The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in the tournament's history. They are ranked fifth in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 26 November 2012. England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 and finished runners-up in 1991 and 2007.
The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official Test match, losing to Scotland by one try. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations) which started in 1883. Following the schism of rugby football in 1895, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. England first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, and Australia in 1909. England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and went on to appear in the final in the second cup in 1991, losing 12-6 to Australia. Following their 2003 Six Nations Grand Slam, England won that year's World Cup – beating Australia 20–17 in extra time. They also contested the final in 2007, losing 15–6 to South Africa.
England players traditionally wear a white shirt with a Rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts, and navy blue socks with a white trim.
Their home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910. The team is administered by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame; one of these is also a member of the IRB Hall of Fame. Four other former players are members of the IRB Hall—two for their accomplishments as players, and two for their achievements in other roles in the sport.
Read more about England National Rugby Union Team: History, Twickenham, Strip, Record, World Cup, Training, Media Coverage
Famous quotes containing the words england, national, union and/or team:
“In England there are sixty different religions, and only one sauce.”
—Francesco Caracciolo (1752–1799)
“In my public statements I have earnestly urged that there rested upon government many responsibilities which affect the moral and spiritual welfare of our people. The participation of women in elections has produced a keener realization of the importance of these questions and has contributed to higher national ideals. Moreover, it is through them that our national ideals are ingrained in our children.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)
“If the Union is once severed, the line of separation will grow wider and wider, and the controversies which are now debated and settled in the halls of legislation will then be tried in fields of battle and determined by the sword.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“I also heard the whooping of the ice in the pond, my great bed-fellow in that part of Concord, as if it were restless in its bed and would fain turn over, were troubled with flatulency and bad dreams; or I was waked by the cracking of the ground by the frost, as if some one had driven a team against my door, and in the morning would find a crack in the earth a quarter of a mile long and a third of an inch wide.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)