2011 in rugby union

International competitions

June 10 – June 26: 2011 IRB Junior World Championship in Italy

01 !  New Zealand

02 !  England

03 !  Australia

4th:  France

This was the fourth title for New Zealand.

May 24 – June 5: 2011 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in Georgia

01 !  Samoa

02 !  Japan

03 !  Georgia

4th:  Uruguay

This was the first title for Samoa, giving them a place in the 2012 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy.

4 February – 19 March: Six Nations Championship

Winner: England national rugby union team, 26th title.

20 May: Amlin Challenge Cup Final at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

Harlequins claimed the title with a 19–18 win over Stade Français, becoming the first team to win the Challenge Cup three times.

21 May: Heineken Cup Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Leinster won its second European title with a 33–22 win over Northampton Saints.

3 December 2010 - 29 May 2011: IRB Sevens World Series – New Zealand clinched the series title at the London Sevens on 22 May, with the Edinburgh Sevens remaining to be played.

01 !  New Zealand

02 !  South Africa

03 !  England

4th:  Fiji

9 July: Super Rugby Final at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

The Reds claimed their first title in the competition's professional era with an 18–13 win over the Crusaders.

23 July–27 August: Tri Nations Series

Australia won its third title. This was the final edition of the tournament under the "Tri Nations" name; with the 2012 entry of Argentina, the competition was renamed as The Rugby Championship.

9 September–23 October: 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand

The tournament was won by New Zealand's All Blacks defeating France in the final by a score of 8-7. Australia national rugby union team defeat Wales to claim third.

December 10–16 2011 Cup of Nations (rugby union) in Dubai

Domestic competitions

English Premiership – Final, 28 May at Twickenham: Leicester Tigers vs. Saracens

Saracens defeated Leicester Tigers 22–18 for their first-ever Premiership title.

RFU Championship — Worcester Warriors. As the only side among the semifinalists that met the requirements for promotion, they replaced Leeds Carnegie in the 2011–12 Premiership.

Top 14 – Final, 4 June at Stade de France: Toulouse vs. Montpellier

Toulouse won 15–10 and lifted the Bouclier de Brennus for the 18th time.

Rugby Pro D2 — Lyon won the championship and automatic promotion to the Top 14. Bordeaux Bègles won the promotion playoffs. The two clubs will replace La Rochelle and Bourgoin.

Celtic League – Grand Final, 28 May in Limerick:

In an all-Irish affair, Munster won their third title against Leinster 19–9.

LV Cup (Anglo-Welsh Cup) – Gloucester

ITM Cup:

Premiership – Final, 3 September in Hamilton: Waikato vs. Canterbury

Canterbury won 12−3 for their fourth consecutive title in the Air New Zealand/ITM Cup and ninth in the history of New Zealand provincial rugby.

Championship: Final, 4 September in Palmerston North: Manawatu vs. Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay won 35−30 and replaced Southland in the 2012 ITM Cup Premiership.

Currie Cup: Final, 29 October in Johannesburg: Golden Lions vs. Sharks

The Lions won 42–16 in the most one-sided Currie Cup final since 1980.

Other major events

26 February: During the England–France match in the Six Nations, England's Jonny Wilkinson retakes the all-time lead for career Test points from New Zealand's Dan Carter.

27 February: During the Scotland–Ireland match in the Six Nations, Ireland's Ronan O'Gara retakes the all-time lead for career points in the Championship from Wilkinson.

19 March: During the Ireland–England Six Nations match, two Irish players reach major career milestones in the Championship:

Brian O'Driscoll takes over the all-time lead for career tries in the Championship with his 25th try, breaking the record of Scotland's Ian Smith that had lasted since 1933.

O'Gara makes his 56th appearance in the Championship, drawing level with countryman Mike Gibson for the Championship record.

30 July: During New Zealand's Tri Nations opener at home to South Africa, Carter reclaims the all-time lead for career Test points from Wilkinson.

December: Owen Sheers is appointed to be writer in residence at the WRU. This seems to be the first such appointment by any national rugby body.

IRB Hall of Fame Class of 2011:

19 March: Serge Blanco, André Boniface, Guy Boniface, Lucien Mias, and Jean Prat, all  France (ceremony held in Paris)

28 April: Alan Rotherham and Harry Vassall,  England (ceremony held at the annual dinner of Oxford University RFC in Oxford)

6 May: Frank Hancock and Cardiff RFC,  Wales (ceremony held at the club museum in Cardiff)

10 May: Mike Gibson,  Ireland (ceremony held at the annual Ulster Rugby awards banquet in Belfast)

29 May: Barbarian F.C. and William Percy Carpmael,  England (ceremony held at halftime of the match between the Barbarians and England at Twickenham)

24 October: Nineteen figures were inducted into the Hall at the IRB Awards banquet in Auckland, held the night after the Rugby World Cup Final. This set of inductions was divided into the following categories:

Founders of the Rugby World Cup:

John Kendall-Carpenter, England

Richard Littlejohn, New Zealand

Nicholas Shehadie, Australia

Roger Vanderfield, Australia

Rugby World Cup-winning coaches through 2007:

Brian Lochore,  New Zealand

Bob Dwyer,  Australia

Kitch Christie,  South Africa

Rod Macqueen,  Australia

Clive Woodward,  England

Jake White,  South Africa

Rugby World Cup-winning captains through 2007 (John Eales, captain of the 1999 World Cup-winning Australia team, was not included as he had already been inducted):

David Kirk,  New Zealand

Nick Farr-Jones,  Australia

François Pienaar,  South Africa

Martin Johnson,  England

John Smit,  South Africa

"Players who had left an indelible mark on [the] Rugby World Cup":

Brian Lima,  Samoa

Jonah Lomu,  New Zealand

Agustín Pichot,  Argentina

Gareth Rees,  Canada