currency
• Culture of Scotland - Sports
• Culture of Scotland - Media
• Culture of Scotland - Food and drink
• Culture of Scotland - Arts
• Culture of Scotland - Other facets of Scottish culture
• Culture of Scotland - Miscellaneous

Read more here: » Culture of Scotland: Encyclopedia - Culture of Scotland

The following twelve teams will play in the league during the 2005-06 season: Bath Bristol Rugby Gloucester Leicester Tigers Leeds Tykes London Irish Newcastle Falcons Northampton Saints Sale Sharks Saracens Wasps Worcester Rugby Bristol earned promotion from National Division One, while Harlequins were relegated. ...

See also:

Guinness Premiership, Guinness Premiership - Teams, Guinness Premiership - Winners, Guinness Premiership - By year, Guinness Premiership - By Championship Total Wins

Read more here: » Guinness Premiership: Encyclopedia II - Guinness Premiership - Teams

See also: 2004 in sports, 2005 in baseball, other events of 2005, 2006 in sports, list of 'years in sports'. 2005 in sports - Athletics. Men's 100 metres - Asafa Powell of Jamaica sets a new world record of 9.77 at the Athens Olympic Stadium on June 14th. European Cup June 19 Men's overall standings - Germany Women's overall standings - Russia World Championships - Complete results see 2005 World Championships in Athletics IAAF Golden League - R ...

Including:

• 2005 in sports - Athletics
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Read more here: » 2005 in sports: Encyclopedia - 2005 in sports