Portal:Sports
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Template:/box-header Template:/Intro Template:/box-footer Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.  The IRB has been the governing body for rugby union since its formation in 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, and was absorbed by many of the countries associated with the British Empire. Early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and Wales. Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents and as of November 2010 118 unions were members of the IRB. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place every four years, with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere (the latter replacing the Tri Nations) are major international competitions held annually. Major domestic competitions include the Top 14 in France, the English Premiership in England, the Currie Cup in South Africa, and the ITM Cup in New Zealand. Other transnational competitions include the Pro 12, involving Irish, Italian, Scottish and Welsh teams; The Rugby Championship, involving Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; and the Heineken Cup, involving the top European teams from their respective domestic competitions. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.  Wheelchair basketball players compete for a ball in a Euroleague Basketball tournament Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi (born 20 May 1968 in Suva, Fiji) is a former Fijian rugby union footballer, and coach. Although he played fifteen-a-side rugby throughout his playing career, Serevi is most notable for his achievements in rugby sevens. He is widely considered one of the greatest rugby players ever, especially in the game of sevens.In the 15-man game, he played for Fiji 39 times between 1989 and 2003, and scored 376 points. This included representing Fiji in the 1991, 1999, and 2003 Rugby World Cups. He has also played professionally for the Mitsubishi, Leicester, Stade Montois, Stade Bordelais and Staines rugby teams. His representative sevens career started in 1989 when he played for Fiji at the Hong Kong tournament. With the exception of 2001, 2003 and 2004 he has played at Hong Kong every year since. Serevi has also played in the 1993, 1997, 2001, and 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens, winning the World Cup with Fiji in 1997 and 2005. He won silver at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002, and captured bronze in 2006. Serevi has played in the International Rugby Board Sevens Series since its creation in 1999. In 2005 after winning the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens Serevi was appointed the Fiji Sevens team's coach. He coached Fiji to the 2005/2006 IRB Sevens Series victory – the first time the series was not won by New Zealand. In 2010 Serevi moved his family to the United States and settled in Seattle, Washington, to run a business with Fijian expatriates. He used his experience in rugby to open a new brand, the Serevi Rugby Nation, to help pool funds for Pacific Islander players and run rugby training workshops for the youth. He also worked with the Old Puget Sound Rugby club, and helped Central Washington University qualify for the Collegiate Rugby Championships. On October 6, 2011, Serevi flew home to Fiji and declared his availability to coach the team in qualifying for the 2013 Sevens World Cup and help the team qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams. Eight former French players have been inducted into either the International Rugby Hall of Fame or the IRB Hall of Fame—two to the International Hall only, two to the IRB Hall only, and four to both Halls of Fame.Rugby was introduced to France in 1872 by the British, and on New Year's Day 1906 the national side played its first Test match — against New Zealand in Paris. France played sporadically against the Home Nations until they joined them to form a Five Nations tournament (now the Six Nations Championship) in 1910. France also competed in the rugby competitions at early Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in 1900 and two silver medals in the 1920s. The national team came of age during the 1950s and 1960s, winning their first Five Nations title outright in 1959. They won their first Grand Slam in 1968. Since the inaugural World Cup in 1987, France have qualified for the knock-out stage of every tournament. They have reached the final three times, losing to the All Blacks in 1987 and 2011 and to Australia in 1999. France hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where, as in 2003, they were beaten in the semi-finals by England. French international matches are played at several venues across the country; the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis is used for their games during the Six Nations, and they have a formidable home record at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille where they have only lost twice, to Argentina in 2004 and to New Zealand in 2009. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. .jpg) Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. 
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