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In the late 1970s WNO combined with the Cardiff @-@ based Welsh Drama Company , becoming the Welsh National Opera and Drama Company . The work of the drama company came under continued criticism , the Welsh Arts Council cut its grant , and the partnership ended in 1979 with the formal closure of the Welsh Drama Company .
= = 1980s = =
During the 1980s WNO continued to expand in scope . Handel ( Rodelinda , 1981 ) and Martinů ( The Greek Passion , 1981 ) were added to the company 's repertoire , and in 1983 Das Rheingold was staged in the WNO 's first Ring cycle , followed by the other three operas of the cycle over the next two years . Das Rheingold , Siegfried and Götterdämmerung were conducted by the company 's musical director , Richard Armstrong ; Die Walküre ( 1984 ) was conducted by Goodall ; it was seen as a coup for the company to secure his services – he was described by The Guardian as the greatest living Wagnerian conductor – but the casting of the whole cycle was criticised for some serious weaknesses among the principal singers , and reviewers were generally unimpressed by Göran Järvefelt 's production .
The chief executive , Brian McMaster , did not appoint a replacement to Geliot as principal director during the 1980s , preferring to engage guest producers . Boyd mentions Andrei Șerban 's Eugene Onegin ( 1980 ) among the successes and Lucian Pintilie 's Carmen ( 1983 ) and Ruth Berghaus 's Don Giovanni ( 1984 ) as productions that received more mixed responses . Sir Charles Mackerras , the conductor for Don Giovanni , was open in his contempt for Berghaus 's production . Harry Kupfer 's Fidelio ( 1981 ) was condemned by The Daily Telegraph as " a piece of Marxist polemic " making " political sport " of Beethoven 's work . McMaster was thought by some too inclined to favour radical eastern European directors : Jonathan Miller , a leading English director , commented that he did not intend to take Bulgarian nationality , although it was " a must before Brian pays any attention " .
Armstrong stepped down in 1986 after thirteen years as musical director ; he was succeeded by Mackerras , whose association with the company dated back more than thirty years . Among the features of his six @-@ year tenure was an increasing use of surtitles for performances not given in English . In the company 's early days , all operas had been sung in English , but as more international stars began to appear as guest principals the language policy had to be reconsidered : few of the leading names in world opera were interested in relearning their roles in English . WNO steered a middle course between the practices of the two main London companies ; after the 1960s The Royal Opera had generally given operas in the original language , and English National Opera was committed to opera in English . WNO 's practice varied , after its early years . Examples from the 1980s include Wagner 's Tristan und Isolde sung in German , and the Ring in English ; and Verdi 's The Force of Destiny given in English and Otello in Italian . Mackerras was a strong advocate of performance in the original language , with surtitles : " I can 't imagine a greater advance for opera . … What a gift ! It 's like Siegfried understanding the woodbird . "
= = 1990s = =
McMaster resigned in 1991 , having led the company to international status , with performances at La Scala , Milan ; the Metropolitan Opera , New York ; and in Tokyo . One of the last legacies of his tenure was the 1992 production of Debussy 's Pelléas et Mélisande , directed by Peter Stein and conducted by Pierre Boulez . The New York Times called WNO " one of the finest operatic ensembles in Europe " and noted that the first night of the Debussy work , in Cardiff , " attracted 80 critics from all over the United Kingdom and the Continent ... the most prestigious , intensely awaited event of the British operatic season . " The production was given at the Théâtre du Châtelet , Paris , a few weeks afterwards .
McMaster was followed as chief executive by Matthew Epstein , whose three years in charge ( 1991 – 94 ) were described in a 2006 study by Paul Atkinson as " a less happy and less successful period " . Epstein was replaced by Anthony Freud , under whom , according to Atkinson , productions became " consistently strong , musically well prepared , intelligently staged and well cast . " Mackerras was succeeded in 1992 by Carlo Rizzi , who was music director at the time of WNO 's golden jubilee in 1996 . When the occasion was marked with a new production of the " Cav and Pag " double bill that had launched the company in 1946 , the BBC commented that WNO was " one of the most respected opera companies in the world " . In The Observer , Michael Ratcliffe called the company " the most popular , populist and consistently successful arts organisation ever to come out of Wales ... with the loyalty and affection of audiences in Cardiff and across England … ' The people 's opera ' is not a myth . It happened here . " The jubilee celebrations were overshadowed by the collapse of a plan for a purpose @-@ built home for the company , the Cardiff Bay Opera House .
During the 1990s WNO made its Proms debut , with a complete performance of Mozart 's Idomeneo , conducted by Mackerras in 1991 . The company played three short seasons at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden in the mid @-@ 1990s , featuring Tristan und Isolde and La favorita in 1993 , The Yeomen of the Guard in 1995 , and The Rake 's Progress and the jubilee double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci in 1996 .
= = 21st century = =
The company entered the new millennium in a state of some turmoil . A financial crisis had led to redundancies in the orchestra and the curtailment of the touring schedule ; the conservative works chosen for 2001 – 02 were condemned by the press as " the dullest programme in recent memory " ; and Rizzi was about to be replaced by a young and untried successor , Tugan Sokhiev . Rizzi had gained great respect and affection during his nine @-@ year term as musical director ; his successor 's reign was brief and unhappy . Having taken up post in 2003 , Sohkiev resigned precipitately the following year . Rizzi agreed to reorganise his schedule , and , to public and critical acclaim , returned to the musical directorship in time to prepare the company for its long @-@ awaited move into a permanent base in Cardiff .
After the collapse of the Cardiff Bay Opera House scheme , a new project , the Wales Millennium Centre , met with more success . The necessary consents and funding were obtained , and work began in 2002 on a new multipurpose arts centre on the Cardiff Bay site . The centre included a 1 @,@ 900 @-@ seat theatre , which , among other uses , became WNO 's home base from 2004 , with its own rehearsal space and offices in the complex .
In the first decade of the 21st century WNO gave more than 120 performances a year , with a repertoire , generally , of eight full @-@ scale operas . Its regular audience figures totalled over 150 @,@ 000 annually , in ten principal venues , three of them in Wales and seven in England . During this period the company was criticised for being insufficiently Welsh . A local politician , Adam Price , said that WNO ought to have a Welsh musical director ; Alun Hoddinott said in 2004 , " WNO has put on perhaps four or five Welsh operas over 20 years . ... They just seem to have an anti @-@ Welsh music bias . I am sad that they do not do something for Welsh composers , especially young ones . " A more positive view of WNO came from Scotland , where the two main newspapers , The Scotsman and The Herald , greeted a visit from the company in 2005 with enthusiastic praise , contrasting the flourishing of opera in Wales with its neglect by politicians in Scotland and the consequent decline of Scottish Opera . In 2010 WNO commissioned Gair ar Gnawd ( " Word on Flesh " ) , by Pwyll ap Siôn and Menna Elfyn , with words in Welsh , described as " a contemporary story about Wales today ... inspired by the translation of the Bible " .
From 2006 to 2011 the chief executive ( titled " artistic director " ) was John Fisher . His term overlapped with that of Lothar Koenigs who was musical director from 2009 to 2016 . A highlight of this period was the 2010 production of Die Meistersinger , produced by Richard Jones , starring Bryn Terfel as Hans Sachs . The production won superlatives from reviewers .
In 2011 David Pountney was appointed to succeed Fisher as chief executive . He had worked with the company since the 1970s , most recently on a 2006 The Flying Dutchman with Terfel which was set in space . In 2013 he programmed a trilogy of operas set in Tudor England : Donizetti 's Anna Bolena , Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux , with another trilogy the following year , on the theme of fallen women – Puccini 's Manon Lescaut , Henze 's Boulevard Solitude and Verdi 's La traviata . For 2016 Pountney scheduled another trilogy , this time on the theme of Figaro , consisting of Mozart 's The Marriage of Figaro and Rossini 's The Barber of Seville and a new work , Figaro Gets a Divorce with music by Elena Langer and libretto by Pountney .
In September 2015 WNO announced the appointment of Tomáš Hanus as its next music director , taking office for the 2016 – 17 season . At the same time Carlo Rizzi was named the company 's conductor laureate , with immediate effect .
= = Recordings = =
Although the chorus and orchestra of Welsh National Opera have appeared on many commercial recordings , often featuring regular WNO soloists , there have been few sets , either audio or video , of the company 's own productions . Among those are Tristan und Isolde conducted by Goodall ( 1981 ) , Pelléas et Mélisande conducted by Boulez ( 1992 ) , The Yeomen of the Guard , conducted by Mackerras ( 1995 ) , The Doctor of Myddfai conducted by Armstrong ( 1998 ) , and Ariodante conducted by Ivor Bolton , directed by David Alden ( 1999 ) . The BBC made a studio video recording of a WNO cast in Katya Kabanova , conducted by Armstrong in 1982 .
The WNO chorus and orchestra have been engaged for studio opera recordings unconnected with the company 's productions , including Hamlet ( 1983 ) , Norma ( 1984 ) , Anna Bolena ( 1987 ) , Ernani ( 1987 ) and Adriana Lecouvreur ( 1988 ) conducted by Richard Bonynge , Faust ( 1993 ) and Katya Kabanova ( 1994 ) conducted by Rizzi ; and Gloriana ( 1993 ) , Eugene Onegin ( 1994 ) and Jenůfa ( 2004 ) conducted by Mackerras . For the WNO jubilee in 1996 , Decca drew on some of its studio recordings for a celebratory CD set with contributions from many soloists who had appeared onstage with the company and some who had not , the latter including Joan Sutherland , Luciano Pavarotti , Montserrat Caballe and Thomas Hampson . The orchestra of WNO has made studio recordings of non @-@ operatic music by Elgar , Delius , Coleridge @-@ Taylor and George Lloyd , and several sets of traditional Welsh songs and crossover music .
= = Music directors = =
= 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 a total of 27 occasions , 13 times winning the Grand Slam , making them the most successful team in the tournament 's history . They are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 20 June 2016 . England are the first , and to date the only , team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup , when they won the tournament back in 2003 . They were also runners @-@ up in 1991 and 2007 .
The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official Test match , losing to Scotland by one goal . England dominated the early Home Nations Championship ( now the Six Nations ) which started in 1883 . Following the schism of rugby football in 1895 , England did not win the Championship again until 1910 . England first played against New Zealand in 1905 , South Africa in 1906 , and Australia in 1909 . England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and went on to appear in the final in the second tournament in 1991 , losing 12 – 6 to Australia . Following their 2003 Six Nations Championship Grand Slam , they went on to win it again in 2016 . England also won the World Cup – beating Australia 20 – 17 in extra time . They also contested the final in 2007 , losing 15 – 6 to South Africa .
England players traditionally wear a white shirt with a Rose embroidered on the chest , white shorts , and navy blue socks with a white trim .
Their home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910 . The team is administered by the Rugby Football Union ( RFU ) . Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame ; one of these is also a member of the IRB Hall of Fame . Seven other former players are members of the IRB Hall — four solely for their accomplishments as players , two solely for their achievements in other roles in the sport , and one for achievements both as a player and administrator .
= = History = =
The expansion of rugby in the first half of the 19th century was driven by ex @-@ pupils from many of England 's Public Schools , especially Rugby , who , upon finishing school , took the game with them to universities , to London , and to the counties . England 's first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871 . Not only was this match England 's first , but it also proved to be the first ever rugby union international . Scotland won the match by a goal and a try to a try , in front of a crowd of 4 @,@ 000 people at Raeburn Place , Edinburgh . A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872 which saw England defeat Scotland by a goal , a drop goal and two tries to one drop goal . In those early days there was no points system , it was only after 1890 that a format allowing the introduction of a points system was provided . Up until 1875 international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored ( conversions and dropped goals ) , but from 1876 the number of tries scored could be used to decide a match if teams were level on goals .
In 1875 , England played their first game against the Irish at the Oval , winning by one goal , one drop goal and one try to nil ; the match was Ireland 's first ever Test . England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup . Their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardson 's Field in Blackheath . England recorded their largest victory , defeating the Welsh by seven goals , six tries , and one drop goal to nil and scoring 13 tries in the process . The subsequent meeting the following year at St Helens in Swansea was a closer contest ; with England winning by two goals and four tries to nil Two years later , the first Home Nations championship was held and England emerged as the inaugural winners . In 1889 , England played their first match against a non @-@ home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives by one goal and four tries to nil at Rectory Field in Blackheath . In 1890 England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland .
England first played New Zealand ( the All Blacks ) in 1905 . The All Blacks scored five tries , worth three points at this time , to win 15 – 0 . The following year , they played France for the first time , and later that year they first faced South Africa ( known as the Springboks ) ; James Peters was withdrawn from the England squad after the South Africans objected to playing against a black player . The match was drawn 3 – 3 . England first played France in 1905 , and Australia ( known as the Wallabies ) in 1909 when they were defeated 9 – 3 .
The year 1909 saw the opening of Twickenham as the RFU 's new home , which heralded a golden era for English rugby union . England 's first international at Twickenham brought them victory over Wales , and England went on to win the International Championship ( then known as the Five Nations ) for the first time since the great schism of 1895 . Although England did not retain the title in 1911 , they did share it in 1912 . A Five Nations Grand Slam was then achieved in 1913 and 1914 as well as in 1921 following the First World War . England subsequently won the Grand Slam in 1924 and as well as in 1925 . This was despite having started 1925 with a loss to the All Black Invincibles in front of 60 @,@ 000 fans at Twickenham .
After winning another Grand Slam in 1928 , England played the Springboks in front of 70 @,@ 000 spectators at Twickenham in 1931 . Following the ejection of France due to professionalism in 1930 , which thus reverted The Five Nations back to the Home Nations tournament , England went on to win the 1934 and 1937 Home Nations with a Triple Crown , and in 1935 achieved their first victory over the All Blacks .
When the Five Nations resumed with the re @-@ admission of France in 1947 after the Second World War , England shared the championship with Wales . The early Five Nations competitions of the 1950s were unsuccessful for England , winning one match in the 1950 and 1951 championships . England won the 1953 Five Nations , and followed this up with a Grand Slam in 1957 , and win in 1958 . England broke France 's four @-@ championship streak by winning the 1963 Championship . After this victory , England played three Tests in the Southern Hemisphere and lost all three : 21 – 11 and 9 – 6 against the All Blacks , and 18 – 9 against Australia . England did not win a single match in 1966 , and managed only a draw with Ireland . They did not win another Championship that decade ; a fact that prompted amateur historian F. W. P. Syms to declare this period ' the sorriest in English Rugby Union History ' .
Don White was appointed as England 's first @-@ ever coach in 1969 . According to former Northampton player Bob Taylor , " Don was chosen because he was the most forward @-@ thinking coach in England " . His first match in charge was an 11 – 8 victory over South Africa at Twickenham in 1969 . Of the eleven games England played with White in charge they won three , and drew one and lost seven . He resigned as England coach in 1971 .
England had wins against Southern Hemisphere teams in the 1970s ; with victories over South Africa in 1972 , New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1973 and 1976 . The 1972 Five Nations Championship was not completed due to the Troubles in Northern Ireland when Scotland and Wales refused to play their Five Nations away fixtures in Ireland . England played in Dublin in 1973 and were given a standing ovation lasting five minutes . After losing 18 – 9 at Lansdowne Road , the England captain , John Pullin famously stated , " We might not be very good but at least we turned up . "
England started the following decade with a Grand Slam victory in the 1980 Five Nations – their first for 23 years . However in the 1983 Five Nations Championship , England failed to win a game and picked up the wooden spoon . In the first Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and Australia , England were grouped in pool A alongside Australia , Japan and the United States . England lost their first game 19 – 6 against Australia . They went on to defeat Japan and the United States , and met Wales in their quarter @-@ final , losing the match 16 – 3 .
In 1989 , England won matches against Romania and Fiji , followed by victories in their first three Five Nations games of 1990 . They lost to Scotland in their last game however , giving Scotland a Grand Slam . England recovered in the following year by winning their first Grand Slam since 1980 . England hosted the 1991 World Cup and were in pool A , along with the All Blacks , Italy and the United States . Although they lost to the All Blacks in pool play , they qualified for a quarter @-@ final going on to defeat France 19 – 10 . England then defeated Scotland 9 – 6 to secure a place in the final against Australia which they lost 12 – 6 .
The next year , England completed another Grand Slam and did not lose that year , including a victory over the Springboks . In the lead up to the 1995 World Cup in South Africa , England completed another Grand Slam – their third in five years . In the World Cup , England defeated Argentina , Italy and Samoa in pool play and then defeated Australia 25 – 22 in their quarter @-@ final . England 's semi @-@ final was dominated by the All Blacks and featured four tries , now worth five points each , by Jonah Lomu ; England lost 45 – 29 . They then lost the third / fourth place play @-@ off match against France .
In 1997 , Clive Woodward became England 's coach . That year , England drew with New Zealand at Twickenham after being heavily defeated in Manchester the week before . England toured Australia , New Zealand and South Africa in 1998 . Many of the England team made themselves unavailable for the tour nicknamed the " tour from hell " where England were beaten 76 – 0 by the Wallabies . In 1999 during the last ever Five Nations match , Scott Gibbs sliced through six English tackles to score in the last minute , and the last ever Five Nations title went to Scotland .
England commenced the new decade by winning the inaugural Six Nations title . In 2001 , Ireland defeated England 20 – 14 in a postponed match at Lansdowne Road to deny them a Grand Slam . Although the 2002 Six Nations Championship title was won by France , England had the consolation of winning the Triple Crown . In 2002 , England defeated Argentina in Buenos Aires , and then a second string All Blacks , Australia , and South Africa at Twickenham . In 2003 , England won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1995 , followed by wins over Australia and the All Blacks on their Summer tour in June .
Going into the 2003 World Cup , England were one of the tournament favourites . They reached the final on 22 November 2003 against host Australia and became world champions after a match @-@ winning drop goal by star flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson deep into extra time that made the final score 20 – 17 . Not only was it their first Rugby World Cup victory , but it was the country 's first World Cup since winning the 1966 FIFA ( football ) World Cup as hosts . On 8 December , the English team greeted 750 @,@ 000 supporters on their victory parade through London before meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace .
In the 2004 Six Nations Championship , England lost to both France and Ireland and finished third . Sir Clive Woodward resigned on 2 September and Andy Robinson was appointed England head coach . Robinson 's first Six Nations campaign in 2005 resulted in fourth place for England , and although they then defeated Australia 26 – 16 , the year was completed with a 23 – 19 loss to the All Blacks .
Following their loss to South Africa in the 2006 end of year Tests , England had lost eight of their last nine Tests – their worst ever losing streak . Coach Andy Robinson resigned after this run , and attack coach Brian Ashton was appointed head coach in December 2006 . England started the 2007 Six Nations Championship with a Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland . The championship also included a historic match at Croke Park against Ireland which England lost 43 – 13 , their heaviest ever defeat to Ireland .
In the 2007 World Cup England played in Pool A with Samoa , Tonga , South Africa and the United States . They qualified for the quarter finals after losing embarrassingly to South Africa 36 – 0 where they defeated Australia 12 – 10 , and then faced hosts France in their semi final . England won 14 – 9 to qualify for the final against South Africa , which they lost 15 – 6 . England followed up the World Cup with two consecutive 2nd place finishes in the Six Nations , behind Wales and Ireland respectively . The 2009 Six Nations also saw former England Captain Martin Johnson take up the job of head coach . However , Johnson could not replicate his on @-@ field success to management , and resigned in November 2011 following a miserable 2011 Rugby World Cup which ended in quarter @-@ final defeat by France and featured a series of on and off @-@ field controversies .
On 29 March 2012 , Stuart Lancaster , the former Elite Rugby Director at Leeds Carnegie was appointed England head coach by the Rugby Football Union . Previously Lancaster was appointed as the head coach on a short term basis assisted by existing forwards coach Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell .
Lancaster was considered a success in his first campaign as England coach - during the 2012 Six Nations Championship , defending Champions England finished in second place after losing 19 – 12 to Wales at Twickenham Stadium , but successfully defended the Calcutta Cup beating Scotland 13 – 6 at Murrayfield . England finished the year on a high , after outplaying World Cup holders New Zealand in November , in which England dominated to win 38 – 21 . The All Blacks had been unbeaten in 20 matches but were completely outplayed by England .
During the 2013 Six Nations Championship again England finished in second place behind Wales after losing the opportunity of being Grand Slam winners for the first time since 2003 , by losing to Wales in Cardiff 30 – 3 . It was also the first time every team managed to win at least 3 competition points ( the equivalent of a win and a draw or three draws ) since 1974 . However , England did again defeat Scotland for the Calcutta Cup 38 – 18 at Twickenham .
During the 2013 summer tour to South America in which Lancaster took an experimental side , England beat a South American select XV before a 2 – 0 series victory over Argentina , a first away series win against The Pumas for 32 years . England hosted the 2015 Rugby World Cup but were eliminated in the Pool stage , earning the unenviable reputation of being the first side in Rugby World Cup history to have hosted the tournament and yet to have failed to qualify for the knockout stages .
= = Twickenham = =
Up until 1910 , the English rugby team used various stadia in a number of venues around England before settling at Twickenham Stadium . It is the largest rugby @-@ dedicated stadium in the world . After sell @-@ out matches at Crystal Palace in 1905 and 1906 against New Zealand and South Africa respectively , the Rugby Football Union ( RFU ) decided to invest in their own ground . In 1906 , the RFU arranged for William Williams to find a home ground for English Rugby . The land for the ground was purchased the following year for £ 5 @,@ 572 12s and 6d , and construction began the following year .
The first England match was held on 9 October 1910 between England and Wales . England ran out winners , 11 – 6 , beating Wales for the first time since 1898 . The stadium was expanded in 1927 and again in 1932 . Further upgrades did not happen until the 1990s when new North , East and West stands were built . A new South stand was built in 2005 and 2006 to make the stadium into a complete bowl . The first match to be played at the redeveloped Twickenham was on Sunday 5 November 2006 against the All Blacks . England lost the match 41 @-@ 20 in front of a record crowd of 82 @,@ 076 .
Although England have played home matches almost exclusively at Twickenham since 1910 , they have played at Huddersfield 's Galpharm Stadium twice in 1998 , at Old Trafford against New Zealand in 1997 and at Wembley Stadium against Canada in 1992 . They also played the first of a two @-@ test series against Argentina at Old Trafford in June 2009 , a match originally scheduled to be held in Argentina but moved by the country 's national federation for financial reasons .
The pitch at Twickenham was replaced by a hybrid ' Desso ' type , in June 2012 , which uses artificial fibres entwined with real grass . This makes it a lot harder wearing in wet conditions .
= = = Swing Low , Sweet Chariot = = =
" Swing Low , Sweet Chariot " is very commonly sung at England fixtures – especially at Twickenham . The song arrived in the rugby canon through the Welsh male voice choirs who sang many spirituals . It was a popular rugby song at clubs during the 1950s and 1960s and was sung every year at Twickenham during the end @-@ of @-@ season all @-@ day Middlesex Sevens tournament accompanied by risqué hand gestures that played on the double entendres of some of the words . During the 1970s the Twickenham crowd also sang it during England matches then coming into the last match of the 1988 season , against the Irish , England had lost 15 of their previous 23 matches in the Five Nations Championship . The Twickenham crowd had only seen one solitary England try in the previous two years and at half time against Ireland they were 3 – 0 down . During the second half a remarkable transformation took place and England started playing an expansive game many had doubted they were capable of producing . A 3 – 0 deficit was turned into a 35 – 3 win , with England scoring six tries .
In the 35 – 3 win , three of England 's tries were scored by Chris Oti , a player who had made a reputation for himself that season as a speedster on the left wing . A group of boys from the Benedictine school Douai following a tradition at their school games sang the song on his final try , and other spectators around the ground joined in . Since then " Swing Low , Sweet Chariot " became a song to sing at England home games , in the same way that " The Fields of Athenry " is sung in Dublin and " Cwm Rhondda " is sung at Cardiff . It has since become the anthem of the team as in 1991 the result of a plan of the then RFU marketing director Mike Coley for the team to launch a song leading up to that year 's Rugby World Cup . He had wanted to use Jerusalem but it was used in the Rugby League cup final that year so the song was changed at short notice to " Swing Low " . There were a number of versions recorded including a ' rap ' version with Jerry Guscott doing a solo . Needless to say that was never released but the version released did reach the top 40 in the UK singles chart during the competition and was then adopted as the England rugby song .
= = Strip = =
England have typically worn all @-@ white shirts , white shorts with navy and white socks . The emblem on the shirts is a red rose , rather than the Plantagenet Three Lions displayed on the shirts of the England football and cricket teams . The strip is manufactured by Canterbury and O2 is the shirt sponsor . Red was the change strip , although prior to the introduction of the red strip , navy blue was used . Purple was used as the change strip as of the 2009 autumn internationals , reflecting the traditional colour of the original England track @-@ suits from the 1960s , 70s and 80s . For the 2011 Rugby World Cup the change kit was black .
The Rugby Football Union ( RFU ) had created the national side 's emblem prior to an English team being sent to Edinburgh to play a Scottish side . A red rose was chosen to be the side 's emblem . The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used at Rugby School . Alfred Wright , an employee of the Rugby Football Union , is credited with the standardisation and new design of the rose , which up until 1920 had undergone many variations in its depiction . The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s . It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised when Nike became the official strip supplier .
In 2003 England first used a skin @-@ tight strip . This was intended to make it more difficult for the opposition to grasp the shirt when tackling . The home and away strips for 2007 were unveiled on 15 May that year . The materials used are superior , offering improved performance to the 2003 kit . However , a sweeping red mark on the base @-@ white front which forms St George 's Cross on the top left , and a changed away @-@ strip ( dark blue to red ) , have received criticism because it is felt that emphasis has been placed on St George 's Cross at the expense of the traditional red rose . The new strip was introduced in England 's home game against Wales on 4 August , while the alternative strip was first used against France on 18 August .
The former England home strip was white with a strip of red around the neck , and the away strip was black ( causing much controversy due to the famous All @-@ Black kit of New Zealand ) , both kits had a ground breaking new technology in the form of a gripper print . A special strip was worn during the match versus Wales in the 2010 Six Nations Championship which replicated that worn in 1910 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Twickenham . The current , 2013 @-@ 14 , England strip is made by Canterbury . It features plain white shorts and a plain white shirt , but with an added black stripe on each sleeve . The current away kit has a red and white striped shirt , with blue shorts . In 2014 / 15 , the home shirt was white , with a " V @-@ Neck " around the collar . The kit also had little St George 's crosses on the main chest . It also had the O2 sponsorship marking on the chest . The shorts were plain white with the sponsorship marking on them . The socks were dark blue and had a white stripe at the top . The alternate shirt was exactly the same but was red instead of white . The shorts were navy blue and the socks were red with a white stripe on top . The 2015 / 16 strip was similar but didn 't have the small crosses on the shirt . The Canterbury logo was straight and not diagonal it had white lines going horizontally across the chest . For the 2015 Rugby World Cup , the kit remained the same just with the Rugby World Cup logo on the right and no O2 logo in the centre . For the home strip , the shorts and socks remained the same . The away 2015 / 16 strip and World Cup strip was red , with dark red and maroon sleeves . The shorts were maroon and the socks were red with a maroon stripe on top .
= = Record = =
= = = Six Nations = = =
England competes annually in the Six Nations Championship , which is played against five other European nations : France , Ireland , Italy , Scotland , and Wales . The Six Nations started out as the Home Nations Championship in 1883 which England won with a Triple Crown . England have won the title outright 27 times ( a record for the tournament ) and shared victory ten times . Their longest wait between championships was 18 years ( 1892 – 1910 ) . During the Six Nations , England also contests the Calcutta Cup with Scotland ( which England first won in 1880 ) and the Millennium Trophy with Ireland ( which England first won in 1988 ) . The matches between England and France are traditionally known as " Le Crunch " .
= = = World Cup = = =
England have contested every Rugby World Cup since it began in 1987 , reaching the final three times and winning in 2003 .
In the inaugural tournament they finished second in their pool before losing to Wales in the quarter @-@ finals . They again finished pool runners @-@ up in 1991 but recovered to beat France in their quarter @-@ final , and then Scotland in their semi @-@ final , en route to a 12 – 6 final defeat to Australia .
In 1995 , England topped their pool and defeated Australia 25 – 22 at the quarter @-@ final stage before being beaten by the All Blacks in the semi @-@ final . Their third @-@ fourth place play @-@ off match against France was lost 19 – 9 .
The 1999 competition saw England again finish second in the pool stage . Though they proceeded to win a play @-@ off game against Fiji , they went out of the tournament in the quarter @-@ finals , losing 44 – 21 to South Africa .
In the 2003 tournament , England came top of their pool . They progressed to the final beating Wales and France in the quarter and semi finals . England won the final with a drop goal in the last minute of extra time .
The 2007 defence of the cup in France got off to a very poor start , with a below par victory over the United States and a heavy 36 – 0 defeat to South Africa leaving the holders on the brink of elimination at the group stage . Improved performances against Samoa and Tonga saw England again reach the knockout stages as pool runners @-@ up , before a surprise 12 – 10 defeat of Australia in Marseille and a narrow 14 – 9 victory over the host nation France carried England to a second successive final appearance . The final was played in Paris on 20 October against South Africa , who won by 15 points to 6 .
In 2011 , England reached the quarter final stage , losing 19 @-@ 12 to France .
In 2015 , England became the first sole host nation to fail to qualify for the knockout stage , exiting the pool stage after losses to Wales and Australia .
England 's Jonny Wilkinson is the highest points scorer in the rugby world cup , having scored 277 points between 1999 and 2011 . England have the fourth most points and fourth most tries scored in the World Cup .