English, Scottish & Welsh Rugby

Rugby has a huge following all over Britain, and the individual rugby teams for England, Scotland and Wales are some of the best teams in the world.

Twickenham Stadium © Museum of Rugby, Twickenham

English rugby tournaments

The Guinness Premiership (www.guinnesspremiership.com/84_87.php) is the world's most competitive domestic rugby union competition. The league consists of 12 teams from around England, with Leicester Tigers and Bath the 2 teams with the most championship wins. The top 5 teams in the Guinness Premiership go on to play in the Heineken Cup (www.ercrugby.com/eng/3_122.php) - the European Championships similar to the Champion's League in football - with the top Scottish, Welsh and Irish teams from the Magners League (www.magnersleague.com/2_8.php). The Guiness Premiership is a hugely popular event in the English rugby calendar, attracting over a million people from all over the country.

For more information on English Rugby, visit the Rugby Football Union (www.rfu.com/index.htm).

Welsh Rugby Supporters © Crown Copyright 2006

Scottish & Welsh rugby tournaments

A huge event in Scottish and Welsh rugby is the Magners League, also known as the Celtic League, where teams from the 2 countries also compete with teams from Ireland for the title of Magners League Champions. The league consists of 20 games held over 22 weekends from September-May. The top 3 teams from the Scottish, Welsh and Irish sides then go on to play in the Heineken Cup - European Championships similar to the Champion's League in football - against the top 5 teams in the English Guinness Premiership.

For more information on Scottish and Welsh Rugby, visit the Scottish Rugby Union (www.scottishrugby.org/) and the Welsh Rugby Union (www.wru.co.uk/).

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