England national rugby union team: Difference between revisions

England Rugby is the name of the English national rugby union team. The team represents England at a national level in international rugby union competitions, notably the World Cup and the Six Nations Championship. It is governed by the Rugby Football Union, who oversees all rugby union in England.

They are the current World champions, having won the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup. England compete annually in the Six Nations Championship and have won that championship and its predecessors more times than any other nation, also having completed the most Grand Slams out of the six competing nations.

England plays in white shirts, white shorts, and navy socks with white tops. The emblem on the shirts is a red rose, rather than the Three Lions displayed on the shirts of the England football and England cricket teams. As of 2005 the strip is manufactured by Nike and O₂ is the shirt sponsor.

Prior to an English team being sent to Edinburgh to play a Scottish side, the then multinational Rugby Football Union created the national side's emblem. A red rose was chosen to be the side’s emblem. It is likely that it was chosen to pay reverence to the Tudor Rose, but its conception is disputed.

Myth as to what inspired the creation of the emblem trace back to Lawrence Sheriff. Sheriff was presented with a crest and coat of arms by Elizabeth I. He would later found the Rugby School, this saw the use of his coat of arms on the school emblem, a tribute to Sheriff’s achievement in being presented with his crest and coat of arms. The Rugby School’s strip was white, it is speculated that it was the foundation of the national rugby attire, more importantly, its relationship with the Red Rose of Lancaster may have been influencial in selecting an emblem for the national team. The reason some speculate that it is in fact the Red Rose of Lancaster, is because monarchs, such as Elizabeth I were generally associated with the Red Rose.

It is sometimes lightheartedly remarked that two men on the subcommittee, who selected the first English side, hailed from Lancashire, though this story has less creditability as it is unlikely the other members of the committee would have allowed such bias creep into the selection of a national sporting emblem.

Alfred Wright was an employee of the Rugby Football Union; he is credited with the standardisation and new design of the rose, which up until 1920 had seen variation in its depiction. The Wright design is thought to have been used without major alteration until the late 1990s. It was not until 1997 that the rose was redesigned to a chic representation; this change was led by Nike who became the official strip supplier.

Pupils in Private Schools (primarily Rugby) spread the game in the first half of the 19th Century. They took it to the Universities (a club forming at Cambridge in 1839), to London (where Blackheath were founded in the 1860s) and the provinces (Manchester and Liverpool leading the way in the north).

An England international side first played in 1871 against Scotland under Scottish rules (the RFU had not finished their first set of laws). The Scots won the game (played at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh in font of 4000 people and organised by Blackheath Rugby Club) by one goal to nil, but England beat them in a return match the next year. England's early international sides (in the 1870s) comprised mainly Old Rugbeians or Marlburians. Most were selected from Oxbridge, who set up their annual Varsity match in 1872.

By 1882, games had been organised against both Ireland and Wales, and a Four Nations tournament began. England dominated until the great schism with Northern clubs that led to the founding of the Rugby League. Many of the strongest teams and players were lost and the national squad was weakened, and the Welsh became the dominant force in the Four Nations.

Meanwhile, the game had spread throughout the British Empire and tours to and from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa were organised. In 1905, a New Zealand team toured the British Isles, beating England 15 - 0. Two more tours followed in the next 20 years, by which time the All Blacks had become the best team in the world.

In these years England also struggled against other southern hemisphere opposition, drawing with South Africa in the first international between the two nations in 1906, and losing to Australia in 1909. Rugby in France had been growing steadily since the 1870s, and in 1910 they joined the Five Nations Championship but in 1932 they were forced out again due to poor organisation and accusations of professionalism.

The 1910 opening of the RFU's new home at Twickenham heralded a golden era for English rugby union. The very first international at Twickenham brought England success over Wales and England won the International Championship for the first time since the great schism of 1895. This title coincided with the rise of the Harlequins club, whose effective brand of attacking rugby led to a purple period in the years leading up to the Great War. England dominated the last two seasons before the Great War. Their Welsh-born fly-half, Dave Davies, is the driving force behind a pack that lays the foundations for back-to-back Grand Slams.

There being no games between 1914 and 1920 owing to the First War and its after effects. But when the Five nations resumed in 1921 England continued where they left off, winning three more Grand Slams. Davies returns to head the attack and a young packleader, Wavell Wakefield, pioneers specialisation in the scrum to give England a distinct edge in forward play. Tests against southern hemisphere teams were rare, though in 1935 England memorably beat the famous All Blacks, thanks in part to Obolensky's famous try.

France returned for the first post war Five Nations Championship in 1947 which England shared with Wales.

In the 1950s and 1960s Northampton, Leicester and Coventry clubs in the Midlands and Bristol and Gloucester in the West Country regularly contributed players to the England side. Yet for all their playing resources, England could not find a team to do the nation justice on the field yet England championship wins occurred in 1953, 1954 (three way tie with Wales and France) 1957 (also a Grand Slam) and 1958.

England won the Five Nations again in 1963, but there then followed a long fallow period. The 1960s saw the first regular tests against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, with the southern hemisphere teams winning most of them.

In the 1970s Wales had a Golden Age of rugby and won (or shared) the Five Nations Championship seven times, Englands only “success” being a share of the five way tie in 1973. In 1971, the RFU's centenary year, England struggled to overcome Japan 6-3 in Tokyo. Nevertheless England have some good wins against southern hemisphere teams, with victories over South Africa in 1972, New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1976 (albeit losing twice to the Wallabies in previous weeks).

The 1972 Five Nations Championship was not completed owing to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The British embassy in Dublin was burnt down by a mob after after Bloody Sunday, and following threatening letters to players, Scotland and then Wales refused to play in Ireland. England, however, came instead to play an extra fixture. After losing 18-9 at Lansdowne Road, the England captain, John Pullin famously remarked "We might not be very good but at least we turn up."

The early 1980s saw Rugby Union become more of an international sport, and for the first time England played Romania, Japan and the United States.

In 1980 England won the Five Nations Championship and the Grand Slam, their first for 23 years, under the inspirational captaincy of Lancastrian Bill Beaumont. But this was something of a false dawn and the remainder of the decade was not a great period for the England team. Coming into the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland at Twickenham, they had lost 15 of their previous 23 matches in the Five Nations Championship. The Twickenham crowd had only seen one solitary England try in the previous two years and at half time against Ireland they were 0-3 down. During the second half the floodgates opened and England scored a remarkable six tries in a thumping 35-3 win. Three of the tries came in quick succession from Chris Oti, a black player making his Twickenham debut. A small section of the crowd started to sing a rugby club favourite – the gospel hymn Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – in honour of their new hero. At the next home game, against Australia, a young centre named Will Carling made his debut as England captain in another rousing victory. The England team was about to embark upon a period of great success and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot became synonymous with Twickenham and the England team.

• In 1987 the first Rugby World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand - England were knocked out by Wales in the quarter finals.

• In the 1991 Rugby World Cup (hosted by England), England lost to the All Blacks in their pool, but defeated France in the quarter-finals and Scotland in the semi-final. After being criticised for playing boring rugby, dominated by forward play and kicking, Will Carling's team switched to played a running game in the final at Twickenham Stadium against Australia but lost 12 - 6.

• In the 1995 Rugby World Cup, held in South Africa, England reached the semi-final after pool wins against Argentina, Italy and Western Samoa and a thrilling quarter-final victory (25-22) over Australia. Hopes were high for the semi-final against the All Blacks, but were soon dashed when England were taken apart by the brilliant Jonah Lomu who stormed over with four tries. England lost 29-45.

In the Five Nations Championship England returned dramatically to form in the 1990s with championship wins in 1991 (Grand Slam), 1992 (Grand Slam), 1995 (Grand Slam) and 1996.

In 1997 Clive Woodward became coach of the England team inheriting a good and successful squad which included stars such as Martin Johnson, the Underwood brothers, Jeremy Guscott and Will Carling. In that year England managed to draw with the New Zealand at Twickenham. But in 1998 there was an unsuccessful tour in Australia where a drastically under-strength England suffered a humiliating 76-0 defeat to the Wallabies.

Under Woodward England narrowly failed to win the Five Nations Championship in 1998 and also in 1999 when they won every game, before losing 32-31 to Wales at Wembley Stadium.

In the 1999 Rugby World Cup, hosted by Wales, England reached the Quarter Finals despite losing to the All Blacks in the group stages. In the quarter final they were well beaten by the Springboks.

In the first Six Nations competition in 2000 (Italy were now in the tournament) , England won the championship but missed out on the Grand Slam by losing to Scotland at Murrayfield in the final game. The same happened in 2001 when they lost to Ireland at the last game at Lansdowne Road. In 2002, England were outplayed by the French who won the Grand Slam.

In 2002 England's fortunes began to change when a very young squad (captained by Phil Vickery) defeated a full-strength Argentina team in Buenos Aires in the English summer. It came to be seen as a turning point in English rugby. In November under Martin Johnson, England defeated the three giants of the southern hemisphere at Twickenham in successive weeks. Pior to their meeting with New Zealand, England had won just four games out of their 23 encounters together. The first choice starting fifteen had not played together since their last Six Nations match in April, but the English side were able to overcome the All Blacks in a close encounter, with only three points seperating the end score. Australia coming off a rare loss to the Irish were beaten by England in another tight match. The South Africa match at Twickenham proved to be a brutal affair which saw England again triumph. Whilst the matches against the Wallabies and the All Blacks were close the Springboks were humiliated 53-3.

In 2003 England continued to progress and won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1995. After beating the previous tournament winner and Grand Slam champion, France in their opening match and going on to defeat the Welsh at Millennium Stadium, the remaining matches saw England put either 40 or more points on every opponant. This was followed by wins over Australia, New Zealand in a pre world cup tour in June. Going into the Rugby World Cup of 2003 they were one of the favourites for the title and after some minor stumbles along the way they reached the final on 22 November 2003 where they met Australia. England were crowned champions of the world following a drop goal in the final 26 seconds of the match by Johnny Wilkinson. The final scoreline was 20-17 in a game that is considered one of the greatest rugby games ever seen. Three days later the English team arrived at the Heathrow airport in the early hours of the morning to be greeted by thousands of fans. On December 8 a national day of celebration took place; like none that had ever been seen before. The English team greeted an estimated 750,000 supporters in their parade through London before going on to be greeted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

After the World Cup win, a number of players, including captain Martin Johnson announced their retirements and in the 2004 Six Nations Championship tournament, England lost to both France and Ireland and finished third — their worst performance in ten years.

At the end of August 2004, the new captain, Lawrence Dallaglio, temporarily retired from international rugby, although he later marked a return to international rugby with a try against Wales in the 2006 Six Nations. Sir Clive Woodward resigned on September 2. Andy Robinson was appointed head coach, he was an obvious choice as he had been on Woodward's coaching staff for the duration of the World Cup campaign and Jonny Wilkinson was appointed as captain. The 2005 Six Nations Championship was even more disappointing with a fourth place position after losing to France, Ireland and Wales.

23 England players were involved in the unsuccessful British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005. The current England coach Andy Robinson was also part of Clive Woodward’s coaching team on this tour. On his return there was a brief break for the players and the England management team before the 2005 Autumn internationals and the 2006 Six Nations Championship. When England played Australia on 12th November at Twickenham it was clear that much rebuilding had been done and a new-look team, driven by overwhelming forward power, beat their old rivals 26-16. The following week (19th November) the All Blacks came to Twickenham and although New Zealand eventually ran out 23-19 winners many believe England's performance indicates they'll now better compete in the Six Nations, and build on this to be a force in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Up until 1910 the English rugby team used various stadia before settling at Twickenham Stadium.

In late 1905, the Rugby Football Union saw the benefit in owning their own ground following sell out matches against New Zealand in 1905 and South Africa in 1906 at Crystal Palace.

In 1906, the Rugby Football Union arranged for William Williams to find a home ground for English Rugby. The land for the ground was purchased the following year for £5,572 12s and 6d, construction began the next year.

The first England match was held on October 9, 1910 between England and Wales. England ran out winners, 11 points to 6, beating Wales for the first time since 1898.

England boasts a great record of winnings at their home ground.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

• 1987 - Quarter finals
• 1991 - Final
• 1995 - Semi finals
• 1999 - Quarter finals
• 2003 - Champions

• Romania - 134-0
• Holland - 110-0
• Uruguay - 111-13
• Tonga - 101-10
• Scotland
• France
• Wales
• Italy
• Ireland
• USA
• Canada

The 2006 RBS 6 Nations Training squad is:

List of principal captains (others who have captained the side when these were injured are in parenthesis).

• Wavell Wakefield
• Dr Ronald Cove-Smith, Captain in 29 Internationals
• Bill Beaumont
• Paul Dodge (Richard Hill)
• Peter Winterbottom
• Mike Harrison Captain in first World Cup (1987)
• Will Carling
• Phil de Glanville (Jason Leonard)
• Lawrence Dallaglio (Matt Dawson, Martin Johnson, Tony Diprose)
• Martin Johnson (Neil Back, Matt Dawson, Phil Vickery, Jonny Wilkinson)
• Lawrence Dallaglio
• Jonny Wilkinson (Jason Robinson, Martin Corry)
• Martin Corry

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items.

• Dick Greenwood
• Geoff Cooke
• Jack Rowell
• Sir Clive Woodward
• Andy Robinson

• England national rugby union team (sevens)
• British and Irish Lions
• Calcutta Cup
• Churchill Cup
• Six Nations Championship
• World Cup

Wikiquote has quotations related to England national rugby union team.

Official

• England Rugby Football Union website
• England Rugby website
• Twickenham Stadium
• Museum of Rugby

Resources

• Biographies and details of caps at Sporting heroes.net
• Unofficial England Rugby Union - Fan Site
• English rugby union news from Planet Rugby
• BBC account of 2003 World Cup victory

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