Wales national rugby union team
From Free net encyclopedia
| Wales | |
|---|---|
| Image:Welshrugby.png | |
| Union | Welsh Rugby Union |
| Captain | Gareth Thomas |
| Coach | Vacant |
| First International England 30 - 0 Wales (19 February, 1881) | |
| Largest win Japan 0 - 98 Wales (26 November, 2004) | |
| Worst defeat South Africa 96 - 13 Wales (27 June, 1998) | |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 5 (First in 1987) |
| Best result | Third 1987 |
The Welsh rugby union team, as the highest level of Welsh rugby union, represent Wales at the national sport of rugby union.
Wales compete annually in the Six Nations Championship (which they have won 23 times outright and are the 2005 champions) and in the World Cup every four years (best result so far: 3rd in 1987), which they also hosted in 1999. They also form a quarter of the British and Irish Lions.
Historically, Wales have been known as one of the best rugby union teams, with the key players of their 1970s teams in particular being acknowledged as some of the best in the history of the game. Many poor results in the late 1980s and 1990s have hurt that reputation, but a resurgence in form in the 2000s have led to them being acknowledged as being competitive with the top teams once again.
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Strip
| Image:Kit left arm.png | Image:Kit body.png | Image:Kit right arm.png |
| Image:Kit shorts.png | ||
| Image:Kit socks.png | ||
Wales play in scarlet jerseys carrying the Prince of Wales's feathers, white shorts, and red socks. The change strip is currently black.
As of 2005 the strip is made by Reebok and the shirt sponsor is the Cardiff brewery S A Brain. Due to legislation concerning advertising of alcohol, when the team plays in France, the "Brains" logo is replaced by "Brawn" in a type style essentially identical to the Brains logo.
History
The Early Years (1881 - 1919)
The Welsh Rugby Union was formed in 1881 in Glamorganshire, to organise a match between England and Wales. This match was played on February 19, 1881 and resulted in a win for the English, so much so that a return fixture the following year was refused by the Rugby Football Union of England.
However, rugby union in Wales quickly developed and by the turn of the century Wales was one of the most feared teams in international rugby with a system that would alter the face of the game. This "four three-quarter" formation came into its own in 1893 when Wales became champions for the first time. They went on to win the (then) British Championship six times and finish runners-up six times in its first twelve years. Between 1900 and 1913 they were unbeaten at home. During this period they lost only seven games and famously became the only side to beat the All Blacks 'originals' on their tour of the Home nations at Cardiff in 1905. Famous players from this period include Gwyn Nicholls and Rhys Gabe.
In 1911 Wales earned the first official Grand Slam by winning all their matches in the British Championship; they would wait nearly forty years for a second. The Great War came in 1914 and rugby was suspended for four seasons.
Post War Years (1920 - 1969)
The post-World War I years saw a big change in Welsh rugby union. Their worst period in international rugby union was during the 20s when the rugby union side seemed to mirror the industrial recession, which was felt particularly hard in South Wales. Of the 42 matches played, only 17 were won and three drawn. The depression resulted in around half-a-million people leaving Wales to find work elsewhere, along with them went a host of Welsh rugby union internationals to rugby league. Between 1923 and 1925, Wales were whitewashed by the other rugby union nations and only managed to beat France during that time.
A resurgence of both economy and rugby union followed as in 1931 Wales won their first championship for nine years and in 1933, captained by Watcyn Thomas, beat England at Twickenham for the first time. In 1935 Wales beat the touring All Blacks by 13 points to 12, with Haydn Tanner making his first appearance.
After a seven-year gap during the Second World War, Wales again suffered several uninspiring years before winning Grand Slams in 1950 and 1952, followed by a 13-8 win over the touring All Blacks in 1953. It was during these years that the Cardiff Arms Park was officially adopted as the home of Welsh Rugby Union. Notable players in the 1950s included Cliff Morgan and R.H. Williams.
As the demise of heavy industry continued in the sixties, the Welsh team began to rely less on coal miners and steel workers and more on teachers. After Wales' record defeat in Durban at the hands of the Springboks in 1964, the coaching revolution began. The WRU Coaching Committee, set up in the late fifties, was given the task of improving the quality of coaching and in January 1967, Ray Williams was appointed Coaching Organiser. The first National Coach, former Ebbw Vale and Wales back row man David Nash, was appointed in 1967 but lasted only four games before resigning. Gareth Edwards made a promising debut against France in Paris on April 1, 1967; he would become Wales' youngest captain, at only 20 years old. He was captain when Wales won the Triple Crown in 1969.
The Golden Age (1970 - 1987)
The Welsh team of the 1970s has gone down in history as quite possibly the best of all time. Great in the Northern Hemisphere and victors against touring Southern Hemisphere sides, the team's record speaks for itself. Nine of the ten matches against England were won, eight of the ten against the Scots and the Irish claimed only one win and a draw in nine outings. France were the only side to rival the Welsh, winning three and drawing one of their ten games. By the time England had been put to the sword on 17 March 1979, Wales had won the Five Nations title five times, done the Grand Slam three times, picked up five Triple Crowns and beaten Australia twice. Only an outstanding French side prevented them from dominating even further. That great Welsh team included legends such as Barry John, Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams and Mervyn Davies.
Clive Rowlands was national team coach for 29 matches between 1968 and 1974. This was a successful period for Wales, including a Grand Slam in 1971. The 1971 game against Scotland at Murrayfield was one of the greatest and most exciting ever played there, Wales won 19-18 thanks to a last-minute conversion from the touchline by John Taylor; immortalised as "the greatest conversion since St Paul".
In the 1972 Five Nations Championship Wales and Scotland refused to travel to Dublin at the height of the Troubles after receiving threats, purportedly from the IRA. The Championship remained unresolved with Wales and Ireland unbeaten.
John Dawes was coach of the Welsh national side from 1974 until 1979. During this time Wales won the Five Nations Championship four times including two Grand Slams. John Lloyd was coach between 1980 and 82.
John Bevan became coach in 1982 and lasted until 1985 before resigning due to ill health. In 1982, Scotland finally ended Wales' record 27-match unbeaten run in the Five Nations Championship and over the next five years other countries began to catch up with Wales. Japan came close to an upset, losing by 24-29 at Cardiff in 1983.
Tony Gray was coach from 1985 to 19888. Wales were still respected by the time of the first official Rugby World Cup which was held in 1987. A good win against rivals England in the quarterfinals saw Wales taking on tournament favourites, the All Blacks of New Zealand. Wales were defeated 49-6, but managed to beat the Australia side to claim third place.
The Modern Era (1990 - present)
The 1987 World Cup saw the end to a number of Welsh rugby union careers and also to the dominating era of the 1970s and 80s. They also went through a succession of national coaches: John Ryan was national coach between 1988 and 90 before resigning; Ron Waldron then took over as coach between 1990 and 1991 but again resigned due to ill health; Alan Davies took over in 1991 before resigning in 1995 and Alex Evans was caretaker coach for four games in 1995.
A resurgence and refinancing of rugby league in the North of England saw a record number of top players move into the professional game. Calls for rugby union to become professional had been ignored for a number of years previously and they would only get stronger as the 1990s grew on and the defections continued. Indeed, the 90s were Wales' darkest period so far in rugby union terms as defections to rugby league and internecine struggles decimated the national side. Wales suffered Five Nations championship whitewashes in 1990 and 1991, and in the 1991 Rugby World Cup were knocked out in the group phase by Western Samoa.
Kevin Bowring became Wales' first professional coach in 1995 and the late 90s saw a small resurgence in the Welsh game as rugby union finally relented and turned professional. However, things seemed to have improved with the appointment of coach Graham Henry in 1998. A 10-match unbeaten run saw Wales enter as host nation into the 1999 Rugby World Cup with renewed confidence. However, in the quarter final Wales lost a competitive match to the eventual champions Australia. A runner-up spot by Cardiff in the inaugural European Rugby Cup offered something in the way of progress on a club level; however, that was not followed up by further success.
Defeats to the likes of Argentina and Ireland in 2001/02 led to Henry's resignation in February 2002. Further defeats led to perhaps the biggest ever shake-up of Welsh rugby union in 2003. Wales managed to distinguish themselves in the 2003 World Cup by running New Zealand, and the eventual winners of the tournament, England, close in two of the best matches of the tournament.
In 2005, Wales reemerged in the Six Nations. Wales, coached by Mike Ruddock, opened with a nail-biting 11-9 win at Millennium Stadium over England, and followed it up with a comfortable win over Italy. The third round, away to France, was close. The French shook off their bad performances in the first two rounds of the Six Nations and took a 15-6 halftime lead. Wales fought back in the second half to score a 24-18 win. The fourth round, away to Scotland, saw Wales score five tries in the first half and cruise to a 46-22 win. Wales then defeated Ireland 32-20 at Millennium Stadium to give them their first title in the competition since 1994 (when it was still the Five Nations) and their first Grand Slam since 1978.
Wales then began their 2005 autumn season with a 41-3 loss to Tri-Nations champions New Zealand at Millennium Stadium; their biggest ever loss on Welsh soil in a match marking a century of rivalry between the two rugby-mad nations. However they were without several key players who were still injured from the ill-fated 2005 Lions Tour. A nail biting win over Fiji by a single point caused further criticism but an improved performance against South Africa and a win over Australia mean Wales only lost 2 games in 2005, against South Africa and New Zealand. The Welsh Rugby Union marked its 125th anniversary by bringing out a limited-edition black jersey, which was worn against Fiji and Australia during the autumn's international series.
On February 14, 2006, midway through the Six Nations Championship, it was announced that Mike Ruddock was to resign as the head coach of Wales, citing family reasons.<ref>"Ruddock steps down as Wales coach", bbc.co.uk, 14 February 2006.</ref> Australian skills coach Scott Johnson, who was named caretaker coach for the remaining three Wales fixtures,<ref>"Ruddock brings end to Wales row", bbc.co.uk, 7 April 2006.</ref> was offered the job as head coach, but chose to turn down the position in favour of an assistant coaching job with the Wallabies.<ref>"Scott Johnson signs with Australia", RugbyRugby.com, 24 March 2006.</ref> Later reports focused on 'player power' being behind Ruddock being forced to resign by the WRU. <ref> "Ruddock told to quit immediately", bbc.co.uk, 16 February 2006.</ref> Wales eventually finished 5th in the table, after a win, a draw and three losses.
Famous players
See also
- Category:Welsh rugby union footballers
- Six Nations Championship
- Rugby World Cup
- Rugby union in Wales
- South Africa vs Wales at rugby union
- Wales national rugby union team (sevens)
External links
- The Welsh Rugby Union
- Gwl@d influential Welsh rugby discussion site
- ScumV Welsh rugby discussion forum
- Welsh rugby news from icwales
- Welsh rugby union news from Planet Rugby
References
<references/>
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