2011 mid-year rugby test series
Encyclopedia
The 2011 mid-year rugby Test series, staged in July and August 2011, served as a series of warm-up fixtures for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
. Most of the matches were played in the northern hemisphere
, parallel to the 2011 Tri Nations Series
involving New Zealand, Australia
and South Africa
.
This was the first time since 1973, and only the second in the past 50 years, that no team representing the Home Unions
(England
, Ireland
, Scotland
, Wales
, or the British and Irish Lions
) toured the southern hemisphere in the mid-year window.
In June 2011, Wales played against the Barbarians
at the Millennium Stadium
to mark the 130th anniversary of the Welsh Rugby Union
. The WRU announced in April that it would award full Test
caps
for this match.
Although most matches were scheduled for the northern hemisphere, a number of matches were also played in the southern hemisphere:
Several countries also played domestic sides in non-capped warm-up matches:
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2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
. Most of the matches were played in the northern hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
, parallel to the 2011 Tri Nations Series
2011 Tri Nations Series
The 2011 Tri Nations Series was the sixteenth annual Tri Nations rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, respectively nicknamed the All Blacks, Wallabies, and Springboks. It was also the last series in which only three teams...
involving New Zealand, Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
.
This was the first time since 1973, and only the second in the past 50 years, that no team representing the Home Unions
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
(England
England national rugby union team
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...
, Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
, Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
, or the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
) toured the southern hemisphere in the mid-year window.
In June 2011, Wales played against the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
to mark the 130th anniversary of the Welsh Rugby Union
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...
. The WRU announced in April that it would award full Test
Test match (rugby union)
Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for this match.
Although most matches were scheduled for the northern hemisphere, a number of matches were also played in the southern hemisphere:
- ArgentinaArgentina national rugby union teamThe Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
hosted three non-capped matches—a two-match tour in June by the French Barbarians, which was split 1–1, and a one-off match in August in which the Pumas routed a "South American Invitational XV". - Australia hosted SamoaSamoa national rugby union teamThe Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...
on 17 July in Sydney, with Manu Samoa scoring their first-ever win over Australia. - Five days later, the All Blacks entertained and easily defeated FijiFiji national rugby union teamThe Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...
. This was the final Test at CarisbrookCarisbrookCarisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game...
in DunedinDunedinDunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, which was replaced by Forsyth Barr Stadium in time for the World Cup. - In August, Fiji hosted a two-match tour by TongaTonga national rugby union teamThe Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao . They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa...
, which was split 1–1. - Also in August, the Australian Barbarians invitational side hosted and defeated CanadaCanada national rugby union teamThe Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
in a non-capped affair.
Several countries also played domestic sides in non-capped warm-up matches:
- The most extensive such tour was that of RussiaRussia national rugby union teamThe Russian National Rugby Union Team, is the national team representing Russia at the sport of rugby union.Rugby union in Russia is administered by the Rugby Union of Russia . The RUR is the official successor union of the Soviet Union and the combined CIS team which played in the early 1990s...
, who visited England and Wales for a total of four matches against English Premiership and Celtic LeagueCeltic League (rugby union)The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
sides, losing all four. - GeorgiaGeorgia national rugby union teamThe Georgia national rugby union team represents Georgia in rugby union. The team's nickname, The Lelos, comes from lelo burti, a traditional Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for "try"...
swept a two-match tour in France, the playing base of most of its World Cup player pool, against sides in the country's second-tier league, Pro D2Rugby Pro D2Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second level of domestic club rugby union in France, below the first division, Top 14. The competition was introduced in 2000. There is relegation and promotion between both the Top 14 and Fédérale 1, the third-level competition...
. - Argentina defeated Premiership newcomers Worcester Warriors.
- Ireland defeated one of its professional provincial sides, ConnachtConnacht RugbyConnacht Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Connacht that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 comprising teams from the Celtic nations plus Italy. Normally, it also competes in the second-tier pan-European club competition, the European Challenge Cup...
. - JapanJapan national rugby union teamThe Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
defeated a side selected from the country's main competition, Top LeagueTop LeagueThe Top League is a professional rugby union league created by the Japan Rugby Football Union to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport in the country and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The first season was 2003-04 and featured 12 teams...
. - RomaniaRomania national rugby union teamThe Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
visited and lost to Pro D2 side PérigueuxCA PérigueuxClub Athlétique Périgueux Dordogne is a French rugby union club that currently competes in the second division of French club rugby, the Pro D2 competition. Périgueux played in the higher divisions in the early 2000s but were relegated from Rugby Pro D2 after the 2004-05 season...
. - Canada also played in what was called an "opposed training session"—not an official match—with a side billed as a "Queensland RedsQueensland RedsThe Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
XV", minus players on duty with the Australia national team. The Canucks outscored the Reds.
Week 1
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- As is typical for Barbarians matches, this was an uncapped match for England.
- The traditionally uncapped player of the Barbarians side was Tim Visser. (Willie Mason was also uncapped in rugby union but he was capped in rugby league, having switched codes a few weeks before the game when signing to ToulonRC ToulonnaisRC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
.)
Week 2
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- Unlike most Barbarians matches, this was a fully capped match for Wales. As a result, Stephen Jones earned his 100th Wales cap in this match.
- The uncapped players on this Barbarians squad were Brock James and Lloyd Williams. As noted earlier, Willie Mason is uncapped in union as a recent code convert, but capped in league.
Week 3
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Week 4
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Touch judges: Steve Walsh James Leckie James Leckie James Thomas Leckie is a rugby union referee from Sydney, Australia. Originally a teacher and headmaster, Leckie took up refereeing in 1994 and became a full time referee in 2007. He was appointed to his first test match in 2006, which was a 2007 Rugby World Cup qualifying match between Hong Kong... Television match official: George Ayoub |
Week 5
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Touch judges: Dave Pearson Dave Pearson (rugby) Dave Pearson is an English rugby union referee. He is on the International Rugby Board's list of 17 international referees for the 2009/10 season. Pearson officiated the first test match between Argentina and Scotland in June 2010. David Pearson also refereed France V Ireland in the 2011 six... Stuart Terheege Television match official: Graham Warren |
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Touch judges: George Clancy George Clancy (rugby) George Clancy is an international rugby union referee. He is attached to Bruff RFC. He refereed the opening game of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand on 9 September 2011 between the hosts and Tonga.-Notes:... David Changleng David Changleng David Changleng is a Scottish rugby union referee. He is the identical twin brother of fellow referee Malcolm Changleng.Changleng began his rugby career as a player with Gala RFC, playing at fly-half in a team that included Gregor Townsend and Chris Paterson. Early in his playing career, he also... Television match official: Jim Yullie |
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Week 6
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Week 7
- Fiji win the 2 test Pinjas Rugby Series on Points Difference.
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Week 8
Other matches
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- This game is part of the European Nations CupEuropean Nations Cup (rugby union)The European Nations Cup is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations. The Championship is split into 7 divisions with 5 or 6 teams in each. The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away...
http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/match-144.htm.
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- This encounter was billed as an "opposed training session", not an actual match. The Queensland Rugby UnionQueensland Rugby UnionThe Queensland Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Queensland. It is a member and founding union of the Australian Rugby Union.-See also:*Queensland Reds*Australian Rugby Union*The Wallabies*Rugby union in Queensland...
, operator of the Reds, did not announce the score on its official site. Rugby CanadaRugby CanadaRugby Canada, is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Canada was incorporated in 1974, and stems from the Canadian Rugby Football Union, a body established in 1884 that now governs amateur Canadian football as Football Canada; and the now-defunct Rugby Union of...
noted the score, but explicitly stated it was not an official match.