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United Rugby Championship

The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries.

The Championship is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership and the French Top 14), the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the highest-level continental club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. Since 2022–23, despite the name, South African teams have been eligible to qualify for European competitions.

Name
The tournament has had a number of names as it has grown, both organisationally and because of sponsors. The current name for the tournament was adopted in 2021, when the league expanded to include four South African teams previously from the SANZAR Super Rugby competition and both sets of naming rights, BKT and Vodacom, were added in the 2022-23 season. Beginning with the creation of the Welsh–Scottish League in 1999, the league became known as the Celtic League when it grew to include teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The league was sponsored by Irish cider makers Magners from the 2006–07 season until 2010–11, and was referred to as the Magner's League. At the start of the 2010–11 season, the league expanded from 10 to 12 teams, adding two Italian teams.

Following the end of Magners' sponsorship, the league was sponsored by RaboDirect from 2011–12 through to 2013–14. The Pro12 name was adopted in 2011 to reflect that the league now included teams from outside the Celtic nations. A further expansion to 14 teams (and the subsequent renaming to Pro14) took place from the 2017–18 season, with two South African teams joining the Championship until the 2019–20 season. The sponsorship deal with Guinness began at the beginning of the 2014–15 season as the Guinness Pro14, and concluded after the Guinness Pro14 Rainbow Cup in July 2021. Following the rebranding to the United Rugby Championship or the URC for short, the league formed a new partnership with Roc Nation. BKT and Vodacom secured naming rights the following season.

Current format
As of 2021–22, the championship season takes place between September and May, with teams split into four regional pools: The Irish Shield pool, the Welsh Shield pool, the South African Shield pool and the Scottish and Italian Shield pool for the purpose of fixture setting.

Teams play each of the other teams in their pool twice (home and away) and each team from the other pools once (either home or away). This ensures that Irish, South African and Welsh teams each play six derby matches. For Italy and Scotland, their respective clubs play their own nations' sides only twice. All teams are sorted in a single league table.

This creates an 18-match regular season before the play-offs, essentially a full single round robin with three additional 'derby ties' (or one extra derby and two extra Scottish-Italians ties in that pool). The play-offs are made up of the top eight teams, and consist of a straight knockout tournament. Teams are seeded 1–8 and the lowest-seeded teams receive home advantage. The final is held in a pre-arranged venue.

Championship points are awarded using the bonus points system; 4 points for a win and 2 for a draw. Bonus points can be earned so long as teams either score four or more tries in a game or lose by seven points or fewer – should a team do both, two bonus points are gained.

As for European qualification, the South African teams are eligible for European competition. As of 2023, the top eight teams qualify for the Champions Cup, with the remaining teams qualifying for the Challenge Cup.

With three fewer regular season fixtures than in the Pro14, but with an extra round of playoffs, the season is truncated slightly to 21 match weeks and thus can still be scheduled to the same time period as previous models of the competition. Clashes between league matches and international weekends in November and during the Six Nations Championship have been reduced.

Due to the travelling distance between Europe and South Africa, home South African games are always played on a Saturday, allowing visiting teams to have a seven-day turnaround between fixtures, including five "clean days" that do not involve any travel. Should the draw see European teams play both South African teams away, the schedule will see the away team play the two matches back-to-back across two weeks, acting as a "mini-tour".

On 24 September 2021, URC confirmed that the top side in each regional pool after the end of the 18-game regular season would be awarded a trophy, a regional Shield. In Ireland, Wales and South Africa, this shield (the URC Irish Shield, URC Welsh Shield and URC South African Shield respectively) functions as an informal national championship title for the main professional sides, while in Scotland and Italy's shared pool, it will be a joint regional trophy. The concept is comparable to the Divisional Championships in the NFL which are also loosely geographically based. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons, the winners of each Shield were decided on the basis of all 18 regular season games played, and also guaranteed qualification for the European Rugby Champions Cup, regardless of their overall league position. However, since the start of the 2023-2024 season, this was no longer the case and the top eight teams in the league would qualify for Europe regardless of Shield position. In addition, the winners of the each Shield would be determined by the games played amongst the teams within their regional group, reaffirming its status as a specifically national championship.

Format history
The league has used a play-off structure since the 2009–10 season to determine the champions, similar to that used in the English Premiership. For the first two seasons there were two groups and a knockout to determine a winner. Starting from the 2003–04 season until the 2008–09 season, the champions were determined from league performance, with all the teams in one league. From the 2017–18 season, the regular season employed a conference structure rather than a single round robin league, with 'derby games' between teams from the same nation being protected, and an expanded playoff structure. This allowed the competition to control the calendar, and control the number of games per team.

League points are awarded using the bonus points system. Until and including the 2008–09 season, the champions were decided solely on the basis of who finished top of the league table, but since the 2009–10 season, the league champion has been decided by a play-off series, in line with other rugby club competitions such as Super Rugby, Top 14, and the English Premiership: at the conclusion of the regular season, the top four placed teams enter the semi-final stage, with the winner of the first vs fourth and second vs third play-offs entering the final (known as the "grand final" in 2010 and 2011).

Two Italian teams – the former National Championship of Excellence team Benetton Treviso, and a new team, Aironi – joined the league starting with the 2010–11 season. Aironi was replaced by Zebre from the 2012–13 season. Through the 2012–13 season, the Welsh, Irish, Scottish and Italian rugby unions used the league as the sole determinant for Heineken Cup qualification, and from 2013–14 they use it as the sole means of qualification for the successor to the Heineken Cup, the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Two South African teams - Southern Kings and Cheetahs joined the competition in 2017 to create Pro14, while the four remaining professional franchises stayed in Super Rugby. The competition adopted a modified two-conference format rather than a full round-robin single table, with extra fixtures to maintain national derby matches. As weaker provinces, both struggled in the three years in which they took part, and were ineligible for European competition. The terminal financial difficulties at Southern Kings, and the COVID-19 pandemic effectively ended their participation in 2020, and there was no South African participation in the 2020 season, although the competition retained the Pro14 name.

Despite the difficulties, however, the competition proved attractive to the South African Rugby Football Union, due to shared time zones and reduced travelling, and the four major Super Rugby franchises - Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions joined the renamed United Rugby Championship the following year, firstly through the transitional Pro14 Rainbow Cup, held in a split tournament format across Europe and South Africa, and then the United Rugby Championship, this time eligible for European competition. Ironically, Cheetahs, no longer in the URC, were invited to join the European competition as well, along with Georgian side, Black Lion. South African team, Stormers, won the first edition of URC in an all South African final, before being runner-up in the second season to Irish side, Munster.

Corporate organisation
The legal name of the body running the competition is PRO Rugby Championship DAC, a private company limited by shares based in Ireland. The organisation is responsible for running and operating the URC and is currently owned equally by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) may become a shareholder subject to it meeting certain conditions.

The board of Celtic Rugby DAC is made up of representatives from the IRFU, SRU, WRU, ProRugby Wales, the FIR and the South African Rugby Union. The chief executive is Martin Anayi.

In 2020 the championship received an investment from CVC Capital Partners who acquired a 28% share in the championship.

The organisation's headquarters are at Millbank House, Sandyford, Dublin 18.

Media coverage
Starting in the 2010–11 season, the League was broadcast live on BBC Two Wales, BBC Two Northern Ireland, RTÉ, the Irish language channel TG4, the Scottish Gaelic channel BBC Alba, the Welsh language channel S4C. The BBC Two Wales matches were usually made available to the rest of the United Kingdom via BBC Red Button. Complete match replays were also available on the BBC iPlayer. Each broadcaster provided feeds to the others for matches in their home territory. While this meant that the league was now available free to air in the UK and Ireland, in Italy it was only available on a subscription basis in its first year.

Commencing from the 2014–15 season, Sky Sports became one of the league's broadcast partners, broadcasting 33 live games on a Saturday and also showing both the semi-finals and the final live. Its contract concluded at the end of 2017–18 season.

Also starting in the 2014–15 season, Italy's Nuvolari began broadcasting the games involving the two Italian clubs live on its digital free-to-view channel. Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh matches were also broadcast live on BBC Radio Scotland.

From the 2018–19 season, coverage of the tournament was taken over by Premier Sports in the UK, EirSport in Ireland, DAZN in Italy, and Supersport in South Africa.

Coverage of the tournament can be found in other territories – on beIN Sports in France, and on various Setanta Sports channels around the globe (including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South East Asia and the Middle East), as well as EuroSport.

Broadcast coverage history
Current broadcasters:
 * URC TV (Ireland and other countries without broadcaster) (2021–present)
 * TG4 (Ireland - Irish language) (2001–2004, 2010–present)
 * Television New Zealand (2023–present)
 * RTÉ Sport (Ireland) (2010–2014, 2021–present)
 * S4C (Wales - Welsh language) (2001–present)
 * BBC Wales (2001–2018, 2021–present)
 * BBC Northern Ireland (2001–2004, 2010–2018, 2021–present)
 * Eurosport (non-Core markets) (2016–present)
 * DAZN (Germany) (2018–present)
 * FloSports (USA) (2022–Present)
 * Star+ (Latin America) (2022–Present)
 * SuperSport (South Africa) (2017–present)
 * Viaplay Sports (UK and Ireland) (UK: 2018–present) (Ireland: 2021–present)
 * Premier Sports Asia (2020−)
 * SKY Sport Italy (2003, 2023−)

Past broadcasters:
 * Sky Sports (2014–2018)
 * eir sport (Ireland) (2018–2021)
 * Setanta Sports (Live 2004–2010, Highlights 2010–2018)
 * The Rugby Channel (2016–2018)
 * beIN Sports (2014–2018)
 * BBC Alba (2010–2018)
 * BBC Scotland (UK)
 * STV (Live 2009–2010, Highlights 2010–2013)
 * Dahlia TV (2010–2011)
 * Sportitalia (2012–2013)
 * Nuvolari (2014–2015)
 * RAI Sport (2011–2012, 2015–2016)
 * DAZN (Italy, Canada) (2018–2021)
 * Mediaset (Italy) (2013–2014, 2021−2022)
 * Eurosport Italia: (2016–2018; 2022–2023)
 * Setanta Sports (Asia) (2011–2020)
 * ESPN (USA) (2018–2021)
 * Spark Sport (2021-2023)

From 2004 to 2009, the Scottish and Irish rights were owned by Setanta Sports. Setanta closed down in Scotland in 2009, but Setanta Ireland and Setanta Sports 1 remained available to Irish subscribers. In 2010, RTÉ Sport, BBC Northern Ireland, TG4, BBC Wales, BBC Alba and SKY Italia came together to buy the Celtic League broadcasting rights.

On 2 May 2013, Sky Sports announced that it had agreed a four-year deal to broadcast 33 live matches each season. This deal commenced at the start of season 2014–15, Sky have 30 exclusive matches but are only allowed to cover one set of fixtures; for instance, only one Leinster v Munster match was live on Sky with the other on TG4. Regional screening of matches continued, BBC Wales show Scrum V Live on Friday Night with S4C covering a match now on Sunday afternoons. BBC Alba also screened matches, with some also available in English on BBC Scotland, although BBC Alba did offer English language commentary via their Red Button service when the match was not shown on BBC Scotland. BBC Northern Ireland screened all Ulster matches not available on Sky Sports. RTÉ Sport dropped their coverage after the 2014 final due to budget cuts, making TG4 the only broadcasters of the competition in the Republic of Ireland. The semi-finals and finals are available to all broadcasters.

On 31 August 2017, SuperSport announced that it had acquired the rights to broadcast matches within South Africa.

On 30 April 2018, PRO14 Rugby signed a partnership with Premier Sports and FreeSports to broadcast every Pro14 game live in high definition across the UK for at least the next three years. The agreement, which came into effect for the 2018–19 season, also saw at least one match per round shown live free-to-air on FreeSports.

Teams
The league is based on regionalised, provincial and franchise representation of the participating nations, except for Benetton which represents the city of Treviso itself. Benetton was selected for its long history after the project of a second Italian regional team, Praetorians Roma, failed. South Africa and Ireland use explicitly provincial structures, the former operating on a franchise system. Wales employs a regional structure built on an original club foundation where regions originally represented a combination of local premiership clubs, while Scotland employs the opposite, a 'two city club' system which maps over previous regional teams.

 * Benetton Rugby won the Pro14 Rainbow Cup, a transitional 'spring league' conference-based tournament that took place between the Pro14 and URC incarnations of the competition. The victory is recognised as an official URC title for the Italians, the first ever won by a team from that country, but is not recognised as part of the annual continuity of the main tournament league.

Italian participation since 2010–11
The Celtic League board met in November 2008 to explore the possibility of Italian participation; the chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union, Roger Lewis, stated that the league was looking "favourably" on Italian participation. Following a 19 December 2008 board meeting of the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) to discuss proposals to improve Italian rugby, FIR announced that it would submit a proposal to join the Celtic League.

FIR had two possibilities – either entering four existing Italian clubs from the National Championship of Excellence into the league; or creating two teams of Italy-qualified players exclusively for the competition. On 18 July 2009, the FIR announced that Aironi and Praetorians Roma would compete in the Celtic League from the start of the 2010–11 season – beating bids from Benetton Treviso and Duchi Nord-Ovest. Praetorians would be based in Rome at the Stadio Flaminio, while Aironi would be based in Viadana but would play some matches in the city of Reggio Emilia. On 2 October 2009, the FIR proposed Benetton Treviso in place of Praetorians Roma.

On 28 January 2010, the FIR declared that they had withdrawn from negotiations with the Celtic League regarding two Italian teams joining the tournament, with the main issue being a €3 million warranty asked for by the league,  but by 7 February, the Italian clubs had come up with the required funding. By 8 March 2010, a deal had been finalised for Aironi and Benetton Treviso to enter the Celtic League from the 2010–11 season, with each team guaranteed a place in the Heineken Cup.

At the end of the 2011–12 season, however, Aironi were no longer available to compete in future competitions as a regional club, as, on 6 April 2012, they were refused a licence to continue on financial grounds. They were replaced by another Italian side, Zebre (now Zebre Parma).

Former teams
Thirty separate teams have taken part in the various versions of the Championship. Of the fourteen teams no longer involved, nine were Welsh premiership clubs, replaced by five new regions. One of those Welsh regions, two South African franchises, One Scottish region and one Italian franchise make up the rest of the historic teams. Only the four Irish provinces and the original Scottish regions have been ever present (Cardiff Rugby, Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons have changed their names). Of the fourteen, the nine Welsh clubs and Cheetahs continue to compete in other competitions.

Notes:

 * Before regionalisation, Wales was represented by nine Welsh Premiership clubs from 2001 to 2003. Following this they were replaced with five regional clubs, of which Celtic Warriors only lasted a single season.
 * The Border Reivers, added in 2002, were disbanded by the Scottish Rugby Union in 2007 as part of cost-cutting measures.
 * Aironi was replaced by Zebre in 2012, meaning that the number of Italian teams remained at two.
 * The two South African clubs Cheetahs and Southern Kings exited the league in 2020 as a result of travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other nations
After the successful negotiations with Italy, talks were held intermittently with South Africa about the possible expansion of the Pro12. A 24-team Rainbow Cup involving 11 Celtic, 9 South African and 4 Italian teams was announced in 2005, but the idea was abandoned because of financial issues on the European end of the deal and changes in the leadership of the South African Rugby Union (SARU).

London Welsh expressed interest in 2006 in joining the Celtic League if promotion and relegation were to be removed from the English Premiership.

In February 2009, South Africa was rumoured to be negotiating entry of its current Super Rugby teams into the Celtic League, to take effect when the media contract between SANZAR and News Corporation expires after the 2010 season; these rumours were immediately denied by SA Rugby, the commercial arm of SARU. In the end, nothing came of these rumours, and the competition remained a strictly European affair.

In a 2016 interview with The Irish Times, IRFU CEO Philip Browne indicated that the Pro12 was seriously considering establishing a US franchise on the country's Atlantic coast in the near future, seeing the recent growth of the sport in the US as an opportunity to help close some of the financial gap between Pro12 and Europe's two major domestic leagues, the English Premiership and France's Top 14. Browne added that Pro12 was also looking to expand further into Continental Europe by teaming with major association football clubs, some of which already have rugby sections.

In August 2016, Pro12 officials began talks with the unions of both Canada and the United States about expansion before the end of the decade, with interest in putting teams on the east coasts of both countries. In September 2016, it emerged that Vancouver and Houston may be target cities, primarily due to weather considerations, though the distance from the other teams may make that more of a challenge.

While the North American plan remains active, media attention turned in 2017 toward a new possibility of South African teams entering the competition. Following the decision of Super Rugby organiser SANZAAR to drop three teams from the competition (two from South Africa), multiple media reports indicated that the two likeliest South African sides to be axed, the Cheetahs and Southern Kings, could be added to Pro12 as early as the 2017–18 season. A later BBC report indicated that the Cheetahs and Kings would be added once their removal from Super Rugby was formally announced on 7 July, though neither Celtic Rugby Limited, the South African Rugby Union, nor the two teams would comment on the report. A week after the Cheetahs and Kings' departure from Super Rugby was confirmed, the BBC reported that Celtic Rugby Limited was expected to officially add those teams at the organisation's next board meeting on 18 July. While no announcement came on that date, media in both South Africa and Britain reported that SARU's chief executive was at Celtic Rugby's headquarters in Dublin to finalise the addition of the Cheetahs and Kings, with Reuters calling the expansion "the worst kept secret in rugby". The addition of the two South African teams was officially confirmed on 1 August 2017. The Southern Kings entered liquidation in September 2020 and therefore withdrew from the league.

In September 2020, the league confirmed they were looking for a replacement team for Southern Kings and possible expansion to more teams in South Africa to enter the league in 2021. Later that month, SA rugby voted that their Super Rugby sides (Lions, Stormers, Sharks, Bulls) would enter the Pro 14 to replace the liquidated Kings and the Cheetahs, who were withdrawn before the 2021 season.

Current standings
The most recent regular season began on 15 September 2023.

Formative years and the Welsh-Scottish League
Pan-Celtic tournaments were proposed throughout the early professional era, with the creation of the Heineken Cup in 1995 demonstrating that inter-domestic competitions were financially viable. From 1995 onwards, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) and Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) discussed a number of Celtic league and cup competitions, discussions were also held with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to form a British & Irish league. These discussions would eventually lead the WRU and the RFU to establish the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2005, and all four unions to establish the British and Irish Cup in 2009.

The first material steps toward a Celtic league were taken before the 1999–2000 season, when the Scottish districts Edinburgh and Glasgow were formally invited to join the fully professional Welsh Premier Division, creating the Welsh–Scottish League. By 2001, an agreement was made with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to bring in the four Irish provinces. The 2001–02 season saw additional matches and a new league structure played alongside the continuing Welsh–Scottish League and the Inter-Provincial Championship in Ireland. The new format was named the Celtic League. The Celtic League had developed by 2005, and the tournament became the sole professional league in Ireland and Scotland (the Anglo-Welsh Cup and semi-pro Welsh Premiership continued in Wales) and had entirely replaced both the Welsh–Scottish League, and the Inter-Provincial Championship.

2001–02
The first full season of a pan-Celtic competition saw 15 teams compete: the four Irish provinces (Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster), two Scottish teams (Edinburgh Reivers and Glasgow) and all nine Welsh professional teams (Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff RFC, Ebbw Vale, Llanelli, Neath, Newport, Pontypridd and Swansea).

Played alongside each country's own domestic competitions, the teams were split into two groups (of eight and seven) and played a series of round-robin matches with each team playing the other only once. The top four teams from each group proceeded into the knock-out phase until a champion was found. Clashes between teams in the Welsh–Scottish League also counted towards the new competition.

The 2001–02 competition was dominated by the Irish teams with all four sides reaching the last eight, three progressing to the semi-finals, and the thrilling final played at Lansdowne Road contested between Leinster and Munster with Leinster running out 24–20 winners.

2002–03
Champions Leinster failed to make the quarter-final stage in 2003. In their absence, Munster went on to win the competition by beating Connacht 33–3 in the quarter-finals, Ulster 42–10 in the semi-finals, and Neath 37–17 in the final played in Cardiff.

The format of the Celtic League remained the same for the second season, but saw the addition of a third Scottish district, the newly re-established Scottish Borders. However, the Welsh-Scottish league structure ended permanently in 2002, allowing for the expansion of the Celtic league format in the following season.

2003–04
A major change in Celtic League came before the start of the 2003–04 season. The Welsh Rugby Union voted to create five new regional sides (Cardiff Blues, Celtic Warriors, Llanelli Scarlets, Neath–Swansea Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons). It was agreed that the Celtic League would become the sole professional league of the three countries, incorporating the four Irish, three Scottish and five new Welsh professional teams.

Reformatted into a traditional league competition (double round-robin style, all clubs play each other twice, once home, once away), which meant that a season long 22-round match program was launched, and with a new strength in depth due to the amalgamation of Welsh teams and the continuing strengthening of Irish and Scottish teams through the re-signing and retention of star players, the league has been in rugby terms a success. Also introduced for the 2003–04 season was the Celtic Cup, a straight knock-out cup competition between the 12 Celtic League teams.

However, the unfortunate timing of the league's launch and poor organisation of a working calendar meant that first the 2003 Rugby World Cup and later the Six Nations Championship prevented many of the league's top stars from playing in over half the games. This caused the league to struggle commercially, especially regarding the newly adopted regions in Wales where the game has always traditionally been played on a club basis, not having the regional histories of Ireland or Scotland. The season ended with the Llanelli Scarlets running out as eventual winners, four points ahead of Ulster.

2004–05
The Welsh Rugby Union controversially purchased and liquidated the Celtic Warriors so that the 2004–05 season saw eleven teams compete in the Celtic League. The new format took the league into what many saw as a make-or-break season, clear of massive distractions such as the Rugby World Cup. With the Welsh regions partly embedded, the signs were that the Celtic League would be a competition that could continue. It was suggested that Italian sides might join an expanded Celtic League, an idea that eventually happened in 2010.

The league format was further refined at the end of the 2003–04 season, with the participants better managing the dates of the matches so as to not interfere with the national squad set-ups and to make the league more commercially viable. The league was played until April, and then the Celtic Cup was contested among the top eight teams.

The 2004–05 season was the first season that Ireland agreed to use the Celtic League standings to determine which provinces would enter the Heineken Cup. The IRFU had previously classed Connacht as a "development" team and so nominated Leinster, Munster and Ulster over Connacht. The IRFU also insisted on International squad training sessions taking precedence over Celtic League matches, with Irish provinces (especially Munster and Leinster) occasionally fielding virtual second teams for Celtic League games. Some claimed this had the effect of devaluing the competition. However, despite this approach, Munster finished second and Leinster third, with Munster winning the Celtic Cup. The Ospreys topped the league table, making it two in a row for Welsh regional sides.

2005–06
In 2005, there were discussions over a potential Anglo-Welsh Cup competition which some saw as undermining the Celtic League. Despite Welsh assurances that the proposed Anglo-Welsh tournament would not interfere with their commitments to either the Celtic League in its present format or an expanded 'Rainbow League', the WRU made arrangements to play games on five weekends that clashed with Celtic League fixtures. The SRU and IRFU then threatened to expel the Welsh sides from the Celtic League in June 2005. It was proposed that the competition would continue as a Scottish and Irish affair for the 2005–06 season, with the possible addition of four Italian sides and the re-admittance of Welsh sides for the 2006–07 season. However a deal was reached that allowed for the Celtic League to continue with the Anglo-Welsh cup fixtures involving Welsh clubs rescheduled.

Despite these problems, the league enjoyed its most successful season, with the record attendance at a Celtic League match being broken four times, from 12,436 at the match between the Cardiff Blues and the Newport Gwent Dragons in December to 15,327 for the match between the Cardiff Blues and Leinster at the Millennium Stadium. The total attendances for the season were up nearly 50,000 at 571,331 compared to 521,449 for the previous season.

The league went down to the last round with Ulster and Leinster both in contention. Following Leinster's victory over Edinburgh and with Ulster losing against the Ospreys, it looked like the cup would go to Dublin but David Humphreys kicked a last-minute drop goal from 40 metres to clinch the game and the league for Ulster.

2006–07
In May 2006, Magners Irish Cider were named as the competition sponsors for the next five seasons, and the league was renamed as the Magners League. Although known as Bulmers Irish Cider in the Republic of Ireland, the Magners brand name was used there for the league. The sponsorship followed on from Magners' previous sponsorship deals with Edinburgh and the London Wasps.

The Scottish Rugby Union announced that the Borders territory would be disbanded from the end of the 2006–07 season. It may be revived when the Scottish Rugby Union debt decreases enough to make it financially viable along with a possible fourth Scottish territory (four professional teams being the original plan for the SRU) with Falkirk, Stirling or a London-based team being possible locations; or even the Caledonia Reds, the forgotten Scottish region. In the meantime Scotland would have only two professional teams based in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The league's record attendance was smashed in this season with a full house at Lansdowne Road (48,000) for Leinster v Ulster. This was the last game in the stadium prior to its demolition, and was billed as "The Last Stand".

The league was won by the Ospreys on the final day of fixtures. The Blues' home win over Leinster allowed the Ospreys to top the league by a single point and take the title with an away win at Borders.

2007–08
Only ten teams competed in the 2007–08 season, after the Borders were disbanded at the end of the 2006–07 season. Glasgow Warriors moved their home games to Firhill. After missing out on the title on the last day for the previous two seasons, Leinster finally won the 2007–08 title with one game remaining. They had been runaway leaders for much of the season.

In April 2008 it was announced that the Celtic League was to introduce a play-off system commencing in the 2009–10 season to determine the winner, thus generating a greater climax to the season and bringing it in line with other major leagues such as the English Premiership and French Top 14.

2008–09
The 2008–09 season was decided quite early in the season as Munster claimed the title without playing, as they were preparing for their Heineken Cup semi-final against Leinster. The final challenge from Ospreys was snuffed out when the Dragons denied them a bonus point win on 30 April. Munster had led pretty much from the start of the season with a team largely captained by Mick O'Driscoll showing Munster's squad depth. Munster lost only four games, three to the other Irish teams, including a double loss to Ulster. Felipe Contepomi finished as league top scorer for Leinster, the year they went on to win the Heineken Cup.

2009–10
The 2009–10 season was the last 10-team league as the Italian teams joined in 2010–11. The league was one of the most competitive in years with perennial wooden-spooners Connacht challenging Ulster all the way for the third Irish Heineken Cup spot. Ulster needed a superb away bonus point win at Edinburgh to seal it, ending Edinburgh's own play-off hopes. Scarlets had a disappointing campaign as typical Welsh underdogs the Dragons had a great season, eventually finishing mid table and comfortably qualifying for the Heineken Cup. Luckily for the Scarlets, Cardiff Blues won the Amlin Cup and thereby earned Wales an extra Heineken Cup place. 2009–10 was also the first time a play-off was used to decide the champion, previously the top team at the end of the season was champion. The Scottish teams and particularly Glasgow came of age and had a fine season, finishing third in the end.

The four qualifiers for the play-offs were Leinster, Ospreys, Glasgow and Munster in that order, each country having at least one team. In the semi-finals Leinster defeated Munster at the RDS, after Ospreys overcame Glasgow in Swansea. In the 2010 Celtic League Grand Final at the RDS in Dublin the Ospreys shocked Leinster, winning the title 17–12 with their first win in Dublin in five years.

2010–11
The 2010–11 saw the introduction of the two Italian sides, Aironi and Benetton Treviso. In the new 12 team format, the play-offs came down to Munster hosting the Ospreys in one semi-final, and Leinster hosting Ulster in the other.

The two home sides went on to win their respective matches and the final was held in Thomond Park, home of Munster rugby, where they defeated Leinster (who had just been crowned champions of Europe a week earlier).

2011–12
The 2011–12 season saw a re-branding of the competition as the RaboDirect Pro12. Leinster were the runaway winners of the regular season, with a 10-point cushion over the Ospreys in second. The top four were Leinster, Ospreys, Munster and Warriors in that order. Ospreys easily overcame Munster at home in the first semi-final in Swansea while Leinster beat the Glasgow Warriors in the RDS after giving up a strong lead. In the final, also held at the RDS, Leinster were aiming to become the first Celtic League team to complete a domestic and European double, after beating Ulster the previous week in the Heineken Cup final. After trailing for most of the game, Ospreys took a late lead through a try by Shane Williams. Dan Biggar then landed a difficult conversion to give Ospreys their fourth title by a single point, 31–30.

After two years in the competition Aironi played their final match, as their licence to compete was revoked by the FIR for financial reasons.

2012–13
With the demise of Aironi they were replaced with a new FIR controlled team to be based in Parma called Zebre, near the Aironi base in Viadana. The Welsh clubs chose to operate under a new self-imposed salary cap, which led to a number of departures from the Welsh teams as they strove to balance their books. Some high-profile Welsh players moved to the French Top 14, but other Pro12 teams also benefited with the likes of Casey Laulala going to Munster from Cardiff Blues, Sean Lamont to Glasgow from Scarlets, Dan Parks from Cardiff Blues to Connacht and Tommy Bowe from Ospreys back to Ulster.

Ulster topped the table in the regular season, with Leinster, Glasgow and Scarlets completing the top 4 in that order. They then went on to comfortably beat Scarlets 28–17 in Belfast, while Leinster were hard pressed by Glasgow in a tense 17–15 win for the hosts. In the final (held in the R.D.S. due to redevelopment of Ravenhill) Leinster prevailed 24–18 to win their 3rd title.

2013–14
Rabo Direct announced that this was to be their last season as sponsors. This, combined with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of the European Cup, meant that there were concerns over the future commercial viability of the tournament. However, despite all off-field issues it was a successful season with a new high for both total attendance and for a single game (51,700 for Leinster v Munster).

In the end Leinster topped the table, having led for most of the season. Glasgow had a late surge to finish 2nd overtaking Munster and Ulster in the process. All four teams showed they were worthy contenders in the next round with Leinster needing to score a late try to beat Ulster 13–9 in Dublin while Glasgow just got past Munster in Scotstoun by one point to win 16–15. The final in the R.D.S. was also a close game for most of the match with Leinster forced to defend for long periods. However they eventually pulled clear, adding two late scores which made the final result look somewhat lopsided at 34–12.

2014–15
The RaboDirect title sponsor was replaced by Guinness. With the Heineken Cup being replaced by the 20-team European Rugby Champions Cup in the 2014–15 season, the Pro12 table had a greater impact on qualification. Under the previous format, the Pro12 provided a minimum of 10 teams, with Scotland and Italy providing two teams each, and Ireland and Wales both providing three. The new system saw a total of seven teams, with one place now being reserved for the highest-finishing Pro12 team from each of four participating countries and three other qualifiers based solely on league position. The other teams were entered in the new second-tier competition, the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Leinster were the defending champions having beaten Glasgow Warriors in the previous season's playoff final, to become the first team in the league to successfully retain the trophy. Leinster were unable to defend their title as they failed to qualify for the end-of-season playoffs for the top four teams after the regular season. Glasgow Warriors finished the regular season on top of the table, and were crowned champions for the first time, beating second seeded team Munster 31–13 in the final. Thus, the Warriors became the first Scottish team to win a professional trophy, beating Edinburgh's appearance in the final of the 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup.

2015–16
With the 2015 Rugby World Cup taking place during the opening months of the season, changes were made to the usual fixture schedule to minimise the effect on teams who released players to take part. The low number of games in the opening weeks of the season led to fixture congestion at the end of the tournament, with each team playing a game every weekend for 16 weeks straight from October 2015 to January 2016, including European matches.

As in the previous season, qualification to the European Champions Cup was guaranteed to the top team from each country participating in the league, with the three highest placed team's not already qualified also earning a berth. Unlike in the previous season where the 20th tournament spot was decided by a play-off involving teams from the Pro12, France's Top 14 and the English Premiership, due to fixture congestion from the World Cup, the final spot in the tournament was reserved for the winner of the 2015 European Challenge Cup if not already qualified.

The delayed start to the season, and absence of established international players during international Test and Six Nations windows, arguably gave some advantage to 'lesser' teams, and Connacht, coached by Pat Lam, duly led the league for much of the season. Despite not ultimately finishing top of the league, they converted their form into a maiden championship title in the post-league play-off matches, including a home semi-final victory over reigning champions Glasgow Warriors, and the Pro12 Final against league-topping Leinster at the neutral venue of Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.

2016–17
Despite losing their first three matches, the Scarlets finished third in the league. They became the first team in the Pro 12's history to win an away semi-final, beating Leinster 27–15 at the RDS Arena, before beating league-topping Munster 46–22 at the Aviva Stadium. Scarlets wing Steff Evans ended up as the league's top try scorer with 11 tries.

2017–18
Big changes happened this season with the addition of two South African teams and a change from a league format of home and away to a conference structure championship. The 14 teams were split into two conferences of seven teams each. They play each team in their own conference twice (12 games) and each team in the other conference once (7 games), plus two derby games against the team(s) in the other conference from their own country, making 21 matches in total. The team that finishes top in each conference qualifies directly, one for each of the semi-finals, while the teams that finish second and third in each conference qualify as the four quarter-finalists to determine the other two semi-finalists.

Leinster would regain the title at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and would become the first Pro14 side to ever win a European and Domestic double, they did so by beating previous holders Scarlets in a high scoring affair, 40-32. The two sides had already met in the European Semi-Final only a few weeks prior to the playoff final in very similar circumstances, at the same stadium and with much of the same lineup either side. It was Leinsters fifth domestic title.

2018–19
The two conference format continued this season. The top three eligible European teams in each conference automatically qualified for following year's Champions Cup. The fourth ranked eligible team in each conference met in a play-off match with the winner taking the seventh Champions Cup place. As Leinster lost the Champions Cup final on 11 May 2019, Ospreys hosted Scarlets in the play-off on 18 May 2019. Ospreys secured the sole Wales Champions Cup place for following season by defeating Scarlets 21-10. The Pro14 final was played between Glasgow Warriors and Leinster and was played at Celtic Park in Glasgow. Leinster won the game 18–15 to retain the title.

2019–20
All teams played their normal schedule until round 13 after which an additional two rounds of derby matches were played by the 12 European teams. The Southern Kings announced in August 2020 that they had voluntarily withdrawn from the league for the remainder of 2020. The top four eligible European teams in both conferences automatically qualify for the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup. (The South African teams did not compete in the Champions Cup.) Qualification was based on league position after round 13. The grand final match was due to be held at Cardiff City Stadium, however, on 19 March 2020, Celtic Rugby DAC cancelled the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The re-arranged match took place on 12 September 2020 at the Aviva Stadium between defending champions Leinster and Ulster. Leinster won the match 27–5 to defend their title and complete a hat-trick of title wins.

2020–21
Twelve teams competed in this season — four Irish teams: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster; two Italian teams: Benetton and Zebre; two Scottish teams: Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors; and four Welsh teams: Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets. Neither of the two South African teams competed this season, with the Cheetahs unable to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Southern Kings having entered into voluntary liquidation due to heavy financial losses.

Due to the delays experienced during the 2019–20 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 season started later than usual on 2 October 2020. Leinster won their fourth consecutive Pro14 title and 8th overall defeating Munster in the grand final on 27 March.

Rainbow Cup
The 2020–21 Pro14 was reduced to twelve teams as the two South African teams - the Cheetahs and Southern Kings - were not allowed to travel internationally in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, the Southern Kings ceased operations and the South African Rugby Union council began exploring the possibility of the four South African former Super Rugby teams - the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers - joining an expanded Pro14. PRO14 Rugby announced in December 2020 that the 2020–21 Pro14 regular season would conclude after 16 rounds, and the top team from each conference would advance to a final in March 2021. The Pro14 Rainbow Cup then commenced in April and introduced the four new South African teams. The first-placed teams from each tournament, Benetton and Bulls, played in the final in Treviso. Benetton won 35–8 in front of their home crowd for a historic first win of an international competition for any Italian club.

2021–22
The tournament consisted of 18 rounds. There were four regional pools: The Irish Shield pool (featuring the four Irish teams), the Welsh Shield pool (featuring the four Welsh teams), the South African Shield pool (featuring the four South African teams) and the Scottish/Italian 'Azzurri/Blue' Shield pool (featuring the two Italian and two Scottish sides). Teams play six matches against their regional pool rivals home and away. The remaining twelve matches are made up by a single round robin, consisting of an even number of six home and six away matches against all the sides from the other pools.

The first United Rugby Championship Final was an all-South African derby, ensuring the first ever South African winner of the tournament, the Bulls having narrowly missed out on winning the transitional Pro14 Rainbow Cup competition. It also marked the first time in the history of the competition that a Grand final play-off match has not included at least one Irish province, a run of 14 finals. The Stormers defeated the Bulls 18–13 in Cape Town.

2022–23
The tournament consisted of 21 rounds; 18 rounds of regular season play, followed by three rounds of play-offs. The final, held on 27 May 2023, saw Munster defeat defending champions the Stormers by a score of 19–14.

Results
Since its inception, the competition has been dominated by Irish teams; in 21 years of the competition, Ireland has provided 13 of the champions, and 13 runners-up. The dominant team in this era has been Leinster, who have appeared in eleven out of 15 playoff finals, been both a winner and runner up in the 'round-robin' era, and have won 8 league titles in total, including 'four in a row' between 2017 and 2022. The two closest rivals to this dominance have been domestic and European rivals Munster with three titles and six runners-up spots, and Welsh flagship Ospreys with two titles in the round-robin era and two in the play-offs era. Ulster, Connacht, Scarlets (twice, once as Llanelli Scarlets, once as Scarlets), Glasgow Warriors and Stormers have also taken home the title. The 2021–22 tournament marked the first title won by a South African team: the Stormers. That year's competition also featured the first grand final not to contain a single Irish team as the losing finalists, the Bulls, were also South African.

No Italian side has yet reached an ordinary league final. The best play-off performance from the nation was a single quarter-final appearance: in 2019 for Benetton Rugby for Italy. Benetton did however emerge as champions of the Covid-affected transitional championship, the Pro14 Rainbow Cup, which was designed to introduce the former Super Rugby sides to European rugby competition. Although not treated as a championship in the ordinary lineal line, the 2021 Rainbow Cup is considered an official URC competition, along with the defunct Celtic Cup knockout tournament. As such, every country in the competition has at least once taken home league-wide silverware.

As of 2022, four Regional Shields will also be awarded annually. The inaugural winners of the Irish, Welsh, South African and Scottish-Italian URC Shields were Leinster, Ospreys, Stormers and Edinburgh respectively.

League
Below are the list of champions, runners-up and table toppers each season.

* in progress

Celtic Cup
The Celtic Cup was a short-lived single elimination knock-out competition, held alongside the Celtic League.

Rainbow Cup
The Pro14 Rainbow Cup was a one-off 'transitional' or 'Spring Season' tournament created to facilitate the integration of the four South African sides into the United Rugby Championship. ahead of the 2021–22 season. For the first time, an Italian team and a South African team reached the final of an official Celtic League/Pro Rugby competition, with Benetton Treviso winning Italy's first-ever trophy at Pro Rugby level.

Regional Shields
From the 2021–2022 season, a trophy will be awarded to each team that finishes top of its regional 'pool' (with Scottish and Italian teams sharing a trophy). The Irish Shield, Welsh Shield, South African Shield and Scottish-Italian Shield champions will also receive guaranteed entry to the following season's European Rugby Champions Cup, regardless of position in the overall table.

'Perfect Seasons' and League-Europe 'doubles'
Only one team has achieved the feat of winning every match during a season of the competition, Leinster Rugby, who have achieved the 'perfect season ' twice; 2001-02 and 2019-20.

Leinster are also the only team from the competition to achieve a domestic and European double, winning a 'minor double' with the 2012–13 Pro12 title and the 2012–13 European Challenge Cup, before claiming the 'full double' of the 2017–18 Pro14 and the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup.

The Champions Cup has been won by URC clubs on seven occasions, Leinster 4 times, Munster twice and Ulster once. The Challenge Cup has come back to the league four times, once with Leinster, twice with Cardiff Rugby and once with Sharks.

Career
Bold indicates active player in United Rugby Championship

Updated as of 29 May 2023 Statistics do not include those from Celtic Cup or Rainbow Cup matches.

 * Most successful kicks: 397 – Dan Parks, Glasgow, Cardiff Blues and Connacht

Season
Updated as 29 May 2023
 * Most successful kicks: 99 – Neil Jenkins, Celtic Warriors, 2003–04
 * Most appearances: 24 – Rob Harley, Glasgow, 2013–14; Finlay Bealham, Connacht, 2015–16; Hadleigh Parkes, Scarlets, 2016–17

List of final venues
From 2002 to 2003 and from 2010 to 2014, the higher ranked team in the final were the hosting team. Between 2003 and 2010, no play-off was held and final standings determined the champion. However, from the 2014–15 Pro12 season onward, a pre-determined stadium was chosen at the start of the season that would host the final. In 2021–22, the inaugural United Rugby Championship season, the competition reverted to the highest seeded team hosting the final.

With 5 finals, RDS Arena, the home stadium of Leinster Rugby, has hosted the final most often. Of the five participating nations, only Italy have not yet hosted a linear final, although Benetton Rugby did host the transitional Pro14 Rainbow Cup final in their stadium, Stadio Comunale di Monigo.

title: United Rugby Championship


text:
List of Oceanian Jews

The vast majority of Jews in Oceania (estimation 120,000) live in Australia, with a population of about 7,000 in New Zealand (6867, according to the 2013 NZ Census). Most are Ashkenazi Jews, with many being survivors of the Holocaust arriving during and after World War II. More recently, a significant number of Jews have arrived from South Africa, Israel, the United Kingdom and Russia. The official number of people who practised Judaism in the 2001 census was only 121,459 but this number is expected to be much higher, as it did not count those overseas (i.e. dual Australian-Israeli nationals) or many non-practicing Jews who prefer not to disclose religion in the census are more common. Ironically, ever since the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Australia's Jewish population has hovered around 0.5% of the total counted.

The vast majority of Australia's Jews live in inner suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney with smaller populations, in numerical order, in Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Adelaide. Currently, there are also recognised communities in Ballarat, Bendigo/Castlemaine, Canberra, Geelong, Gosford, Hobart, Launceston and Newcastle.

In Melbourne, the Jewish population centre is Caulfield where there are streets with nearly a 100% Jewish population; the main areas of settlement spread out from Caulfield in two arcs: south through St Kilda, Elwood, Elsternwick, Brighton, Moorabbin and right down to Frankston; east through Toorak, Malvern, Hawthorn, Kew, Balwyn to Doncaster. In Sydney the major areas of Jewish settlement are in the east and on the North Shore, in particular the suburbs of Bondi, Dover Heights, Rose Bay, Vaucluse, St Ives and Hunters Hill.

In New Zealand, most Jews live in Auckland and Wellington with smaller populations in Dunedin and Christchurch. Dunedin synagogue has possibly the world's southernmost Jewish congregation.

The following is a list of prominent Oceanian Jews, arranged by country of origin.

Academic figures

 * Roy Clive Abraham, linguist
 * Samuel Alexander, philosopher
 * Neal Ashkanasy, psychologist and emotional intelligence academic
 * Phillip Blashki, successful businessman, magistrate, JP
 * Bernard Boas, marriage guidance counsellor, broadcaster, author of biblical treatises
 * Ron Castan, barrister and rights advocate
 * Sir Zelman Cowen, Governor-General (1977–1982), lawyer, university lecturer (including past appointments as Provost, Dean and Vice-Chancellor)
 * Linda Dessau, 29th Governor of Victoria, and former Family Court Judge
 * Marcus Einfeld, former Federal Court judge
 * Alan Finkel, Australia's Chief Scientist
 * Sir Otto Frankel, geneticist
 * Bryan Gaensler, astronomer and former Young Australian of the Year
 * Fred Hilmer, academic, lawyer and businessman
 * David Isaacs, architect and structural engineer, musician and composer
 * Phillip Isaacs, architect and structural engineer
 * Joseph Jacobs, historian and folklorist
 * Justice Stephen Kaye, judge of the Court of Appeal
 * William Kaye, judge of the Supreme Court 1972–1991
 * Kurt Mahler, mathematician
 * Robert Manne, academic and social critic
 * Sir Matthew Nathan, British soldier and judge, Governor of Queensland 1920–1925, after also serving as Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Hong Kong and Natal; the Brisbane suburbs of Nathan and Nathan Heights are named after him, as is Nathan Street, in the Canberra suburb of Deakin
 * Bernhard Neumann, mathematician
 * Gustav Nossal, immunologist (Jewish father)
 * Robert Richter, barrister and human rights advocate
 * Hilary L. Rubinstein, historian
 * William D. Rubinstein, historian
 * Suzanne Rutland, historian
 * Peter Singer, philosopher
 * Julius Stone, distinguished legal theorist, professor of jurisprudence and international law
 * Louis Waller, public teacher of law and law reformer
 * James Wolfensohn, World Bank president
 * Sir Albert Wolff, Chief Justice of Western Australia
 * Ghil'ad Zuckermann, linguist and language revivalist

Business figures

 * Sir Peter Abeles, former chairman of Ansett Transport Industries
 * Rodney Adler, CEO of HIH Insurance, convicted criminal
 * Peter Alexander, fashion designer
 * Albert Bensimon, Adelaide jeweller and businessman
 * Harold Boas, architect, Perth councillor, Jewish community worker
 * Albert Dadon, businessman
 * John Gandel and Marc Besen, founder/owners of Chadstone Shopping Centre and Sussan fashion chain
 * David Gonski, public figure and businessman, philanthropist
 * Joseph Gutnick, mining magnate and ex-President of Melbourne Football Club
 * Poppy King, cosmetician
 * Frank Lowy, co-founder of the Westfield Group, philanthropist
 * Sidney Myer, founder of Myer department store and philanthropist
 * Leon and Richard Pratt, founder/owners of Visy
 * Rene Rivkin, stockbroker and convicted insider trader
 * Helena Rubenstein, cosmetician (business started in Melbourne), philanthropist, art collector
 * Sheree Rubinstein, entrepreneur
 * Abe Saffron, nightclub owner, underworld figure
 * Joe Saragossi, founder of G.James Glass & Aluminium, glass and window manufacturer
 * John Saunders, co-founder of the Westfield Group
 * Harry Seidler, architect
 * Sidney Sinclair, men's fashion label founder
 * Smorgon family, founder/owners of Smorgon Steel and other businesses
 * Harry Triguboff, property developer founder of Meriton

Cultural figures

 * Oren Ambarchi, musician
 * Louis Abrahams, businessman, artist, and later a patron of the artists of the Heidelberg School
 * Jimmy Barnes, Scottish-born musician, born to a Jewish mother but raised Christian
 * Eric Baume, broadcaster/journalist
 * Arthur Benjamin, composer
 * Danny Ben-Moshe, writer
 * Rachel Berger, comedian
 * John Bluthal, actor
 * Lily Brett, writer
 * Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer
 * Saskia Burmeister, actress
 * Judy Cassab, painter
 * Deborah Conway, singer-songwriter
 * Ed Doolan, Australian-born British broadcaster
 * George Dreyfus, composer
 * Jon Faine, radio presenter
 * Alex Fein, community activist, writer, and businesswoman
 * Jack Feldstein, scriptwriter/neon animator
 * FourPlay Electric String Quartet (3/4 Jewish)
 * Louise Fox, television writer-producer
 * Isla Fisher, Omani-born actress
 * Tim Freedman, musician
 * Amelia Frid, former child actress
 * Renée Geyer, soul singer
 * Henry Gilbert, actor
 * Alan Gold, author
 * Libby Gorr, comedian
 * Yoram Gross, producer
 * Michael Gudinski, record executive
 * Osher Günsberg, television/radio presenter and journalist
 * Alexander Gutman (aka Austen Tayshus), comedian
 * David Helfgott, pianist
 * Elena Kats-Chernin, composer
 * Danny Katz, writer/comedian
 * Inge King, sculptor
 * Steve Kipner, songwriter
 * Barrie Kosky, creative director
 * Ben Lee, singer-songwriter
 * Jack Levi (aka Elliot Goblet), comedian
 * Lior Attar (aka Lior), Israeli-born singer-songwriter
 * Sam Lipski, newspaper writer and editor, radio and TV broadcaster and commentator, CEO of the philanthropic Pratt Foundation
 * Tziporah Malkah, actress, model
 * David Malouf, writer (Jewish mother)
 * Miriam Margolyes, actress
 * Bill Meyer, artist
 * Margaret Michaelis-Sachs, photographer
 * Isaac Nathan, Australia's first composer
 * Helmut Newton, photographer
 * Olivia Newton-John, singer-songwriter, actress
 * Eva Orner, film-maker
 * Elliot Perlman, writer
 * Linda Phillips, composer
 * Bram Presser, author and singer for Yidcore
 * Ohad Rein, musician
 * Lara Sacher, actress
 * John Safran, comedian/documentarian
 * Hermann Schildberger, choir leader, organist (secular and in synagogues)
 * Michael Schildberger, radio and TV broadcaster and commentator
 * Athol Shmith, photographer
 * Michael Shmith, journalist and music critic
 * Cate Shortland, screenwriter and director (Convert)
 * Larry Sitsky, composer
 * Troye Sivan, actor, singer-songwriter
 * Nathan Spielvogel, writer, particularly about Jewish life in early Ballarat; lay communal leader of the Ballarat synagogue
 * Yael Stone, actor
 * Simon Tedeschi, pianist
 * Harry van der Sluys (aka Roy Rene and Mo McCackie), music hall, theatrical and radio comedian
 * Felix Werder, composer
 * Tal Wilkenfeld, musician
 * Yitzhak Yedid, composer
 * Yidcore's members (Bram, Myki, Tim and Rory), Jewish punk band, from Melbourne, Australia
 * Allan Zavod, musician

National figures

 * Julian Leeser, Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives (2016–present)
 * Moss Cass, former Labor cabinet minister
 * Barry Cohen, Labor government minister in the Federal Parliament (1983–1987)
 * Michael Danby, Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives (1998–2019)
 * Mark Dreyfus QC, Attorney-General of Australia 2013–2013 Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives (2007–present)
 * James Edelman, High Court Justice
 * Jason Falinski, Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives (2016–2022)
 * Josh Frydenberg, Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives (2010–2022), Minister for Environment and Energy 2016–2018, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party 2018–present.
 * Stirling Griff, Centre Alliance, senator for South Australia in the Upper House of Parliament (2016–present)
 * Sir Isaac Isaacs, Governor General (1931–1936), prominent solicitor, member of Victorian colonial parliament, one of the drafters of the Australian constitution, member of first Australian parliament, Chief Justice of the High Court
 * Josh Burns, Labor member of the House of Representatives (2019–present)
 * Mark Regev, Israeli Ambassador in Kensington, London, England (2015–2017)
 * Nicola Roxon, Minister for Health and Ageing 2007–2011, Attorney-General of Australia 2011–2013 Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives (1998–2013)
 * Elias Solomon, former member of Federal Parliament
 * Vaiben Louis Solomon, premier of South Australia and member of the House of Representatives for South Australia

Local body politicians

 * Maurice Ashkanasy, Vice-chairman of Victorian Bar Council and member of Australian Labor party
 * Hajnal Ban, politician, author
 * Peter Baume, Liberal cabinet minister, chancellor of the Australian National University
 * Joe Berinson, Member of Federal Parliament, Minister in Whitlam's third Cabinet, State Upper house member, State Labor cabinet minister and Attorney General of Western Australia
 * Ian Cohen, Greens member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (1995–2011)
 * Philip Dalidakis, Labor member of the Victorian Legislative Council
 * Linda Dessau, Governor of Victoria (from 2015)
 * Marcus Einfeld, human rights activist, former Federal Court judge and convicted perjurer
 * Sydney Einfeld, New South Wales Minister for Consumer Affairs (1976–1981)
 * Vida Goldstein, suffragette
 * Jennifer Huppert, Labor member of the Victorian Legislative Council (2009–2010)
 * Martin Indyk, United States ambassador to Israel (1995–1997 and 2000–2001)
 * Walter Jona, Victorian State Minister
 * Dr John Kaye, Greens member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
 * Sir Richard Kingsland, Public Servant, RAAF pilot who rescued two senior British WWII leaders in Morocco in 1940
 * Paul Landa, solicitor, barrister, N.S.W. Labor politician, and minister in the Wran Government (1976–1984)
 * Henry Ninio, Lord Mayor of Adelaide, co-founder of Progressive Judaism in Adelaide
 * Martin Pakula, Labor member of the Victorian Legislative Council, Attorney-General 2014-Since
 * Leo Port, Lord Mayor of Sydney (1975–1978)
 * Julius Roe, Fair Work Australia Commissioner, former head of Australian Manufacturing Workers Union
 * Eric Roozendaal, NSW Labor cabinet minister (2008–2011)
 * David Southwick, Liberal Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
 * James Wolfensohn, World Bank president
 * Sir Albert Wolff, Chief Justice of Western Australia

Religious figures

 * Rabbi Dr Joseph Abrahams, prominent Melbourne rabbi of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in 1911 did not take up the call as Chief Rabbi on account of ill health
 * Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple, Senior Rabbi of the Great Synagogue of Sydney, Senior Rabbi to the Australian Defence Force, Registrar of the Sydney Beth Din, author of OzTorah.com, and the leading spokesperson for Jews and Judaism in Australia from 1972 to 2005
 * Rabbi Elias Blaubaum, rabbi at St Kilda Hebrew Congregation for 40 years, newspaper editor
 * Rabbi Abraham Tobias Boas, rabbi in Adelaide for about 40 years
 * Rabbi Rudolph (Rudie) Brasch, senior reform rabbi in Sydney for over 30 years, a well-known author and broadcaster
 * Gen. Paul Cullen, founder of Emanuel Synagogue, Sydney, Army General
 * Rabbi Francis Cohen, prominent Sydney rabbi in the early 20th century
 * Rabbi Jacob Danglow, rabbi at St Kilda Hebrew Congregation 1905–1962, one of the most prominent rabbis in both the Jewish and the general communities
 * Rev Alexander Davis, over 30 years as minister of the York Street and Great synagogues
 * Rabbi Pinchus Feldman, Rabbi of the Yeshiva Centre
 * Rabbi David Freedman, rabbi in Perth for over 40 years
 * Rabbi Harry Freedman, rabbi in Sydney and translator for Soncino Press
 * Rabbi David Freilich, rabbi in Perth 1988–2012
 * Rabbi Ralph Genende, rabbi at Caulfield, and prominent in interfaith dialogue
 * Rabbi Lazarus Goldman, rabbi at Toorak Road synagogue, author and historian, died on the bimah in 1960 whilst conducting a Kol Nidre service in Adelaide
 * Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, director of many Chabad operations in Victoria
 * Rabbi J. L. Guerewitz, long serving rabbi at Carlton United synagogue
 * Rabbi Chaim Gutnick, formerly rabbi of Elwood Synagogue for over forty years and life president of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria
 * Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick, rabbi at Elwood and member of the Beth Din
 * Rabbi Sholom Gutnick, rabbi at Caulfield for about 40 years, and Av Beth Din
 * Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn, Rabbi Emeritus and long-serving rabbi at St Kilda
 * Rabbi John Levi, first Australian-born rabbi, prominent Progressive rabbi, teacher and historian
 * Rabbi Ronald Lubofsky, rabbi at St Kilda for over 30 years
 * Joseph Marcus, convict who trained as a rabbi and is reputed to have conducted the first Jewish services in Sydney
 * Rabbi Jerome Mark, the first Progressive rabbi in Australia
 * Rev Joseph Myers, minister in Brisbane for 43 years
 * Mrs Ada Phillips, founder of Australia's first permanent Progressive congregation in Melbourne
 * Rabbi Israel Porush, prominent and long-serving Sydney rabbi
 * Mr Abraham Rabinovitch, philanthropist and founder of Sydney's main Orthodox Jewish educational institutions
 * Rev Moses Rintel, first minister of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, and later of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation
 * Rabbi Louis Rubin-Zacks, rabbi in Perth for 25 years
 * Rabbi Dr Herman Sanger, important Melbourne progressive rabbi, responsible for the spread of progressive Judaism to other parts of Australia
 * Rabbi Max Schenk, first Progressive rabbi in Sydney, early Zionist

Sports figures

 * Ben Ashkenazi, cricketer (Victorian Bushrangers)
 * Ashley Brown, football (soccer) player Melbourne Victory
 * Jordan Brown, midfielder (Melbourne Victory)
 * David Emanuel, Australian rugby union player
 * Gavin Fingleson, South African-born Australian, Olympic silver medalist
 * Jessica Fox, French-born Australian, slalom canoeist, Olympic silver (K-1 slalom), world championships bronze (C-1)
 * Peter Fuzes, soccer goalkeeper for Hakoah and Australia, Maccabi Hall of Fame 2003; played 1st grade 1964 till 1976; international career 1966–72, against Scotland 1967, Greece 1969, Israel 1969 and 1972; played against various European clubsides including AS ROMA 1966, Manchester United at the time of Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law
 * Todd Goldstein, Australian rules footballer (Essendon)
 * Todd Greenberg, former CEO of the National Rugby League
 * David Horwitz, rugby union fly-half / centre, New South Wales Waratahs
 * Eban Hyams, India-Israel-Australia, Australian National Basketball League & Israeli Super League 6' 5" guard, first-ever Indian national to play in ULEB competitions
 * Tal Karp (born 1981), female Australian football (soccer) player
 * Michael Klinger, cricketer; an ex-collegian at Mount Scopus Memorial College
 * Gary Lazarus, ARF Fitzroy Lions
 * Leonard "Jock" Livingston, cricketer
 * Jonathan Moss, former first-class cricketer for the Victoria cricket team (2000–07); played for Australia at the Maccabiah Games in Israel
 * Phil Moss, current manager of the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League; former soccer player in the National Soccer League
 * Jacob Muir, footballer, Perth Glory
 * Ray Phillips, cricketer, NSW and Queensland
 * Myer Rosenblum, rugby union player and solicitor, father of Rupert Rosenblum, who notably employed John Howard as an articled clerk
 * Rupert Rosenblum, rugby union player and solicitor, son of Myer Rosenblum
 * Albert Rosenfeld, rugby league player
 * Ian Rubin, Russian-born player for South Sydney Rabbitohs
 * Geoff Selby, played for St George Dragons, tragically died in car accident in 1989.
 * Harry Sheezel, Australian rules footballer (North Melbourne)
 * Steven Solomon, Olympic sprinter; Maccabiah Games medalist
 * Jordan Swibel, footballer, Western Sydney Wanderers
 * Ian Synman, Australian Rules footballer with St Kilda 1958–69, notorious for playing in St Kilda's only Premiership (1966) on Yom Kippur
 * Lionel Van Praag, speedway champion
 * Julien Wiener, cricketer
 * David Zalcberg, Australian Olympic table tennis player; also an ex-collegian at Mount Scopus Memorial College

Other figures

 * Frances Barkman, schoolteacher and charitable worker
 * Dunera boys, group of mainly Jewish British detainees who were deported to Australia in horrific circumstances; many of them later becoming prominent Australian citizens
 * Esther Johnston, first fleet prisoner
 * Solomon Levey, transported convict who later became a successful businessman
 * Sir John Monash, World War I general, engineer, first chairman of Victoria's State Electricity Commission
 * Lisa Jackson Pulver, first Indigenous Australian to serve as a Synagogue President
 * Ikey Solomon, First Fleet prisoner, the person on whom Charles Dickens based the character of Fagin

Fiji

 * Alexander Schmerrill Bowman, businessman, early settler
 * Sir Henry Marks, businessman, politician

French Polynesia

 * Queen Marau
 * Alexander Salmon
 * Alexander Ariipaea Salmon

Guam

 * Evan Montvel Cohen, businessman
 * Edward D. Taussig, Governor of Guam (1899)

Business figures

 * Sir Woolf Fisher, industrialist
 * Bendix Hallenstein, clothing manufacturer and merchant, and MP
 * Michael Hirschfeld, businessman, activist and Labour Party president
 * Maurice Joel, brewer and philanthropist (father of Grace Joel, qv)
 * Nathaniel William Levin, businessman, father of:
 * William Levin, businessman, benefactor
 * John Israel Montefiore, trader, merchant, later involved in civic affairs
 * David Nathan, retailer
 * Joseph Nathan, founder of GlaxoSmithKline
 * Sara Tetro, entrepreneur, television personality, and model

Cultural figures

 * Esmond de Beer, historian, collector, philanthropist
 * Gina Bellman, actress
 * Charles Brasch, poet, literature patron
 * Angela D'Audney, television anchor
 * Benjamin Farjeon, writer
 * Willi Fels, philanthropist and collector
 * Deb Filler, writer, comic actor
 * Marti Friedlander, photographer
 * Richard Fuchs, composer and architect
 * Joseph Herscher, YouTube personality
 * Grace Joel, artist
 * Emma Lahana, actress
 * Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author
 * Taika Waititi, film director, writer, painter, comedian and actor

National figures

 * Frederick Baume, Member of Parliament
 * Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell, Prime Minister (1925) (Jewish mother)
 * Sir Tom Eichelbaum, Chief Justice (1989–1999)
 * Eddie Isbey, (1917-1995), New Zealand Labour Party MP from 1969 to 1987
 * Sir John Key (born 1961), Prime Minister (2008–2016) (Jewish mother)
 * Sir Michael Myers, chief justice (1929–1946)
 * Frederick Pirani, politician
 * Samuel Shrimski, Member of Parliament
 * Sir Julius Vogel, Prime Minister (1873–1875, 1876), newspaper founder, and science-fiction writer

Local body politicians

 * Mayors
 * Ashburton: Hugo Friedlander (1879–1881, 1890–1892, 1898–1901)
 * Auckland: Philip Philips (Auckland's first mayor, 1871–1874), Henry Isaacs (1874), Sir Arthur Myers (1905–08), Sir Ernest Davis (1935–1941), Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (1959–1965, 1968–1980), and Colin Kay (1980–1983)
 * Christchurch: Charles Louisson (1888–1889, 1898–1899)
 * Invercargill: Abraham Wachner (1942–1950), Eve Poole (1983–1992)
 * Palmerston North: Solomon Abrahams (1887–1889)
 * Wellington: Ian Lawrence (1986–1989), Mark Blumsky (1995–2001)
 * Other
 * Dame Barbara Goodman, Auckland local body politician
 * Saul Goldsmith, merchant and local body politician

Religious figures

 * Rabbi Herman van Staveren (1849–1930), rabbi of the Wellington Hebrew Congregation and senior NZ rabbi, 1877–1930
 * Rabbi Samuel Goldstein (1852–1935), rabbi of the Auckland Hebrew Congregation for 54 years, 1880–1934
 * Rabbi Alexander Astor (1900–1988), rabbi of the Auckland Hebrew Congregation, 1934–71

Sports figures

 * Jo Aleh (born 1986), sailor, national champion, world champion, and Olympic champion
 * Nathan Cohen, Olympic champion and world champion rower
 * Josh Kronfeld, rugby player

Other figures

 * Lev Aptekar, chess master
 * Sir Louis Barnett, surgeon
 * Ethel Benjamin, first woman lawyer in the British Empire
 * Solomon Faine, microbiologist
 * Erich Geiringer, lecturer and political/social campaigner
 * Sir Peter Gluckman, science adviser
 * Wally Hirsch, former Race Relations Conciliator
 * Pei Te Hurinui Jones, Ngati Maniapoto leader and scholar (Jewish father)
 * Leopold Kirschner, microbiologist
 * Joel Samuel Polack, pioneer settler, author
 * Phineas Selig, journalist, newspaper editor, president of the Christchurch Jewish congregation
 * Mark Woolf Silverstone, socialist, local body politician, financier

Palau

 * Stuart Beck, diplomat

Samoa

 * Taito Phillip Field, New Zealand politician born in Samoa

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: List of Oceanian Jews


text:
Million Wolde

Million Wolde (Amharic: ሚሊዮን ወልዴ; born March 17, 1979) is an Ethiopian athlete and winner of the 5,000 metres race at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

At the age of seventeen, Million Wolde competed in the 1996 World Junior Championships in Sydney, finishing sixth in the 3,000 m steeplechase. At the next World Junior Championships, at Annecy, France in 1998, he won the 5,000 m. He also finished eighth in the Junior World Cross-Country Championships at Cape Town in 1996, gained second place at Turin in 1997 and at Marrakech, in 1998, he won his final junior championships over 8 km. On the road, Wolde represented Ethiopia in the 1998 World Road Relay Championships at Manaus, Brazil. Ethiopia eventually finished second to Kenya, after Wolde had established a narrow lead in the initial 5 km leg.

But the real fame came when Wolde won the bronze medal in the 3,000 metres at the World Indoor Championships at Maebashi in 1999 and then finished eighth in the 5,000 m at the World Championships in Seville later that year. At the World Cross-Country Championships, Wolde finished fourth in the senior men's short course (4 km) at Belfast in 1999 and fifteenth at the same distance in Vilamoura, Portugal in 2000.

The highlight of Wolde's career came in the 5,000 m at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, when he was still just twenty two. With no one prepared to set a decent pace, Wolde bided his time and then sprinted past the leaders with 200 m remaining to win in 13:35.49 ahead of second placed Ali Saïdi-Sief of Algeria and Morocco's Brahim Lahlafi. At the next World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, Wolde won a silver medal in 5,000 m.

Injuries hampered his career during recent years, but he was still active. As of 2015, he lived in Tarrytown, NY and participated in several local races. As of August 2018, Million was an Assistant Cross Country coach at Saint Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, MN.

title: Million Wolde


text:
Talk:Problem Child (film)

Untitled
Actually the lemonade scene doesn't happen until Problem Child 2. I move it over. In the meantime I replaced it with the famous catcher castration scene from the trailer. 209.217.75.162 10:43, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Citation needed
This whole artilce was mad fucked up. It seemed like a mentally retarted E.S.L. student wrote it. I fixed most of it. You are welcome. To say..."major box office success"...would require some kind of dollar figure for verification. 7 days is given for a citation.

trezjr 14:40, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Easter eggs
Can you use a better terminology than "easter eggs" to make the point you want. Not everyone is going to know what you mean. 7 days given.

trezjr 14:51, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Animated series box
This animated series box is really not necessary and is interuppting the flow.

Would you consider taking it out or giving it a page of its own?

trezjr 16:34, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Deleted
Deleted this animated series box--obviously a page header--and not appropriate here.

Saved the photo, but the animated series section still needs work.

trezjr 22:13, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Animated TV series
This section needs some kind of clean-up.

Has anyone seen these where they can give a detailed, more accurate account as to why this should be listed here?

trezjr 21:35, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Where
Where was this movie filmed?

Contradiction?
I find it unlikely that the animated series, which was released 2 years before the third movie, was based on all three movies. Alchav 17:22, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

Picture
I moved the Michael Richards picture to the characters section. It doesn't look as bad as before, but the pictures still need to be layed out better. Codelyoko193 TalkEditor Review 15:45, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:ProblemChild1990.jpg
Image:ProblemChild1990.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 04:37, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Colby Kline
I changed the link for colby kline who played lucy. It went to a page for a 65 year old man, not the girl who played the part. Sithyeti (talk) 16:10, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Cape Fear
Problem Child figures prominently in the Martin Scorsese film Cape Fear. It's the film playing while Robert DeNiro's character is laughing maniacally, while Nick Nolte and his family are trying to watch the film. That seems worth mentioning somewhere, although I'm not sure where it fits. Anyone have a citable source? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lafong (talk • contribs) 04:31, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20110930145807/http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=60500 to http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=60500

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External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 one external links on Problem Child (film). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20131230232659/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/search/?q=problem%20child to http://www.boxofficemojo.com/search/?q=problem%20child
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20141231050417/http://i.imgur.com/MDU3y.jpg to http://i.imgur.com/MDU3y.jpg
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110930145807/http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=60500 to http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=60500

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title: Talk:Problem Child (film)


text:
Takayoshi Yoshioka

Takayoshi Yoshioka (吉岡 隆徳) was a Japanese sprinter who in 1935 jointly held the 100 m world record at 10.3 seconds. Four other men had clocked 10.3 s in 1935 or earlier, and Takayoshi was the only Asian person among them. He competed in various sprint events at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics and finished sixth in the 100 m in 1932. In retirement Yoshioka worked as an athletics coach.

title: Takayoshi Yoshioka


text:
Artis Pabriks

Artis Pabriks (born 22 March 1966) is a Latvian politician. Since January 2019 he has been the Minister for Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia. From 2014 to 2018, he was a Member of the European Parliament.

Early life and career
After completing his mandatory two-year stint in the Soviet Army, Pabriks obtained a degree in history from the University of Latvia in 1992 and, on a Danish-financed grant, completed his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Aarhus in 1996.

After finishing his Ph.D. on minorities in Europe, he became the rector of the Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, a newly founded regional college located in Valmiera. He has co-authored one book: Latvia: Challenge of Change (2001), which was subsequently re-published together with volumes on Lithuania and Estonia under the title The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (2002). Both were published by Routledge.

Political career
Pabriks was one of the founding members of the People's Party in 1998 and became a member of the Saeima in March 2004. He served as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2004–2007
Pabriks was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on 21 July 2004. He resigned from his position in October 2007 due to disagreements with the leadership of the People's Party, which he subsequently left.

Return to private life 2008-2010
In September 2008, Pabriks was one of founding members of the Society for Political Change. He was a visiting professor at Bosphorus University in Istanbul lecturing for the first semester of the 2009-2010 academic year.

Minister of Defence, 2010–2014
After the 2010 parliamentary election, Pabriks re-entered the government as the Minister of Defence.

In 2010 Pabriks challenged the incumbent general secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Spencer Oliver for his position. Pabriks, supported by the Latvian delegation, called the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s rules "quite shocking from the perspective of an organization that's monitoring elections". It would have required a full consensus minus one to oust Oliver who has been in the position of general secretary since the organization’s inception in 1992. Pabriks was unsuccessful in his challenge.

In early 2014, Pabriks was Unity’s first nominee to replace incumbent Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis; however, he was rejected by President Andris Bērziņš who argued that he lacked economic credentials. Instead, the position went to Laimdota Straujuma.

Member of the European Parliament, 2014–2018
Pabriks was elected to the European Parliament at the European election in 2014. He has since been serving on the Committee on International Trade. In this capacity, he is the Parliament’s chief rapporteur on EU-Canada trade agreement CETA. In addition to his committee assignments, he is a member of the Parliament’s delegations to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly and for relations with the countries of Central America.

In 2015, news media reported that Pabriks was included in a Russian blacklist of prominent people from the European Union who are not allowed to enter the country.

In 2016, Pabriks was the Parliament’s lead negotiator on a proposal to set up a new EU border force and coast guard.

Leader of Development/For! since 2018
In June 2018 Pabriks left the Unity party and joined the liberal movement Development/For!. He was nominated as the prime ministerial candidate of this electoral alliance and was elected member of the Saeima in the 2018 parliamentary election.

Defence Minister (2019-2022)
Between January 2019 and 14 December 2022 he was the Minister for Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia in the First Kariņš cabinet.

Other activities

 * Baltic Review, Member of the Editorial Board (since 2002)

Personal life
Pabriks has a daughter from a previous marriage and two children from his wife Undine, an ethnic German.

Pabriks speaks fluent Latvian, Russian, and English, as well as some German and Danish.

title: Artis Pabriks


text:
Herschel Museum of Astronomy

The Herschel Museum of Astronomy at 19 New King Street, Bath, England, is a museum that was inaugurated in 1981. It is located in a town house that was formerly the home of William Herschel and his sister Caroline.

Location
The museum is situated in the former home of the Herschels at 19 New King Street (south side) in Bath, England. The building is a particularly well-preserved small town house of the period. The modest town-house covers five floors, and includes two reception rooms on the ground and first floor. The town house is part of a terrace that was built around 1764-1770. The building is constructed from Bath stone ashlar, with some coursed rubble at the rear, and slate Mansard roofs with pantiling on the internal slopes. The entrance is on the left-hand side of the building, which has three storeys, as well as an attic and basement, each of which have two sash windows. The building represents a middle-grade Georgian town house, typical of the homes of artisans and tradesmen of the city of Bath (but contrasting with Bath's grand visitor houses)

The Herschels moved into 19 New King Street in 1777, at which point the builders would have still been present, and the road would have been unmetalled. William discovered Uranus whilst residing in the house in March 1781 using a 7 foot telescope designed and built in the attached workshop. William left Bath in 1782, but Caroline, along with their brother Alexander, remained at the house until 1784.

The building has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building. The building was restored in 1981, and again in 2000, using period detailed wallpaper based on fragments discovered in other Bath houses, and carpets based on 18th-century designs.

Museum
In 1977 the William Herschel Society was set up to gather support for the rescue of the building. It was purchased in 1981 with the aid of Doctors Leslie and Elizabeth Hilliard, saving it from demolition. The main-belt asteroid 6395 Hilliard was later named in their honor. The house was subsequently transferred as a donation to the Herschel House Trust. The museum was opened on 13 March 1981, exactly 200 years after Herschel discovered Uranus. The museum is governed by the Herschel House Trust, a registered charity. The Bath Preservation Trust became the sole trustee of the Herschel House Trust in July 2015. The patrons of the museum have been Patrick Moore (until 2012) and Brian May (from December 2013). The museum is curated by Debbie James.

The museum offers audio tours. A virtual tour of the museum is available for mobility-impaired visitors, and a book containing tactile images is available for blind or partially sighted visitors. A disabled parking space is located outside of the building. Replica objects in the museum, including a replica of Herschel's polishing machine, are designed to be handled. The museum uses QR codes to provide translations of the display exhibit labels in 10 different languages, and illustrated trails are available from the shop. The museum has a school programme and workshop.

Layout and contents
The basement contains a kitchen, parlour and workshop. At ground floor, the building has an entrance hall with a staircase, a small closet room that is used as a dining room, and a large south-facing room at the back of the house. Similar south-facing rooms are present at each level of the building. The dining room contains Herschel's dining table. On the first floor, the Music Room occupies the closet room, and the south-facing room is the Drawing Room. The upper floors provided bedrooms and servant quarters; they have subsequently been converted into flats.

Kitchen
The kitchen incorporates a Victorian cast iron range and a stone flag floor. It contains a replica Georgian house based on the museum's building, which is fully furnished inside.

Workshop
William built a single-storey workshop at the rear of the basement, extending into the garden; he used the workshop to conduct experiments and to construct his lenses, and it still contains Herschel's treadle lathe. The workshop, adjacent to the kitchen, was where William and Alexander made their telescopes. It contains a replica furnace, and a replica of William's machine for polishing lenses, the original of which is in the Science Museum, London; the replica polishing machine has been designed to be handled, and a touchscreen computer demonstrates the tools and machinery in the workshop.

Caroline Lucretia Gallery
The Caroline Lucretia Gallery, named after Caroline Herschel, was added to the museum in 2011. The gallery was designed by Hetreed Ross Architects, and is of a modern design, with floor-to-ceiling glazing, overhanging eaves and a flat stainless steel stressed skin roof, with the solid walls constructed of Bath Stone Ashlar to match the rest of the building. Inside, two walls are the former outer walls of the kitchen and workshop, and the other two consist of display panels. The limestone slab floor is insulated and heated. It cost £80,000, which was raised via a 2-year funding campaign, after planning permission was approved in 2008. It received a prize for building and design from the Bath and North East Somerset Building Control Department.

The gallery expanded the available space at the museum, and is used for temporary exhibitions. In August–December 2013 the exhibition was on the art and science of light in the 18th century, entitled "Making light of it", and in April–December 2014 it was on Caroline Herschel, entitled "Being Caroline - A Second Self". In August–December 2015 the temporary exhibit was "Waterloo and The March of Science".

Auditorium
The "Star Vault Astronomy auditorium", opened in 2003, shows a short film about the Herschels, their life living at 19 New King Street, and modern space exploration, narrated by Patrick Moore.

Garden
The garden has been restored in the style of a formal Georgian town garden, with cypress trees and a quince arbour, as well as native medicinal and culinary plants that would have been grown in 1794.

A 1.25 m diameter powder-coated steel seed head by Ruth Moilliet represents Uranus's position in the 2005 Spaced Out model of the solar system, which spanned the UK with the Sun at Jodrell Bank Observatory.

A 1.54x0.72 m sculpture of William and Caroline, named Star Gazers by Vivien Moudell, sits against the garden wall close to the entrance to the workshop. Made of Bath stone and slate, it was unveiled in 1988 by Patrick Moore and Rod Davies. It shows William dressed in a wig, jacket and ruffled shirt, behind Caroline, in a bonnet and holding a quill pen, looking at a piece of paper showing a drawing of the solar system with Uranus at the centre. An octagonal slate panel was set above their heads, engraved with planetary orbits.

The garden also contains a sundial at the location where William may have placed his telescope.

Music Room
The Music Room was used by William to teach pupils how to play music. It contains a single action pedal harp, commissioned by Mademoiselle Henriette Peyrot-Magenest in 1795, made by George Cousineau and son Jacques-Georges Cousineau, and purchased by the museum in 2012. The harp is carved and decorated in Rococo style with scrolling leaves, flowers and garlands, and a soundboard decorated with classical arabesques.

The music room also contains a modern sculpture of an orrery, created in 2009 and based on the 18th-century brass drum orrery held at the museum.

Collections
The museum holds a small dress worn by Caroline when she was around 50. It is made from white muslin with a blue spot and dates from the last years of the 18th century. The museum also has a Thomas Butterfield sundial, dating from c.1690, made of silver in the shape of a bird, with names of European cities and their latitudes on the back; a Copernican Armillary sphere by George Delamarche, made of brass, wood and paper, and with Herschel's name and Uranus on one outer ring; a Cometarium showing the motion of a comet on its path around the sun, on loan from the Science Museum; and paintings of Elizabeth Baldwin by Robert Muller (pre-1798) and John Herschel (1892).

A scale model of the 40-foot telescope, as well as an early photo of it that is framed in wood from the telescope, is on display at the museum. Additionally, several rare books, including Caroline's visitor book, can be viewed on a computer.

In 2015 it was announced that the museum will house Patrick Moore's collection of objects related to William Herschel.

title: Herschel Museum of Astronomy


text:
User:Sir Norris

Blurb
So, I created this account years ago and haven't much used it. Maybe I'll have a go...

title: User:Sir Norris


text: User talk:67.121.54.235

title: User talk:67.121.54.235