Grannygate is the name given to several different sporting scandals, typically regarding eligibility of players for national teams . A rugby union version of Grannygate occurred in Wales in March 2000, a rugby league version occurred in New Zealand in 2006.
56-1133: In rugby union, Grannygate was a scandal over the eligibility of international players which occurred in March 2000. The rules of World Rugby , which was known in 2000 as the International Rugby Board (IRB), allow a player to qualify to play for a country based on his parents' or grandparents' country of birth. Alternatively a player can qualify based on residency in a country for a defined number of years. The players involved in Grannygate were: Three other Welsh players were initially implicated but exonerated as they had valid Welsh qualifications and had not played for other countries: Australian Jason Jones-Hughes , New Zealander Matt Cardey and English-born Peter Rogers who had played club rugby in South Africa and Wales. A fourth player, Colin Charvis , had been first capped for Wales in 1996 while apparently ineligible, but by
112-509: A World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year award. England men's senior team England women's senior team England men's under-20 England men's sevens Premiership Rugby is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership consists of ten clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby union system . Premiership clubs qualify for Europe's two main club competitions,
168-618: A letter in The Times suggesting that "those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play". On 26 January 1871 a meeting attended by representatives from 21 clubs was held in London at the Pall Mall Restaurant on Regent Street . The 21 clubs present at the meeting were: Blackheath (represented by Burns and Frederick Stokes ,
224-772: A number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series , the Rugby World Cup Sevens , the World Under 20 Championship , and the Pacific Nations Cup . World Rugby's headquarters are in Dublin , Ireland. Its membership now comprises 133 national unions. Each member country must also be a member of one of the six regional unions into which the world is divided: Africa, North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and Oceania. World Rugby
280-617: A public house and also missed the meeting. As a result of this meeting the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was founded. Algernon Rutter was elected as the first president of the RFU, and Edwin Ash was elected as treasurer. Three lawyers who were Rugby School alumni (Rutter, Holmes and L.J. Maton) drew up the first laws of the game, which were approved in June 1871. Although similar unions were organised during
336-542: A tournament. The following year the board committed to conduct a feasibility study. A year later another meeting took place in Paris, and the Union subsequently voted on the idea. The South African Rugby Board's vote that proved crucial in setting up a tied vote, as they voted in favour, even though they knew they would be excluded due to the sporting boycott because of their apartheid policies. English and Welsh votes then changed, and
392-611: A year and manages and controls the affairs of World Rugby. The Council formulates and oversees the implementation of World Rugby's strategic plan and application of policy decisions, and selects the host nation(s) for the Rugby World Cup . The Council considers recommendations of the General Assembly. The Council may admit or expel member nations. The council is also the supreme legislative authority of World Rugby. Most Council decisions require approval of simple majority, but to amend
448-982: Is a list of member and associate unions and their regional associations with the year that they joined World Rugby. Associate unions are in italics . There are 21 World Rugby members and 6 World Rugby associates: Suspended unions: Notes: * Denotes associate membership date. There are 22 World Rugby members, and 6 World Rugby associates: Notes: * Denotes associate membership date. There are 38 World Rugby members, and 2 World Rugby associates: Suspended unions: Notes: * Denotes associate membership date. There are 12 World Rugby members, and 1 World Rugby associate: Notes: * Denotes associate membership date. There are 9 World Rugby members, and 2 World Rugby associates: Notes: * Denotes associate membership date. There are 11 World Rugby members: World Rugby's largest members, ranked by number of participants in 2019, are: The World Rugby Council meets twice
504-509: Is held over five- or six-legs. Both tournaments followed the same principle—points are awarded based on a teams position in each round of the series, and the team with the most points at the end of the Series is crowned champions. Following the inclusion of rugby sevens into the Olympics, beginning with the 2014–15 series, the series prior to an Olympic event (i.e. the series which ends in the year before
560-496: Is the second tier of the English rugby union league system and was founded in September 1987. The league was previously known as National Division One and in 2009 changed from a league consisting of semi-professional clubs to one that was fully professional . However since 2020 several clubs have since returned to a semi-professional model. The current champions are Jersey Reds after beating Ealing Trailfinders . The Premier 15s
616-496: Is the top tier of the women's English rugby union domestic league system run by the Rugby Football Union. The league was created mainly from teams in the Women's Premiership . Its first season began on 16 September 2017. The current champions are Gloucester-Hartpury , with the runners up being Exeter Chiefs . Many of the teams have connections with premiership clubs. In December 2023 a group of 295 former rugby players sued World Rugby ,
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#1733084579934672-672: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , World Rugby suspended Russia from international and European continental rugby union competition. In addition, the Rugby Union of Russia was suspended from World Rugby. In the 1960s Australians Harold Tolhurst and Jock Kellaher suggested a World Rugby Championship be held in Australia but the IRFB refused. In 1983 and 1984 respectively, the Australian and New Zealand Rugby Football Unions each proposed hosting such
728-598: The Canadian Rugby Union , and Japan Rugby Football Union were admitted in 1991. In 2016, the Georgia Rugby Union , Romanian Rugby Federation , and the USA were added to the voting Council with one vote each. Additionally, current Council members Argentina, Canada and Italy were granted a second representative and vote. The six regional associations represented on the council also received an additional vote. After
784-737: The European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup . The team finishing at the bottom of the Premiership each season was relegated to the second-division RFU Championship until 2020, and the winner of the Championship is promoted to the Premiership until 2022. The competition has been played since 1987, and has evolved into the current Premiership system. The current champions are Saracens . The most recently promoted side are Saracens. The RFU Championship
840-591: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include rugby sevens in the 2016 Summer Olympics . World Rugby gained membership of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) in 2010. Until 1885 the laws of rugby football were made by England as the founder nation. However, following a disputed try in an international between Scotland and England in 1884, letters were exchanged in which England claimed that they made
896-670: The Irish Rugby Football Union , Scottish Rugby Union (named the Scottish Football Union at the time) and Welsh Rugby Union met in Manchester and wrote up the first four principles of the International Rugby Football Board. England refused to take part in the founding of the IRFB, stating that they should have greater representation, as they had more clubs. The England Union also refused to accept
952-607: The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL). Selwyn Bennett, the chairman of the NZRL, resigned over the incident and two weeks later Andrew Chalmers announced that he would also leave his job with a year still to run on his contract. Graham Lowe , a former Kiwi coach, tabled a failed bid to have the whole NZRL replaced. Bennett has since claimed that the incident was good for international rugby league, accusing ARL chief executive, Geoff Carr , of knowing about Fien's ineligibility before it
1008-401: The Rugby World Cup , when they won the tournament back in 2003 . They were also runners-up in 1991 , 2007 and 2019 . They are currently ranked Fifth in the world by World Rugby as of 3rd October 2024. The England women's national rugby union team first played in 1982. England have taken part in every Women's Rugby World Cup competition. They won the competition in 1994 by defeating
1064-830: The Chief Executive sit on the World Rugby Executive Committee. A General Assembly of the full membership is convened every two years. The General Assembly may make recommendations to the council, and may consider business that the council has referred to it, but the General Assembly has no legislative powers. The current Chair of World Rugby is Brett Robinson who was elected following the Executive Council vote on 14 November 2024. Previous chairmen include Bill Beaumont (2008 to 2024), Bernard Lapasset (2008 to 2016), Syd Millar (2002 to 2007) and Vernon Pugh , QC (1994 to 2002). In July 2012, Brett Gosper
1120-407: The IRFB as the recognised lawmaker of the game. This led to the IRFB taking the stance of member countries not playing England until they joined, and no games were played against England in 1888 and 1889. In 1890 England joined the IRFB, gaining six seats while the other unions had two each. The same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union. In 1893, the IRFB was faced with
1176-561: The IRFB were reduced from six to four in 1911. The Australian Rugby Union , New Zealand Rugby Football Union and South African Rugby Board joined the board with one seat each in 1948, with England's seats being reduced to two, the same as the other home nations. The three Southern Hemisphere unions were given a second seat each in 1958. The French Rugby Federation was admitted in 1978, the Argentine Rugby Union , Italian Rugby Federation and USA Rugby Football Union in 1987, and
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#17330845799341232-693: The Kiwis were forced to forfeit the two competitions points gained for the victory against the Lions which further hampered the Kiwis' efforts to make the final. Fien became eligible to play for the Kiwis in 2007 due to residency rules via his tenure with the Auckland Warriors in the NRL. The effect of the incident on international rugby league was a public slanging match between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and
1288-620: The NRFU in the first few years of its existence. The RFU long resisted competitions and leagues fearing that they would encourage foul play and professionalism. The first club competition, then known as the R.F.U. Club Competition, took place in 1972. Following a sponsorship agreement it became known as the John Player Cup in 1976. The RFU agreed to the formation of a league pyramid in 1987. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex served as patron until February 2021. Catherine, Princess of Wales took over
1344-531: The Olympics takes place) forms the first phase of Olympic qualification. When Olympic Qualification was included, the top four teams from both the men's and women's series qualified for the Olympic Games, and remaining teams competed in regional competitions for one of the remaining places. Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union ( RFU ) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It
1400-430: The RFU. A similar interpretation was applied to all players who played either for or against such clubs, whether or not they received any compensation. These players were barred indefinitely from any involvement in organised rugby union. These comprehensive and enduring sanctions, combined with the very localised nature of most rugby competition, meant that most northern clubs had little practical option but to affiliate with
1456-499: The Sevens Series is second place, which they have achieved four times, most recently in the 2016-17 season. The England Sevens team has generated several notable sevens players. Ben Gollings holds the record for points scored on the Sevens Series with 2,652 points. Dan Norton holds the record for tries scored on the Sevens Series with 338 tries as of October 2019. England's Simon Amor (2004) and Ollie Phillips (2009) have each won
1512-546: The United States 38–23 in the final, and again in 2014 by beating Canada 21–9 in the final. They finished as runner-up on four other occasions. Their coach is Simon Middleton after their coach Gary Street , who had been head coach since 2006, retired in 2015. The England national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series , Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games . England's best finish in
1568-570: The World Rugby's by-laws, regulations, or the Laws of the Game requires approval of three quarters of the council. Prior to 2016, the council had 28 voting members from 12 national unions. In November 2015, World Rugby announced that they would add more unions to the voting council and give the six regional associations two votes each on the council. As of October 2023 , the council had 52 members including
1624-526: The annual Six Nations Championship with France , Ireland , Scotland , Italy , and Wales . They have won this championship outright on a total of 28 occasions (with the addition of 10 shared victories), 13 times winning the Grand Slam and 25 times winning the Triple Crown , making them the most successful team in the tournament's history. England are to date the only team from the northern hemisphere to win
1680-496: The divide between amateurism and professionalism , which was nicknamed the "Great Schism". Following the introduction of working-class men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying "broken time" payments to players, due to the loss of earnings from playing on a Saturday. Cumberland County Union also complained of another club using monetary incentives to lure players, leading to the IRFB conducting an enquiry. The IRFB
1736-465: The effective management and operation of the World Rugby. The Committee formulates and monitors the implementation of the World Rugby's strategic plan, business plan, operational plan and budget. In 2016, as part of the reforms to the World Rugby Council, the executive committee was increased to 12 members. The Chairman, Vice-chairman, nine elected officials, including two independent members, and
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1792-418: The faltering results of the England national team, Rob Andrew was appointed on 18 August 2006 by the RFU to the post of Director of Elite Rugby, to oversee all aspects of representative rugby in England from the regional academies to the full senior side, including senior team selection powers and the power to hire and fire coaches at all levels of English rugby. Andrew also had the task of building bridges with
1848-463: The female category, and to require a risk assessment for transgender men. The Liverpool Tritons, in coordination with International Gay Rugby , have condemned the decision and protested at Pride in Liverpool . In September 2022, transgender player Julie Curtiss began a legal challenge to the ban on transgender women in female rugby by sending the RFU a pre-action protocol letter. In response to
1904-538: The founding nations, including: England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, with just 3% of viewers coming from all other countries. The most recent Rugby World Cup was held in France in 2023 . South Africa defeated New Zealand 12–11 in the Rugby World Cup final, winning a record fourth title. World Rugby also organises the women's Rugby World Cup , also held every four years. It
1960-687: The largest rugby union society in the world, and one of the largest sports organisations in England. It is based at Twickenham Stadium , London. In September 2010 the equivalent women's rugby body, the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW), was able to nominate a member to the RFU Council to represent women and girls rugby. The RFUW was integrated into the RFU in July 2012. On 4 December 1870, Edwin Ash of Richmond and Benjamin Burns of Blackheath published
2016-412: The latter becoming the first captain of England ), Richmond , Ravenscourt Park , West Kent , Marlborough Nomads , Wimbledon Hornets , Gipsies , Civil Service , The Law Club , Wellington College , Guy's Hospital , Flamingoes , Clapham Rovers , Harlequin F.C. , King's College Hospital , St Paul's , Queen's House , Lausanne , Addison , Mohicans , and Belsize Park . The one notable omission
2072-472: The laws, and the try should stand. Scotland refused to play England in the 1885 Home Nations Championship . Following the dispute, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales decided to form an international union whose membership would agree on the standard rules of rugby football. The three nations met in Dublin in 1886, though no formal regulations were agreed upon. On 5 December 1887, committee members of
2128-651: The next few years in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, France, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, the RFU was the first and therefore had no need to distinguish itself from others by calling itself the English RFU. Twenty-two rugby clubs from across the north of England met on 29 August 1895 in the George Hotel in Huddersfield, where they voted to secede from the Rugby Football Union. The main reason for
2184-505: The next three years. The program was designed to increase the competitiveness of international rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup , the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition, which has been held every four years since 1987. Despite the profitability of the World Cup, the majority of its revenues and viewers come from a small number of countries. For the 2007 Rugby World Cup final , 97% of viewers came from
2240-548: The non-voting chairman, so there were 51 voting members from 17 national unions and 6 regional associations, allocated as follows: In total, Europe has 22 votes; Oceania 9 votes; South America 6 votes; Africa 5 votes; Asia 5 votes and North America 4 votes. A Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected from among the council members. These positions are held by Bill Beaumont of England and Bernard Laporte of France, respectively, elected as of April 2020 . The executive committee, in accordance with bye-laws 9.14–9.16, ensures
2296-514: The premiership clubs and the RFU in terms of players withdrawal from their club duties for international duties. On 6 January 2011 his role of Director of Elite Rugby was scrapped in an overhaul of the organisation's structure. Chief executive John Steele opted to create a single rugby department divided into the areas of performance, operations and development with the emphasis on "delivering rugby at all levels", with each area having its own director. The England national rugby union team competes in
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2352-501: The recipients. In 2005 the RFU began talks about a merger with the governing body for women's rugby union the RFUW . In September 2010 the RFUW was able to nominate a member to the RFU Council to represent women and girls rugby. The RFUW was integrated into the RFU in July 2012. In July 2022, a vote of the RFU Council approved by a narrow margin to prohibit transgender women from playing in
2408-545: The role as patron in February 2022. In October 2024, England head coach Steve Borthwick announced the RFU would introduce Enhanced Elite Player Squad (EPS) contracts. This would allow national team coaches to have final say on all sports science and medical matters relating to players. Initially, 17 contracts were handed to current England players with Maro Itoje , Marcus Smith and England captain Jamie George all being among
2464-560: The second game of the 2006 Tri-Nations. Fien claimed eligibility based on the grandparent rule. Fien played in the losing Kiwi team in Melbourne and in the winning Kiwi team against Great Britain in New Zealand. He was later banned after The Daily Telegraph in Sydney revealed that Fien was claiming eligibility based upon a great-grandmother and not a grandmother. A further consequence was that
2520-633: The split was the wish of players to be compensated for lost wages when playing Rugby. Many working class players in the North lost wages to play. The R.F.U. opposed players being paid. They set up the Northern Rugby Football Union (later renamed the Rugby Football League). The RFU took strong action against the clubs involved in the formation of the NRFU, all of whom were deemed to have forfeited their amateur status and therefore to have left
2576-468: The time the scandal broke he had completed the required 3-year residency period and no further action was taken. The term Grannygate was used of Nathan Fien who played rugby league for New Zealand in the 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations , despite not being qualified to do so. Fien had played State of Origin for the Queensland Maroons in 2001 but was seeking permission to play for the Kiwis in
2632-445: The vote was won 10 to 6. As at June 2024, World Rugby has 113 member unions and 17 associate member unions. Membership of World Rugby is a four-step process: Regional Unions Six regional associations, which represent each continent, are affiliated with World Rugby and help to develop the fifteen-a-side game as well as Rugby sevens across the world. Not all members of the regional associations are members of World Rugby. Below
2688-698: Was appointed as the new Chief Executive of what was then the IRB. He will leave this role at the end of 2020 to become head of the National Football League 's operations in Europe. In 2013 World Rugby released £18.6 million of funding over three years for developing rugby in Canada, the United States, Japan, Romania, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Argentina also received additional support to enable it to retain its tier one status. The money, built up from successful World Cups,
2744-565: Was first held by the IRB in 1998, though tournaments in 1991 and 1994 were retrospectively recognised in 2009. The women's World Cup is contested by fewer teams than the men's Cup, with only the 1998 and 2002 editions featuring more than 12 teams (these competitions both had 16 teams, compared to the 20 teams in the men's Rugby World Cup). On 21 August 2019, World Rugby announced that all future men's and women's World Cups would officially be known as "Rugby World Cup", with no sex or gender designations. The first tournament to be affected by this policy
2800-640: Was founded as the International Rugby Football Board ( IRFB ) in 1886 by Scotland , Wales and Ireland , with England joining in 1890. Australia , New Zealand and South Africa became full members in 1949. France became a member in 1978 and a further 80 members joined from 1987 to 1999. The body was renamed the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) in 1998, and took up its current name of World Rugby in November 2014. In 2009,
2856-435: Was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It promotes and runs the sport, organises international matches for the England national team , and educates and trains players and officials. The RFU is an industrial and provident society owned by over 2,000 member clubs, representing over 2.5 million registered players, and forms
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#17330845799342912-454: Was released following a report commissioned by World Rugby highlighting the growing disparity between tier one and tier two nations. This is in addition to the £10–12 million it normally gives out grants and tournament costs. The emphasis is on three areas infrastructure, high performance units and cross border competitions. In April 2006, tier-3 rugby nations Georgia, Portugal, Tunisia and Russia were identified as key investment nations over
2968-409: Was revealed publicly. Bennett said: "Not only Geoff Carr but the secretary at the ARL Colin Love looked into it. The only one who didn't know anything seemed to be me." World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union . World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises
3024-402: Was the 2021 Rugby World Cup, for women's team in New Zealand. World Rugby organised three international sevens tournaments - two annual Sevens Series (one for men and one for women ) which are now defunct. The quadrennial Rugby World Cup Sevens is still active. The men's season-long annual Sevens Series took place over 10 legs, each held in a different country. The women's Sevens Series
3080-486: Was the Wasps . According to one version, a Wasps' representative was sent to attend the meeting, but owing to a misunderstanding was sent to the wrong venue at the wrong time on the wrong day; another version is that he went to a venue of the same name where, after consuming a number of drinks, he realised his mistake but was too drunk to make his way to the correct venue. Ealing Rugby Club (now Ealing Trailfinders) also received an invitation, but their representative stopped in
3136-451: Was warned by all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire that any punishment would lead to the clubs seceding from the union. The debate over broken time payments ultimately caused the 22 leading clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire to form the Northern Rugby Football Union . The competing unions' laws of the game diverged almost immediately; the northern body's code eventually became known as rugby league football. England's seats on
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