The Wales national rugby union team (Welsh:Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represent Wales in international rugby union. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 26 times outright, joint-first with England. Wales' most recent championship win came in 2013.
The governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Wales' performances in the Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations) continued to improve, experiencing their first 'golden age' between 1900 and 1911. They first played New Zealand, known as the All Blacks, in 1905, when they defeated them 3–0 in a famous match at Cardiff Arms Park. Welsh rugby struggled between the two World Wars, but experienced a second 'golden age' between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships.
The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Grade 3 National Huntsteeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of about 3 miles and 5½ furlongs (5,934 metres), and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year late December.
The race was first run in 1895, and it originally took place at Ely Racecourse in Cardiff. It remained at this venue until the closure of the course in 1939. After World War II it was transferred to Caerleon in 1948, and it was then moved to its present venue in 1949. Dick Francis, the famous jockey turned author, rode the first Chepstow winner of the race, Fighting Line. David Nicholson, later a successful racehorse trainer, rode three successive Welsh National winners in 1959, 1960 and 1961.
Originally run on Easter Tuesday, it was moved to February in 1969 with the aim of attracting better horses, albeit with the increased risk of bad weather forcing its cancellation. It was moved to late December in 1979, after that year's original fixture was abandoned due to snow. The meeting is now held the day after Boxing Day and since then the class of runners has improved further, making it an informative guide to future races such as the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The WelshRugbyUnion will now hold a review into the national team’s performance, before deciding whether or not to stick with Gatland ... I’m motivated to want to be here ... ‘I’m not content with the result. I’m disappointed with the result.’ ... .
... thought to resigning as Wales head coach, but said he would ‘go back to the beach and have a glass of wine’ if his WelshRugbyUnion bosses decided he was no longer the man to lead the national team.
The WelshRugbyUnion wants the men’s and women’s national teams to be “consistently” in the top five of the world rankings and to compete for honours annually in the Six Nations.
However, the role of historical poor management of the country’s national game by the WelshRugbyUnion in taking Wales to this point must not be underplayed. Mann – and his Cardiff team-mate Cameron...
— WelshRugbyUnion 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) September 24, 2023 ... Significant momentum has been generated, a Welsh rugby nation believes again and there is every chance that a semi-final appearance will be Wales’ minimum World Cup return.
... the future of Welsh rugby ... Both Morgan and Lake are Welsh speakers and alongside the likes of Louis Rees-Zammit, are young players the Welsh RugbyUnion can market the future of the national team upon.
What we need to see in the game is that expectation of excellence passes across everyone and it goes off the field as well.“The idea that you can, as part of the Welsh or IrishRugbyUnion, ...
Wales national team players are struggling to play at their best at the Six Nations championship amid their ongoing dispute with the WelshRugbyUnion (WRU) over future contracts, Taulupe Faletau, one of the players, said.
March 8 (Reuters) - Wales national team players are struggling to play at their best at the Six Nations championship amid their ongoing dispute with the WelshRugbyUnion (WRU) over future contracts, Taulupe Faletau, one of the players, said.
