Rugby Teams and their nicknames...

I'm writing this post as per few requests I received for me to note down the "nicknames" that are being commonly used for in the international arena. So though the post is gonna be small, I hope this will add value to at least some of you guys.

Here it goes!!!

(Please feel free to let me know if you've come across the nicknames for any other team, other than those listed).

{from L - R; clockwise - The Azzurri (Italy) , The Sea Eagles (Samoa), The Pumas (Argentina), The Red Dragons (Wales)}

 

International Team	Nickname
New Zealand	All Blacks
Australia	Wallabies
South Africa	Springboks
Wales	The Red Dragons
Argentina	The Pumas
Italy	Azzurri
Japan	Cherry Blossoms/ Brave Blossoms
Tonga	The Sea Eagles (kale Tahi)
France	Les Blues
Samoa	Manu Samoa
Fiji	Flying Fijians
Romania	The Oaks
USA	The Eagles
Namibia	Welwitschias/ Biltongboere

Rugby World Cup 2011 - Statistics...

The idea of writing a post related to the Rugby World Cup was something that I’ve been always having in the priority list, since the New Zealand All Blacks won the distinguished William Webb Ellis for the second time this October.

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw with the prestigious Webb Ellis trophy

The All Blacks have more often than not been the favorites to win the tournament since it began in 1987, however were denied by unexpected defeats mostly in Semi Finals (1991, 1999 & 2003), Finals (1999) and even in the quarter finals (2007). Now that the World Cup has reached the hands of a nation who thoroughly deserves the trophy, let me highlight some of the key statistics obtained in relevance to the Rugby World Cup 2011.

• The 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) was held in New Zealand, the second time they hosted it, since they hosted and won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. They got the preference ahead of Japan and South Africa, in the bidding process which was held in 2005. 

• The opening game of the RWC 2011 was held on the 9^th September in Eden Park, Auckland, and was played between the host nation New Zealand and the Pacific nation, Tonga.

• At the end of the tournament, England’s Chris Ashton and French wing Vincent Clerc has score six (6) tries each, making them the highest number of try scorers of RWC 2011. In the history of RWC, All Black Jonah Lomu (in 1995) and Bryan Habana of South Africa (in 2007) have score eight (8) tries each, making them the highest try scorers.

• The RWC 2011 also featured the youngest ever captain of a nation in the history of RWC, when Welsh Captain Sam Warburton (23) led his side upto the Semi Finals, and was controversially awarded a red card in Semi Final playoff against France.

• South African Morne Steyn scored the highest ever points for RWC 2011, with 62 points. The highest ever points scorer across multiple RWCs is the British fly-half Johnny Wilkinson, with 249 points.

• The RWC 2011 Finals, which was held in Eden Park, Auckland, saw New Zealand edging out France by 8 -7, which is the lowest margin on which a nation has clinched a RWC. The Final was refereed by Craig Joubert of South Africa, while the award for Man of the Final was presented to the French captain Thierry Dusautoir. 

• The 2015 RWC will be held in England while in 2019, the tournament will be held in Japan, the first time it would be hosted by an Asian nation.