text:
Talk:Kingdom of Sussex

Article review (2005)
“AEthelwald” should be “Æðelwealh”, and “two princes” should be “two ealdormen”. The South Saxon see was moved to Chichester in 1075, so “until the Norman Conquest” should be “until after the Norman Conquest”, or even “until 1075”.

Nunna is just a hypocoristic form of Noðhelm, in the same way as Gazza is a hypocoristic form of Gascoigne.

Dumnonia and West Wales are different names for the same area, so “Geraint of Dumnonia, king of the West Welsh” is repetitive and could be reduced down to “Geraint, King of Dumnonia”, or even “Geraint, King of Devon”.

In 692 Noðhelm granted land to his sister Noðgyð. He was styled Nothelmus rex Suthsax’ in the body of the charter, but he signed it as Nunna rex Sussax’. Noðhelm’s last surviving charter, in which he was called Nunna rex Suthsax’, is dated 714, probably in error for 717, so his reign began in or before 692 and ended in or after 717.

Noðhelm’s charter of 692 was witnessed by Watt, who signed as Wattus rex, without any indication of his territory, but it is probable that he reigned in Sussex, because he also witnessed (again as Wattus rex) an undated charter (but before about 705) by Bruny dux Suthsax’ together with Nunna rex. He is also listed as a witness (as Uuattus rex) of a another charter, erroneously dated 775, which is believed to be a forgery. So, Watt’s reign began in or before 692, and extended at least to some date before about 705.

The sentence “A grant, dated by Birch about 725, is made by Nunna to Eadberht, bishop of Selsey, and to this too Uuattus appears as a witness” should be deleted, as this is a reference to the forged charter that is actually dated 775. The amended date of 725, suggested by Birch, is still impossible, because two of the supposed witnesses were dead by then.

“Aldbryht” is Ealdberht. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not say why Ine fought against the South Saxons, nor where Ealdberht had fled from, so the sentence should be amended to “In 722 Ealdberht fled into Surrey and Sussex, and Ine fought against the South Saxons”, in order to remove the speculation.

The sentence “An undated grant is made by Nunna about this time, which is witnessed by a King AEthelberht” is incorrect and should be deleted. It is probably derived from Æðelberht’s undated endorsement to an undated charter of Noðhelm that was actually witnessed by Osric (as Osricus) without indication of rank or territory, but listed before (and therefore ranked higher than) the Bishop of Selsey (whose rank and see are also omitted). The charter can be approximately dated to some point between about 705 and 717.

One king omitted from the present text is Æðelstan, who witnessed Noðhelm’s last surviving charter, which is dated 714 in error for 717,, as Athelstan rex. There is no indication of his territory. The same charter was also witnessed by Queen Æðelðryð, as Edeldrið regina. There is no clue as to how she was related to the various kings.

The dates of Æðelberht’s reign are unknown beyond the fact that it overlapped at least in part with the bishopship of Sigeferth (who was consecrated in 733 and was still bishop in 747) as Sigeferth witnessed an undated charter of Æðelberht in which Æðelberht is styled Ethelbertus rex Sussaxonum. Another undated charter, in which he is called Adelbertus rex Australium Saxonum, is believe to be a forgery. He is also mentioned in an undated endorsement to a charter of Noðhelm as Ethilberchto rege.

The paragraph beginning “After which” is somewhat confused. It is not true that Offa of Mercia witnessed charters of South Saxon kings (he merely confirmed them later). It is true that Offa subjugated Sussex and issued a charter in 772 that was witnessed by at least three ealdormen who had previously been kings (Osmund, Ælfwald, and Oslac, possibly also Oswald). Therefore South Saxon independence ended at this point, but the former kings continued to govern as ealdormen.

Osmund was reigning in Sussex when Archbishop Cuðberht died in 760, so his rule commenced before that event. He also issued a charter dated 770 in which he is listed as Osmundus rex. So Osmund’s reign was in or before 760 to between 770 and 772, as he witnessed a charter of Offa, King of Mercia, dated 772 as Osmund dux.

Ealdwulf issued an undated charter as Alduulf rex. Later, he issued an undated charter as Aldwlfus dux Suthsaxonum, and signed as Aldwlf dux,, and another, dated 711 in error for 791 as Aldwlfus dux Suthsaxonum with the subscription Ealdwlf.

Ælfwald witnessed Ealdwulf’s undated charter, corruptly recorded as Ælhuuald rex. He also witnessed the charter of Offa, King of Mercia, dated 772 as Ælbuuald dux, with his name placed after Oswald, Osmund, but before Oslac.

Oslac witnessed Ealdwulf’s undated charter, corruptly recorded as Osiai rex. He also witnessed the charter of Offa, King of Mercia, dated 772 as Oslac dux, with his name placed after Oswald, Osmund, and Ælfwald. His latest surviving charter is dated 790, and the original still exists; he is styled Oslac dux Suthsaxorum.

This is no evidence that Oswald was ever king, but he witnessed the charter of Offa, King of Mercia, dated 772 as Osuualdus dux Suðsax'. He was listed ahead of the three former kings Osmund, Ælfwald, and Oslac.

The death of Eadwine, Ealdorman of Sussex, is recorded in 982, because he was buried at Abingdon Abbey in Berkshire, where one version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was compiled. According to the abbey’s records, in which he was called “princeps Australium Saxonum, Eadwinus nomine”, he bequeathed estates to them in his will, although the document itself has not survived. Earlier in the same year he witnessed a charter of King Æðelræd Unræd as “Eaduuine dux”. His name was also added to a forged charter dated 956 (possibly an error for 976).

In the next generation, Wulfnoð Cild, Thegn of Sussex, played a prominent part in English politics. In 1009 his actions resulted in the destruction of the English fleet, and by 1011 Sussex, together with most of South East England, was in the hands of the Danes. In an early example of local government reform, the Anglo-Saxon ealdormandoms were abolished by the Danish kings and replaced a smaller number of larger earldoms. Wulfnoð Cild was the father of Godwine, who was made Earl of Wessex in 1020. His earldom included Sussex. When he died in 1053, Godwine was succeeded as Earl of Wessex (including Sussex) by his son Harold, who had previously been Earl of East Anglia.

Hovite 16:08, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

 * The sentence “It was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so-called Anglo-Saxon heptarchy” merely duplicates the information in the previous sentence “one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon Britain”, and introduces a link to a myth about the seven kingdoms, which, like the seven deadly sins and the seven sleepers, has no basis in reality. The word “Britain” is inaccurate and should be replaced by “England”. The word “modern” before “county” has been simply edited out; it should have been replaced by “later”, “traditional” or “historic”.

 * Ælle, his three sons, their three ships, and their three battles are fictional: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Aelle_of_Sussex (fictional is a bit too harsh!! A legend would be a better word. Aella would have been a contemporary of King Arthur and probably should be treated about the same. Wilfridselsey (talk) 13:08, 19 August 2009 (UTC) )

capital?
So where was the capital of the Kingdom of Sussex? The article doesn't say. Don't we know?

Probably Selsey but not sure. Aella (if he existed) landed at Cymenshore, which most historians believe is near Selsey. Wilfrid set up the See there. it was short lived as Sussex was conquered by Wessex and the capital moved to Winchester, and then came the Normans!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wilfridselsey (talk • contribs) 12:56, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Map discussion
Yorkshirian recently added this new version of an old map to this article; it was removed by Deacon of Pndapetzim and re-added by Yorkshirian. I'd like to replace it with this map instead, which doesn't use boundaries. The changes were made to several articles, so to centralize discussion, please post at Talk:Mercia if you have an opinion. Mike Christie (talk) 02:41, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Merger proposal - South Saxons
The South Saxons article itself states that "The terms "South Saxons" and "Kingdom of Sussex" are interchangeable", so why two articles? JimmyGuano (talk) 21:15, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

I agree this page should be merged as suggested. It would be a good time to review it and update the references etc. I think that it will need a fair amount of work. It would be easier to do it if all was in the same place Wilfridselsey (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 12:30, 19 August 2009 (UTC).

Surely the obvious reason for not merging is that "South Saxons" is about the people and "Kingdom of Sussex" is about the political entity. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.13.149.25 (talk) 00:27, 9 September 2009 (UTC) You are right the Kingdom existed as a political entity. However, that entity only lasted a relatively short period and the South Saxons would have existed before and also after the Kingdom that was conquered by Wessex. It would therefore be sensible to merge the Kingdom of Sussex into the South Saxons rather than the other way roundWilfridselsey (talk) 11:09, 2 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Support merge. ---  RepublicanJacobite  The'FortyFive' 14:40, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Surely the only reason that the "South Saxons" are identified as a seperate people at all is that they happened to be the group of "Saxons" who settled in the area that later came to be known as Sussex. The modern interpretation of the emergence of anglo-saxon kingdoms on the island of Britain is that of settlement by a minority (not invasion), with the majority indigenous population acommodating and incorporating themselves into the culture of the new arrivals.  So the question of who the "South Saxons" even were by the time the kingdom was conquered by Wessex is more than a little fuzzy and complicated.  Because Bede thought in terms of different races of people conquering various areas of Britain does not mean that we should, particularly when the archeological evidence and modern historiography supports a totally different view.  I believe that "South Saxons" should be merged with "Kingdom of Sussex". Revcasy (talk) 12:41, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

 * Support merge. Metabaronic (talk) 19:15, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Sounds good. Sadads (talk) 20:28, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

The archaeology identifies where the South Saxons came from, by comparing burial customs and pottery designs, with those in the German homelands. However there is a dearth of archaeology as far as authenticating foundation legends, regnal lists or numbers of settlers. I am not sure that the argument about whether the Saxons were just a military elite, who took over the running of the kingdom or whether it was a more general migration has been resolved yet. However, I think that the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain article is a more appropriate place for this particular discussion rather than the "South Saxons", interesting though it is?Wilfridselsey (talk) 19:44, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

 * Which page are we using as the primary article? I would suggest Kingdom of Sussex, that way, as Wilfridselsey points out it is less about the people and more about the entity. Sadads (talk) 13:43, 11 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree. That was my understanding to begin with.Revcasy (talk) 14:25, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Article merged: See old talk-page here —Preceding unsigned comment added by Revcasy (talk • contribs) 12:27, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Settlement origins
Have a look at, and note the references and page numbers cited. It credibly suggests (but does not assert) that Sussex origins are from Saxons who had migrated from their German homelands to coastal France, and then re-migrated to southern England. This would account for the relatively late (ie, later than the earliest settlements along the Thames and east coast) arrival in Sussex. Also, as a generality, settlements in Sussex from Saxon points along the French coast (the Boulonnais, the Ponthieu, the Bessin, the Caen area) makes more sense than sailing from Germany around the English coast to southern England, given that we know that settlements existed along the French coast and were later abandoned in the same timeframe as the Sussex settlements. Anecdotal instances of settlement direct from Saxony are of course possible.

Note that this is consistent with archaeological finds ... ie, Saxons brought their culture and customs from Saxony to the French coast and thence to Sussex (rather than assuming it was a direct Saxony to Sussex transfer). And note that there are no serious inconsistencies with the AS Chronicle (in which 5th century entries are necessarily oral histories and creative creationism, as the Saxons were not literate until the early 7th century).

On a related but slightly different topic, the idea or "hypothesis" of foederate treaties or hired mercenaries seems (to me) to be creative fiction posed as "conjectural history" ... (1) all indications are that late-Roman and post-Roman Britain was weak, poor, disunited and in-collapse; there was no political entity strong enough to make a treaty, and certainly no one who could credibly offer to pay for a mercenary force. (2) Why would the Saxons, dominant on the sea and raiding at will, bind themselves as underlings to anyone who obviously could not pay them, especially when the Saxons were in a position to take what they wanted? (3) After moving to Britain the Saxons continued their raiding along coastal France, continuing to be a major threat to Frankish coastal territory (eg, there are credible accounts of large-scale Saxon raids all the way south to the Garonne River) ... this is hardly consistent with an assertion that the Saxons were treaty foederates or Romano-British paid mercenaries.

Regards, Notuncurious (talk) 18:06, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

title: Talk:Kingdom of Sussex


text:
Talk:Cold fusion/to do

 * 1) Expand the Cold Fusion Research section to describe all types of experiments that reliable sources claim demonstrate cold fusion.
 * 2) For each type of experiment, give a sense for the reported results. Place the results in context, for example comparing excess energy to input energy, measurement uncertainty, or chemical sources where appropriate.  Give a sense for how many different groups have reported each type of result in reliable sources.
 * 3) For each type of experiment, identify major assumptions made in interpreting the results. Relate questionable assumptions and analysis to alternative non-nuclear explanations.
 * 4) Describe transmutation claims made by reliable sources in greater detail, distinguishing measurement that have been related to episodes of excess heat, distinguishing byproducts measured to be proportionate to excess heat from byproducts detected in tiny amounts.
 * 5) Explain potential errors in making nuclear measurements, such as those that Jones claimed he made in detecting neutrons. Perhaps explain the errors made by Fleischman and Pons.  Explain if there are source of contamination that could explain the results.  Identify if the detectors used have known reliability or precision issues within the range at which measurements were made.
 * 6) In summary of the above, convey to the reader the information in reliable sources that underlie the claims of cold fusion researchers that the body of data is compelling, and include any additional information or explanation necessary for the reader to make an independent informed judgment as to the merits of those claims.
 * 7) Ensure the article meets a neutral point of view. ~Paul V. Keller  00:17, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Cold fusion/to do


text:
Punch drunk (disambiguation)

Punch drunk syndrome is the medical condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Punch drunk, punchdrunk, or punch-drunk may also refer to:

 * Punch Drunk (TV series), an English TV programme
 * Punchdrunk (theatre company), an English theatre company
 * Punchdrunk International, a subsidiary production company
 * Punch Drunks, a 1934 film by The Three Stooges
 * "Punch Drunk", a 2018 episode of F Is for Family

title: Punch drunk (disambiguation)


text:
U-Force

The U-Force is a game controller made by Broderbund for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It employs a pair of perpendicular consumer IR sensor panels to translate the user's hand movements into controller signals.

Reception
The U-Force was ranked the eighth worst video game controller by IGN editor Craig Harris. MSN listed it as one of the top 10 worst game peripherals, writing "Second only to the Sega Activator in terms of all-out crappiness, the U-Force also used infrared sensors to create a truly nightmarish controller...'Don’t Touch' said the adverts for the device, in a rare example of an advertising campaign that got it spot on."

title: U-Force


text:
Tauros

Tauros is a transliteration of either ταῦρος ('bull') or of Proto-Indo-European *táwros ('wild bull', 'aurochs') and may refer to:
 * Tauros Programme, an international effort to breed back domestic cattle to resemble the aurochs
 * Tauros, a Pokémon species

title: Tauros


text:
Parramatta Eels

The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL).

The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their home ground was Cumberland Oval. After the 1981 grand final win fans damaged Cumberland Oval which was later replaced by Parramatta stadium on the same site. As of 2019, Parramatta's home ground stadium has been rebuilt and they now play as the co-tenants at Western Sydney Stadium, which sits on the same site that was once Parramatta Stadium.

It took thirty years for the club to make the grand final, which they did in 1976 and 1977, losing on both occasions. However, this period foreshadowed their most successful period in the early 1980s, when they won four premierships and qualified for five grand finals in six seasons. This was a golden era for the club and yielded their only premiership titles. In 2016, a salary cap breach saw them stripped of their 2016 Auckland Nines premiership. The club plays in the NRL, the premier rugby league football competition in Australia. Parramatta sides are also fielded in lower grades and junior competitions run by the New South Wales Rugby League.

History
The playing of rugby union and rugby league in Parramatta lie in the 19th century with the formation of the Parramatta Rugby Club in 1879. With the advent of a Sydney District competition in 1900, the Parramatta club merged with Western Suburbs and played some of its matches at Cumberland Oval. On a local level, rugby league began to be played in 1910 when a district competition was formed. Other clubs in the Parramatta district also emerged; over the ensuing decades, clubs established in suburbs throughout the area.

Pressure in the area for a local club to participate in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership began in the mid-1930s with a formal proposal put to the NSWRL in 1936 by local rugby league identities such as Jack Argent and Jack Scullin. The proposal was rejected by all clubs except Western Suburbs who, despite having the most to lose from the entrance of a Parramatta side (with much of their territory being lost to Parramatta), voted for the entrance of the new club. The advent of World War II put the establishment of the club on hold and a Parramatta district club was not proposed again until 1946 when the club was successfully admitted into the Premiership.

Foundation and early years
Parramatta saw very little success in their early years, despite narrowly missing out on finals qualification in 1949 under the guidance of former Western Suburbs and Leeds five-eighth Vic Hey. Between 1952 and 1961, they finished last eight times and won only 35 of 180 matches. The reasons behind the club doing so poorly in the early years was due to a lack of resources and a weak playing roster. Where other teams fielded test and representative players, Parramatta fielded mainly amateur players or park footballers. The only players of note during this dark period were Billy Rayner and Brian Hambly.

In 1962, Parramatta made the finals for the first time; this achievement was repeated for the three following seasons under coach Ken Kearney. Around this time the club managed to finally attract better players such as Ken Thornett, Dick Thornett and Bob O'Reilly. However, the club slid back down the ladder in the following years, collecting the wooden spoon in 1970 and 1972. The club's first major success came in 1975 when they defeated Manly-Warringah in the pre-season cup final.

1970s
In 1976, the club finally reached the grand final, in their thirtieth season. However, they lost narrowly to a Manly-Warringah side that they had defeated just two weeks earlier. Both clubs had been admitted into the NSWRFL in 1947, and Parramatta were in their first grand final while Manly were in their eighth premiership decider (having qualified for their first in 1951) and were bidding for their third premiership after wins in 1972 and 1973. Unfortunately for Parramatta, this game is regarded as "the one that got away" with Manly winning 13-10 despite the Eels crossing for two tries to Manly's one. A dropped pass by winger Neville Glover with the line wide open in the dying moments of the game ultimately costing the Eels a chance to win the game. Had Glover scored the score would have been tied at 13-all giving goal kicking John Peard a sideline conversion attempt to win the game.

The following year, Parramatta captured their first minor premiership before qualifying for the grand final for the second year running. Against St. George, the match was drawn 9-9, forcing a replay the following weekend. In this match, Parramatta lost 22–0. The Eels made the finals in both 1978 and 1979, but missed the finals in 1980 for the first time since 1974.

1980s
The early 1980s was the most successful period for Parramatta, who earned five grand final appearances and four premierships from 1981 to 1986. Under the influence of coach Jack Gibson and with a team including names such as Ray Price, Peter Sterling, Eric Grothe, Sr., Steve Ella, Mick Cronin, and Brett Kenny the club captured three consecutive premierships from 1981 to 1983, beating the Newtown Jets in 1981 and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 1982 and 1983. In 1984 the team once again reached the Grand Final, but lost in a low-scoring game to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 6–4. In 1986, the club took out their third minor premiership while also reaching the grand final, beating Canterbury 4–2 in the lowest-scoring decider in history. This win proved to be most notably among the victories in the clubs history, ending Canterbury's two year premiership winning streak. The fourth premiership victory capped off a strong period for the club, between 1975 and 1986, the club had only missed the finals once and played in seven grand finals, winning four.

1990s
From 1987 to 1996, the Parramatta club failed to make the finals. With the advent of the Super League war in the mid-1990s, Parramatta capitalised on staying with the Australian Rugby League by picking up high-profile players such as Dean Pay, Jason Smith, Jim Dymock and Jarrod McCracken from the 1995 premiership-winning side, the Sydney Bulldogs.

In 1997, the Eels remained in the ARL's competition and made the finals for the first time in 11 seasons by finishing third in the Australian Rugby League competition. Parramatta continued into the NRL era which began in 1998, surviving the reduction in teams at the end of the twentieth century. In the 1998 NRL season Parramatta finished 4th and defeated North Sydney in the first week of the finals 25–12. The following week Parramatta traveled to Brisbane in the major semi final and won the match 15-10 earning the week off.

In the 1998 preliminary final Parramatta were leading arch rivals Canterbury 18–2 with less than 10 minutes to play only for Canterbury to fight their way back into the match and with a minute left on the scoreboard, winger Daryl Halligan kicked a conversion from out on the far touchline to send the game into extra time. Canterbury won in extra time 32–20. The loss was hard to take for Parramatta as they had beaten eventual premiers Brisbane twice during the season.

In 1999, Parramatta led Melbourne 16–0 at halftime in the preliminary final only to lose 18–16 at full time. Melbourne went on to win the premiership the following week. In the 2000 NRL season, Parramatta finished 7th and won both their sudden death finals matches to take on Brisbane in the preliminary final. In a game that they were not expected to win, Parramatta came close but lost the match against a much stronger Brisbane side. This was their 3rd preliminary final loss in a row.

2000s
The Eels reached the 2001 NRL Grand final after a dominant regular season, where they scored a total of 839 points and lost only 4 matches, but were defeated by the Newcastle Knights 30–24. The week leading up to the grand final itself is also remembered for The infamous 2001 grand final breakfast where coach Brian Smith and the Parramatta players attended wearing as Newcastle player Mark Hughes described "Miami Vice black suits". Another Newcastle player Ben Kennedy reflected on the game saying "They came into the game under a sh*tload of pressure but for us, it was just a good time and a heap of fun. Parra were sh*tting themselves and we were just having a good time". Andrew Johns also reportedly could tell how nervous the Parramatta players were and knew they had a chance at making an upset.

In 2005, Parramatta finished as minor premiers in the regular season and came up against North Queensland in the preliminary final. In a game that Parramatta were expected to win, North Queensland defied the odds and won the match 29–0. In 2006, Parramatta finished 8th in the regular season and faced Melbourne in the first week of the finals losing 12–6 and thus being eliminated from the competition. In 2007, Parramatta again made the preliminary final and once more the opponent was Melbourne. Parramatta went on to lose the match 26–10. This was their 5th preliminary final loss in nine years.

In 2009, under new coach Daniel Anderson, the Eels had an indifferent start to the season which saw the release of star halfback Brett Finch. After 18 rounds and incredibly inconsistent form, the Parramatta Eels had won only 5 games and were sitting third-last and were in direct contention for the dreaded 2009 NRL Wooden Spoon. TAB SportsBet had the Eels as $151 outsiders to win the NRL Premiership.

Though beginning in Round 19, upset victories against the Melbourne Storm and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs set the platform for an unexpected 10 wins from the next 11 games, which propelled the Eels into the Top 8 and consequently, premiership contention. This unanticipated winning streak was directly attributed by many sporting experts including Rugby League legend Andrew Johns to the spectacular run of form of star fullback Jarryd Hayne. Winning the award for man-of-the-match in every game from Round 19–24, and again in the first week of the finals, Hayne was described as "the best player in any code of football in Australia" by premiership-winning coach Phil Gould. Following his astonishing string of 7-man-of-the-match performances, Hayne won the award for Dally M Fullback of the Year and was crowned the best and fairest player in the game, winning the Dally M Medal for 2009.

After a 7-game winning streak, the Eels succumbed to a heavy defeat by the minor premiers St George-Illawarra Dragons, however they returned to Kogarah in Week 1 of the 2009 NRL Finals Series and defeated the Dragons 25–12 featuring an impressive late game try by Dally M medal winner Jarryd Hayne. Following successive wins against the Gold Coast Titans (a team that Parramatta had never beaten before), 27–2 at SFS and Canterbury-Bankstown, 22–12 in front of a record-breaking non-grand final crowd of 74,549 at ANZ stadium, the Eels qualified for their first grand final since 2001. On 4 October 2009, Parramatta Eels played the deciding game of NRL, against the Melbourne Storm at ANZ Stadium in front of a crowd of 82,538. The Melbourne Storm defeated the Eels 23–16, ending what critics called "the Parramatta Fairytale" and winning the NRL Premiership. Such was the euphoria at the time with Parramatta making an incredible run to the 2009 grand final that the then NSW Premier Nathan Rees pledged that if Parramatta were to win the premiership he would rename two of the new trains due to be rolled out across The Sydney network the following year. The names of the new trains were to be "The Hayne Train" and "The Fuifui Moimoi Express". They were to be painted blue and gold, and run along the western line of the railway network.

2010s
On 22 April 2010, the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the premiership as a result of long-term gross salary cap breaches disclosed by the NRL. However, the premiership for 2009 was not handed over to the Parramatta Eels, instead remaining vacant.

In 2010, the Parramatta club were picked at the beginning of the year by many leading betting agencies to take out the premiership for 2010 following their surge of form which took them to the grand final in 2009. But, after a relatively poor start to the season, and then a 4-game winning streak, the Parramatta side once again returned to the inconsistent form of past seasons. This inconsistent form, recognised by all Rugby League fans, saw them miss out on the Top 8 in 2010.

After a season of unrelenting disappointment which saw five-eighth Daniel Mortimer dropped to reserve grade, centre Timana Tahu being suspended for an on-field confrontation against the Newcastle Knights and reports of player rifts, Daniel Anderson was sacked unceremoniously as Parramatta coach and replaced by New Zealand World Cup-winning coach Stephen Kearney.

The Parramatta club made several new player signings for the 2011 season. In the forwards, the Eels added former Queensland centre Carl Webb and former Bulldogs and Cronulla as well as one-time Kangaroo Reni Maitua. To bolster the backs after the retirement of Eric Grothe Jr and the departure of Timana Tahu, the Eels signed the experienced pair of Chris Walker and Chris Hicks.

The 2011 season was to be considered a year of "almosts" for Parramatta, with the team losing over half of their matches by four points or fewer, many of which were conceded after attaining leads over their opponents. Parramatta pushed a record four games into Golden Point during the season, however were unable to win any, resulting in a draw against the St. George Illawarra Dragons and one-point losses to the Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

Throughout the 2011 season, coach Stephen Kearney motioned several reshuffles of the Parramatta side, the most high-profile change being fullback Jarryd Hayne's switch to five-eighth after his ball-playing abilities were considered by several experts including the NSW State of Origin coach Ricky Stuart, as his strongest point. Other switches include the moving of Luke Burt to fullback, second-rower Ben Smith to right centre, and the resting of five-eighth Daniel Mortimer.

Before the final match of their season, Parramatta had won only five of their 24 games and were in contention for the dreaded wooden spoon. During their final match, the Parramatta side emerged victorious over the Gold Coast Titans who were also direct contenders for last place. The wooden spoon was awarded to the Gold Coast side, finishing 16th on the NRL ladder, the club finishing in 14th position.

The 2012 season saw the retirement of Parramatta legends Luke Burt and Nathan Hindmarsh. It would also mark the first time since 1972 that the team would succumb to the dreaded wooden spoon. Parramatta struggled all year, securing just their first win of the season in Round 5 against defending premiers Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles before ending a six-game losing streak against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. This horror start to the season, and a win rate of less than 25% over almost two seasons with the club, coach Stephen Kearney was forced to resign and Assistant Coach Brad Arthur would become caretaker. The team responded to this producing 3 wins from 4 games, including competition front-runners Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos to give the fans some hope for the rest of the season. However this was short lived and following a 38-6 thumping to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round 25 of the Telstra Premiership were officially unable to avoid the wooden spoon.

Whilst Parramatta's problems in 2012 were largely attributed to their relatively poor defence, numerous pundits blamed them on the recurring absences of star fullback Jarryd Hayne. Even whilst producing higher per-match statistics than any other fullback in the game (8 tries, 14 try-assists), Hayne only managed to complete 10 games from the season's 24, due to both injury and State of Origin duty.

Throughout the season many of the Parramatta players came under scrutiny and were dropped to the NSW Cup, including high-profile recruit Chris Sandow, who at the time was touted as overweight and unfit, and veteran Luke Burt. As a result, players Matt Ryan, Jake Mullaney and Nathan Smith were called up to the top squad and have impressed in their roles of Second-Row, Fullback and Hooker respectively, making a suitable replacement for injured stars Jarryd Hayne and Matt Keating.

Towards the end of the season Ricky Stuart was announced as the new coach for the Parramatta Eels from 2013. In June 2013, head coach Ricky Stuart told twelve Parramatta players via an overhead projector that their services would not be required beyond the 2013 season.

Another wooden spoon followed at the end of 2013, with the club suffering their second biggest loss ever (4–64 to Melbourne in round 24), and conceding three other scores of 50 or more. On 12 September 2013, it was announced Ricky Stuart would leave Parramatta to take up the head coaching role at Canberra for the 2014 season.

Parramatta were determined to continue their rebuilding process in the off-season after receiving the wooden spoon two years running. The club did this by releasing the aforementioned twelve players and signing more in key areas to help them achieve success in the 2014 season.

Parramatta also recruited a new coach in Brad Arthur, formerly an Assistant Coach at the club, as Ricky Stuart reneged on the final two years of his contract. This was in order to return to his hometown of Canberra, the team he played for during his youth. Before the 2014 season started, Brad Arthur and Parramatta implemented a new recruitment policy and made strong signings including future NSW hooker Nathan Peats, promising star Corey Norman and William Hopoate who was a 2011 premiership winner and NSW representative before leaving rugby league to join a two-year Mormon mission.

The 2014 season started off in great style as Parramatta won four out of their first six matches. Parramatta then went into their Easter Monday clash at Stadium Australia sitting 5th on the ladder but lost the match controversially 21–18 in front of 50,000 fans. In round 24 Parramatta were sitting 8th on the ladder and looked destined to play in the finals for the first time since 2009 and only needed to win one of their last two remaining games against sides lower than them on the table which were Canberra and Newcastle. Parramatta lost both matches and missed out on the finals series by two competition points.

The 2015 season was a year to forget for Parramatta as they finished 12th on the table. The highlights being in round 1 when Parramatta defeated Manly 42–12 and Semi Radradra scoring 24 tries in 18 matches.

The discovery by the NRL in 2016 of salary cap breaches, over a period of four years, resulted in it stripping the Parramatta club of the twelve competition points the club has accrued so far in the 2016 NRL season. In addition to being fined $1 million, Parramatta also had its 2016 NRL Auckland Nines title revoked. On 19 July 2016 the Parramatta Leagues Club board was sacked by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, and an administrator appointed. This effectively also removed the Parramatta board as the seven directors on both boards were the same people. Max Donnelly, of Ferrier Hodgson was appointed as administrator. At the time of the 12-point deduction, Parramatta were sitting 5th on the ladder but then found themselves at 14th position. Their first match played after the points deduction was against South Sydney at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta lost the match 22–20 in a close game. 2016 would also prove to be the final year that Parramatta would play at Parramatta Stadium as it was due to be demolished at seasons end to make way for a new 30,000-seat stadium. The final home game played at Parramatta Stadium was against The St. George in front of 13,553 spectators. Parramatta went on to beat St. George 30–18. Parramatta's final game of 2016 saw them travel to New Zealand to play The Auckland Warriors. Parramatta won the match 40–18 with Bevan French scoring 3 tries. At the end of the season, Parramatta finished in 14th place on the ladder but had they not been stripped of the 12 competition points they would have played in the finals. The 2016 season was also difficult for Parramatta as to become salary cap compliant the club needed to release players such as Nathan Peats and Junior Paulo to be able to play for points. Star recruit Kieran Foran who signed only months earlier on a $1 million a year contract also walked out on the club mid-season due to numerous personal problems and off field issues.

The 2017 season saw a major turnaround for the club with Parramatta finishing fourth on the table and making the finals for the first time since 2009. Some of the highlights throughout the year were the club winning nine out of their final ten matches and defeating Brisbane twice including a 52–34 win at Suncorp Stadium and eventual premiers Melbourne. Parramatta then went on to play premiership favorites Melbourne in the first qualifying final, going into the second half Parramatta had stunned everyone by leading the match and it took Melbourne the last play of the game to hold on and win 18–16. The following week, Parramatta played against North Queensland in the sudden death elimination final. Parramatta led 10–6 at halftime but went on to lose the match 24–16 in what would be one of the biggest upsets of the season.

For the 2018 season, Parramatta were predicted by many before the season to finish in the top 8 and challenge for the premiership. Those predictions were matched in the opening round of the season as Parramatta lead Penrith 14–0 early on but after a second half capitulation lost the game 24–14. In Round 2, Parramatta were humiliated 54–0 by Manly at Brookvale Oval. Parramatta went on to lose the opening 6 games of the season before eventually winning their first game of the season defeating Manly 44–10 in Round 7. In Round 8, Parramatta defeated Wests 24–22 to make it back to back victories for the club. The Eels then went on to lose the next 5 games in a row before eventually winning their third game of the season defeating North Queensland 20–14 in Darwin in which Jarryd Hayne returned from injury scoring two tries. The following weeks were filled with disappointment as the club came close to pulling off upset wins against top of the table St George only for the club to concede two tries in 5 minutes to lose 20–18 and South Sydney after leading 20–6 late into the game only for The Rabbitohs to score late tries and win 26–20. In Round 18, Parramatta lost 18–16 to Newcastle with The Eels being denied a last minute try after it was ruled winger Bevan French had put his foot over the sideline. The following week, Parramatta defeated arch rivals Canterbury 14–8 in what the media dubbed the "Spoon Bowl". There were hopes that Parramatta could avoid the wooden spoon as going into the second last game of the season the club sat above North Queensland on the table due to for and against. In what was the retiring Jonathan Thurston's final home game, both clubs needed a win to avoid the wooden spoon. North Queensland won the match 44–6. In the final game of the season, Parramatta were defeated 44–10 by the Sydney Roosters ensuring that the club finished last and claimed their 14th wooden spoon and the Roosters claiming the minor premiership. Before the match, the Roosters needed to defeat Parramatta by 27 points to overtake Melbourne and finish first on the table.

Before the start of the 2019 NRL season, Parramatta were predicted by many to finish towards the bottom of the table or claim another wooden spoon. The club started off the year with back to back victories over Penrith and arch rivals Canterbury-Bankstown. In Round 6 of the 2019 NRL season, Parramatta played their first game at the new Western Sydney Stadium against the Wests Tigers and ran out 51–6 winners in front of a sold-out crowd.

In Round 9 against Melbourne, Parramatta suffered one of their worst ever defeats losing 64–10 at Suncorp Stadium. In the aftermath of the defeat, coach Brad Arthur and the players were placed under intense scrutiny but just a week after the loss, Arthur was given a two-year contract extension by the Parramatta board. The club would then go on to lose against North Queensland and last placed Penrith in the coming weeks.

Between Round 12 and Round 22 of the 2019 season, Parramatta would go on to win 8 of their 10 games. In Round 22 against the Gold Coast Titans, Parramatta qualified for the 2019 finals series with a 36–12 victory at Cbus Super Stadium.

At the end of the 2019 regular season, Parramatta finished 5th on the table and qualified for the finals. In the elimination final against Brisbane, Parramatta won the match 58–0 at the new Western Sydney Stadium. The victory was the biggest finals win in history, eclipsing Newtown's 55–7 win over St George in 1944. The match was also Parramatta's biggest win over Brisbane and Brisbane's worst ever loss since entering the competition in 1988. The following week against Melbourne in the elimination semi final, Parramatta were defeated 32–0 at AAMI Park which ended their season. The loss against Melbourne was also the sixth time Parramatta had been defeated by Melbourne in a finals game since 1999.

2020s
At the start of the 2020 NRL season, Parramatta won their first five matches in a row which put them at the top of the table. It was the club's best start to a season since 1989. At the end of the 2020 regular season, Parramatta finished in third place on the table and secured a top four spot. It was the club's highest finish on the table since 2005. In the qualifying final, Parramatta lead Melbourne 12–0 early on before losing the match 36–24 at Suncorp Stadium. The following week in the elimination final, Parramatta played against South Sydney for the first time in a finals game since 1965. Parramatta lead the match 18–8 before a second half capitulation saw them lose 38–24 ending their season.

Parramatta started the 2021 NRL season with four consecutive victories before losing to St. George Illawarra in round 5. They then won the next five matches in a row to sit second on the competition ladder after ten rounds. By round 18, the club sat entrenched within the top four of the competition with a six-point gap ahead of the fifth and sixth placed Sydney Roosters and Manly-Warringah. The club then suffered an end of season slump losing to Canberra, an understrength Sydney Roosters side 28–0 and then two heavy defeats against South Sydney and Manly. Parramatta recovered to defeat North Queensland and then pulled off one of the upsets in 2021, defeating Melbourne 22–10 which ended their 19-game winning streak. Parramatta would end the 2021 regular season in sixth place. In week one against Newcastle in the elimination final, Parramatta won a close match 28–20. The following week, Parramatta lost 8–6 in the lowest scoring match of the year against Penrith in the second week of the finals which ended their season.

Parramatta started the 2022 NRL season winning four of their opening five matches. Throughout the 2022 regular season, Parramatta struggled with consistency. Although they defeated Penrith and Melbourne twice, the club only managed to win more than three games consecutively on two separate occasions and lost to eventual wooden spooners the Wests Tigers in round 6 of the competition. In round 14, Parramatta suffered an embarrassing 34–4 loss against arch-rivals Canterbury who were sitting bottom of the table. In round 22, Parramatta were defeated 26-0 by South Sydney which saw them fall to seventh on the table. However, Parramatta would win their final three games in convincing fashion to finish fourth. In week one of the finals, Parramatta were defeated 27–8 by Penrith before bouncing back the following week against Canberra in the elimination final 40–4 to reach their first preliminary final since 2009. In the preliminary final, Parramatta pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the NRL era defeating North Queensland 24–20 in Townsville to reach the grand final. In the 2022 NRL Grand Final against Penrith, Parramatta trailed 18–0 at half-time before going on to lose 28–12.

Parramatta started the 2023 NRL season with three straight losses, all of which were by four points. In round 1, the club lost in golden point extra-time to Melbourne, followed by a four-point loss to Cronulla and then another defeat against Manly at Brookvale Oval. In round 4, Parramatta defeated back to back premiers Penrith 17–16 in golden point extra-time with Mitchell Moses kicking the winning field goal. Between rounds 12–17, Parramatta recorded five straight victories including an upset victory over South Sydney in round 12. In round 17, the club recorded their highest ever first half score in a game as they lead the Dolphins 42–4 at half-time before going on to win 48–20. The victory elevated the club up to fifth place on the table. In round 19, Parramatta suffered their biggest loss of the year losing 46–10 against the New Zealand Warriors with a number of key players missing due to injury and State of Origin selection. All of Parramatta's previous losses in the season were by ten points or less. Following their loss to New Zealand, the club suffered a form slump only winning two of their next six matches which included heavy losses to Melbourne and Brisbane. Parramatta's season was officially ended in round 25 when they lost against the Sydney Roosters 34-12 which meant the club could not make the finals. The following week, Parramatta pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the 2023 season defeating Penrith 32–18. Parramatta would miss out on the top 8 by two points with an eventual finish of 10th place.

Parramatta started the 2024 NRL season with a 26-8 victory over arch-rivals Canterbury. Following the clubs round 3 victory over Manly, Parramatta were dealt a huge blow with halfback Mitchell Moses suffering a foot injury which ruled him on indefinitely. In round 4, the club would succumb to an embarrassing defeat against the Wests Tigers who had finished the previous two seasons with the Wooden Spoon. Captain Clint Gutherson had a penalty goal attempt after the full-time siren to win the game which he missed with Wests winning 17-16. In round 7, Parramatta were beaten 44-16 by the Dolphins at TIO Stadium in Darwin. The Dolphins had seven starting players ruled out of the game with injury and head coach Wayne Bennett was also missing due to illness. The score was in favour of Parramatta 8-4 at half-time, however in the second half the club would capitulate conceding eight tries in under 25 minutes. Following the clubs 48-16 loss against Melbourne at Magic Round, head coach Brad Arthur was terminated by Parramatta ending his ten-year tenure in charge. Trent Barrett was named as the clubs interim head coach for the rest of the 2024 season. On the same day it was reported that Parramatta had been in talks with Wayne Bennett to become the new head coach whilst Arthur was still in charge but Bennett opted to sign a three-year deal with South Sydney. In round 12 of the 2024 NRL season, Parramatta suffered one of their most embarrassing losses in recent times losing 42-26 against South Sydney who were bottom of the table and only had one win to their name prior to the match. Souths also had eight first team players out and had lost their previous six games in a row.

Name and emblem
Like most NSWRFL clubs founded before the 1980s, Parramatta was established with no official nickname or mascot. The only nickname Parramatta had ever been known by was the "Fruitpickers", a reference to the orchards spread throughout the District and surrounding suburbs in the first half of the 20th century. As the competition and the clubs themselves became more focused on marketing in the 1970s, Parramatta adopted an official club mascot.

In the mid-1960s, Peter Frilingos, a Sydney rugby league journalist, suggested that the club should be known as the "Eels". This reasoning was based on the name of the Parramatta, anglicised from the Aboriginal dialect "Barramattagal" meaning "place where the Eels dwell". After this, the team was commonly called "The Eels" and it became an official nickname in the late 1970s.

As a result, the club's crest was changed in 1980, to a design featuring an eel. This crest remained, despite several changes in jersey design, until a new eel logo was introduced in 2000. In 2004, the club mascot featured on the crest reverted to an eel drawing similar to that featured on the original crest.

Parramatta has also used two separate crests based on Parramatta City's crest. The first was a highly detailed scene showing a typical scene on the foreshore of the Parramatta River in the early days of European settlement. It is an apparent tribute to the District's original occupants, the Barramattagal tribe. In the foreground of the original crest, a male Aboriginal is preparing to spear a fish while a woman in a canoe watches. In the background a paddle steamer is visible as well as the tree-lined banks of the Parramatta River. This crest was used by the club until the 1970s when a more stylised version showing only the hunter, and the club's name on a scroll, was used. This crest is still used in 2006 by the Parramatta District Junior Rugby League Football Club.

In 2009, the Parramatta Eels announced they were returning to their original 1980s club emblem in the 2011 season with the numbers 1947 added, this being the year of conception of the Eels.

Colours
When a Parramatta District Club was first proposed in 1936, the colours put forward to the New South Wales Rugby League by the District were emerald green and white, as these were the colours worn by the Western Districts President's Cup side and the Western Suburbs Rugby Union Club. However, when the proposal for a Parramatta club was next put to the NSWRL in 1946, the proposed colours for the new District side were blue and gold. These colours are said to have been selected based on the navy blue, sky blue and gold colours used by Arthur Phillip High School. These colours were also adopted by the Parramatta District Rugby Union club in 1936 and also suggested in Parramatta City Council's use of livery of blue and golden-orange in their crest. While this colour scheme has remained consistent throughout the history of the club, the shades of blue and gold have changed several times.

The original Parramatta jersey used in 1947 was of a blue design with a single yellow hoop around the middle of the jersey, extending across the sleeves. This original design was altered in 1949 to a design based on blue and gold hoops and remained unchanged until the 1970s when a jersey comprising stripes on a predominantly blue or gold background was adopted. Over the years, the design has changed gradually from one based on blue and gold stripes to a design incorporating different blue and gold designs around the fringes of a predominantly blue or gold jersey.

Stadium
Rugby league was played at Cumberland Oval from as early as 1909 by local clubs such as Parramatta Iona, Endeavours and the Western Districts representative side. When the club was admitted into the NSWRL Premiership in 1947, Cumberland Oval became its home ground. The club played its first match in the premiership on 12 April 1947 against Newtown, being defeated 34–12 in front of 6,000 spectators. Cumberland Oval remained the home ground of the Parramatta Eels until 1981; the club played their last match there against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Later that year, after the Parramatta Eels secured their first-ever Premiership trophy, Eels fans rallied at Cumberland Oval; during the celebrations, fans set fire to the ground's soon-to-be-demolished stand.

From 1982 to 1985, the club used Belmore Oval, home of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, as a temporary home ground while a new facility Parramatta Stadium was built. The new stadium to be built on the site of Cumberland Oval was approved by the New South Wales Government for development in 1983 and the contract for the construction and design of the Stadium was put to competitive tender. After construction was completed in November 1985, the club played its first match at the new stadium on 16 March 1986 winning this opening game 36–6 against the St. George Dragons. The original capacity of the ground stood at 30,000, though after re-development of the hills behind each in-goal area into seated terraces in 2002, the capacity was reduced to 21,487.

The largest crowd to watch a rugby league match at Cumberland Oval was 22,470 when the Parramatta took on the South Sydney Rabbitohs on 26 April 1971. The largest crowd at Parramatta Stadium under the current configuration was 21,141 in 2006 against the Wests Tigers. The largest ever attendance for a Parramatta Eels home game came in the stadium's first season when 27,243 saw the Eels draw 12-all with South Sydney in Round 24 of the 1986 NSWRL season. The largest ever rugby league attendance at Parramatta Stadium was set on 6 July 1994 when 27,918 saw Australia defeat France 58–0 in a one-off mid-season Test match. This was also the first test match held in Sydney since 1914 that wasn't played at either the Agricultural Ground, the SCG, or the Sydney Football Stadium.

Parramatta Stadium was closed & demolished in 2017 with Western Sydney Stadium being built in the same location. This stadium has a 30,000 seat capacity and was opened in 2019. The first NRL match to be played at the new venue was in Round 6 2019 between Parramatta and Wests Tigers. Parramatta won the match 51–6 in front of a full house. While CommBank Stadium was under construction, Parramatta played home games at ANZ Stadium between 2017 and the first few rounds of 2019. The Eels currently share a Western Sydney Stadium with many NRL clubs such as the Wests Tigers and arch-rivals Canterbury-Bankstown.

Parramatta Eels–Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rivalry
Parramatta has a rivalry with Northern Beaches-based club Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Though both clubs were formed in the same year, this rivalry did not develop until the 1970s and 1980s when the clubs faced each other in three grand finals: in 1976, 1982 and 1983. The clubs also competed in several play-off finals matches during this period including a controversial drawn semi-final and subsequent replay in 1978. The famous rivalry between the clubs was also marked in an advertising jingle in a 1970s Tooheys television commercial. The rivalry has been regularly rekindled at various times since, particularly when Parramatta players have transferred to play with Manly. Since their 2005 finals series clash, Parramatta and Manly have not played each other in a finals game since and have not played against each other in a grand final since 1983.

On 18 May 2003, Parramatta and Manly played in the first ever golden point match in NRL history. Manly would win the match 36–34 at Brookvale Oval courtesy of a Ben Walker penalty goal. In round 2 of the 2018 NRL season, Parramatta suffered their worst ever loss to Manly. The game was played in temperatures of nearly 40 degrees where Manly ran out 54-0 winners. In the 2019 NRL season, Parramatta beat Manly in round 25 to take Manly's 5th spot on the ladder and would go on to beat Brisbane 58–0 in the elimination final. The victory is currently the biggest win in finals history. In round 11 of the 2022 NRL season, Manly lead Parramatta by ten points in the second half before Parramatta scored two tries to make it 20-20. Parramatta player Mitchell Moses then converted a goal from the side line to win the match 22–20. In round 21 of the 2022 NRL season, the two sides met at Brookvale Oval where Manly needed to defeat Parramatta if they were to stand any chance of reaching the finals. Parramatta would win the game 36–20 with the maligned Jakob Arthur providing two try assists for Parramatta which ended Manly's finals hopes.

Since the 2000s, the rivalry has seen numerous player swaps or players who have featured for both clubs which in the early days was a rare occurrence of the fixture. Such players who have been at both clubs since 2000 include Jamie Lyon, Daniel Heckenberg, Shayne Dunley, Kylie Leuluai, Michael Witt, Aaron Cannings, Jack Afamasaga, Feleti Mateo, Richard Faʻaoso, Blake Green, Joe Galuvao, Tony Williams, Jeff Robson, Jonathan Wright, Justin Horo, Chris Hicks, Cheyse Blair, Darcy Lussick, Kelepi Tanginoa, Brayden Wiliame, Daniel Harrison, William Hopoate, David Gower, Anthony Watmough, Clinton Gutherson, Kieran Foran, Siosaia Vave, Shaun Lane, Andrew Davey, Joey Lussick and Michael Oldfield.

Parramatta Eels–Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs rivalry
The most significant rivalry is with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and began in the early days between the two sides. The rivalry grew further during the 1980s when the clubs faced one another in grand finals in 1984 and 1986 as well as regular play-off matches during this period.

This rivalry received renewed impetus during the Super League war when Parramatta recruited four notable Canterbury players.

In 1998, Parramatta and Canterbury played against each other in the preliminary final with the winners to play the Brisbane Broncos in the grand final. Parramatta were leading the match 18–2 with under 10 minutes to play until what happened next can only be described as one of the greatest capitulations in finals history. Canterbury scored three tries in ten minutes and took the game to extra time winning the game 32–20. In the 2005 NRL season, Parramatta recorded the biggest victory between the two clubs when they defeated Canterbury 56–4 at Parramatta Stadium. Parramatta would need to wait nine years to exact their revenge on Canterbury for the 1998 preliminary final when they played in the 2007 elimination final and won the match 25–6. On 15 March 2008, Parramatta came from 20-0 down at half-time against Canterbury to win 28–20. Later in the 2008 NRL season, Parramatta and Canterbury met in round 24 with Canterbury needing to defeat Parramatta in order to avoid the Wooden Spoon. Parramatta would go on to defeat Canterbury-Bankstown 26-12 and condemn them to their fifth spoon.

In 2009 on their fairy tale run to the grand final, Parramatta faced off against Canterbury in the preliminary final in front of a record crowd of 74,549. Billed as the "Sydney Grand Final", Parramatta were down 12–6 at halftime but came back in the second half to win 22–12. Proving why their rivalry is one of the leagues most bitter. In recent times Parramatta have dominated the fixture between the two clubs winning 12 of the last 15 meetings since 2015.

Speaking to the Herald Sun in 2007, former Canterbury-Bankstown player Craig Polla-Mounter described the rivalry between the two club's saying "I think the Parramatta and Canterbury fans can be the most unforgiving, especially when we play each other. I have no doubt it is the biggest rivalry in rugby league and part of the reason he didn't play again". Polla-Mounter said this in reference to Parramatta player Paul Carige and his infamous performance in the 1998 preliminary final.

Parramatta Eels–Penrith Panthers rivalry
Another rivalry is with neighboring Western Sydney club the Penrith Panthers. The match between the two is known as the "Western Sydney derby" or "The Battle of the West". Aside from local 'bragging rights' the rivalry is also partly founded in bitterness associated with the former status of the Penrith district as part of the Parramatta rugby league district. The relationship between local Penrith clubs and the Parramatta District was often problematic; players and officials in the Penrith area considered themselves ignored and neglected by the Parramatta club during the 1950s and 1960s. Parramatta beat Penrith in two finals games in 1985 winning 38-6 and in 2000 when Parramatta won again 28–10. In 2021, Penrith beat Parramatta in a tight and bruising affair 8–6 on their way to winning the 2021 Grand Final.

In round 9 of the 2022 NRL season, Parramatta defeated Penrith 22–20 at Penrith Stadium. This ended Penrith's eight match winning streak to start the season and it was also the first time Penrith had lost at the ground since the 2019 NRL season. In round 20 of the same season, Parramatta defeated Penrith 34–10. Parramatta were the only team in the 2022 NRL season to beat Penrith twice. In the 2022 finals series, Penrith defeated Parramatta 27–8 in the qualifying final. The two clubs would then meet in the 2022 NRL Grand Final with Penrith securing back to back premierships defeating Parramatta 28–12. Following the grand final, some of the Penrith players mocked the Parramatta club in public and on social media with James Fisher-Harris saying that Parramatta were now Penrith's sons followed by the player inviting Penrith supporters to chant "We hate Parra" and Jarome Luai posting on social media "Daddy loves you" which was in reference to Luai saying before the grand final that Penrith were now Parramatta's "Daddy".

In round 4 of the 2023 NRL season, Parramatta met Penrith in the grand final rematch. Parramatta went into the match having started the season winless. Parramatta lead the match 16–8 with less than seven minutes to play but Penrith levelled the game at 16-16 after Nathan Cleary kicked a 40-metre field goal with seconds remaining. In golden point extra-time, Mitchell Moses kicked a field goal to win the game for Parramatta 17–16. In the final round of the 2023 NRL season, Parramatta upset Penrith 32–18 with Parramatta winger Maika Sivo scoring four tries.

Parramatta Eels–St. George Illawarra Dragons rivalry
The Eels did have a rivalry with another Sydney-based team, the St. George Illawarra Dragons. The Eels were the Dragons' first-ever opponents as a joint-venture and the match was also the second ever held at Stadium Australia which would be the venue for the Olympic Games the following year. The Eels won 20-10 but the Dragons later moved on to make the grand final. The rivalry was not based on geographic location or tribalism as it was more based on both teams being in the finals hunt and pursuit of the premiership. In recent years there were some memorable, not to mention controversial matches, including:
 * Round 18, 2005: Dragons captain Trent Barrett and Eels hooker PJ Marsh instigated an all-in brawl as Barrett kicked down-field and Marsh attempted to smother his kick. Barrett took exception to the tackle and punched Marsh in the back of the head whilst Eels fullback Wade McKinnon fielded the kick and ran 80 metres to score. It turned out to be the turning point to the match as the Eels would go on to win 40–14.
 * Round 13, 2006: After 70 minutes without a score, Parramatta kicked a field goal to go 1-0 up before 8 unanswered points by the Dragons got them home 8–1 in one of the weirdest matches ever in NRL history. This match was played in driving rain at WIN Jubilee Oval, Kogarah.
 * Round 26, 2009: With the minor premiership seemingly all but lost, the Dragons thrashed the Eels 37–0 to actually finish on top of the NRL ladder from the Bulldogs who had lost 34–18 against the Wests Tigers in the second match played on the same night as the Dragons vs Eels match. The win by the Dragons ended Parramatta's late season surge and it saw the Eels finish eighth.
 * 4th Qualifying Final, 2009: But in the qualifying final nine days later, the Eels turned the tables on the Dragons and beat the premiership favourites 25–12, a 50-point turnaround. The Eels would then go on to make the grand final (which they ultimately lost to the disgraced Melbourne Storm) whilst the Dragons would exit the finals altogether after losing to the Brisbane Broncos 24–10.
 * Round 13, 2011: After being thrashed 30–0 against the Dragons in a previous round the Eels began the match as underdogs. The Eels got out to a 14–0 lead only for it to be chased down by the Dragons. After 10 minutes of extra time and neither side being able to break the dead-lock, the game was declared a draw. However, Eels fullback Jarryd Hayne almost pulled off a miracle field goal from close to 60 metres out only for the kick to fade late and miss by half a metre.

Parramatta Eels–Melbourne Storm rivalry
Parramatta have also developed a rivalry with the Melbourne Storm. After Melbourne were found to have breached the salary cap from 2006 to 2010, Parramatta felt robbed of a premiership, having gone down to Melbourne in the 2009 NRL Grand Final and wanted a chance at redemption. In 2010, Parramatta got this chance.
 * Round 13, 2010: After Melbourne were found to have breached the salary cap over the previous five years and robbed several teams of premiership glory including the Parramatta Eels, the Eels got their chance at redemption. In front of a loud and proud home crowd who let Melbourne know what they'd done, Parramatta beat Melbourne, who still had their illegal roster but could no longer accrue points, 24–10. The game was marred by two fights which erupted. The first started after Eels fullback Jarryd Hayne and Melbourne fullback Billy Slater came head to head after Hayne had worked Slater over in a tackle.

Hayne proceeded to head-butt Slater who responded with a punch and the 2 had to be separated. The second occurred again after Hayne and Slater came together. This time Slater was the aggressor and appeared to lead with an elbow when tackling Hayne. Parramatta Five-Eighth Daniel Mortimer was then put in the Sin-Bin for being the third man in. Parramatta fired-up after this incident with prop Fui Fui Moi Moi charging onto the ball from the ensuing penalty and gaining 20 metres. Parramatta kept their heads and won the game by a comfortable margin in the end.

As of 28 July 2023, Parramatta has never defeated Melbourne in a finals game having lost all seven encounters in the 1999 preliminary final, 2006 qualifying final, 2007 preliminary final, The 2009 NRL Grand Final, 2017 qualifying final, the 2019 elimination semi final and 2020 qualifying final. Parramatta hold the record as the side who have scored the most points against Melbourne in a single match when they defeated them 54-10 during the 2001 NRL season. In round 24 of the 2021 NRL season, Parramatta defeated Melbourne 22-10 which ended their record equalling 19-game winning streak. Melbourne were only one win from setting an all-time winning streak of 20 victories in a row. Parramatta were the only team to defeat Minor Premiers, Melbourne twice during the 2021 NRL regular season. In round 25 of the 2022 NRL season, Parramatta defeated Melbourne 22–14 to leapfrog them into fourth place on the table. The result meant that Melbourne finished in fifth place, their lowest finish since the 2014 NRL season.

In round 1 of the 2023 NRL season, Parramatta faced Melbourne in a tightly contested season opener that ended with Melbourne's hooker, Harry Grant, scoring a try in the first period of golden point to win the match 16–12. In round 22 of the 2023 NRL season, Melbourne conducted their 25th anniversary celebrations against Parramatta at Docklands Stadium with a promotional poster before the game showing the club had won six premierships including the 2009 premiership even though the NRL had stripped the club of both premierships due to deliberate salary cap breaches between 2006 and 2010. Melbourne would go on to win the game 46–16. On 31 July 2023, former Melbourne player Cameron Smith spoke to the media regarding the celebrations of the stripped premierships stating that people wouldn't understand why the Melbourne club celebrate the stripped premierships and that opposition fans in particular Parramatta supporters had the right to feel annoyed but said the celebration was for all the right reasons.

Current squad
The current playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2024 NRL season.

Notable players
In 2002 a team of the greatest Parramatta players, known as the Parramatta Legends, were selected based on a public vote of fans. In August of that year the following players were named in each position:

Coaches
The first grade Parramatta Eels team has been coached by 30 different coaches since foundation. • Frank McMillan (1947)

• Vic Hey (1948–1953)

• Charlie Gill (1954)

• Johnny Slade (1955)

• Cec Fifield (1956)

• Ken Slattery (1957)

• Jack Rayner (1958–1960)

• Ron Boden (1961)

• Ken Kearney (1962–1964)

• Ken Thornett (1965–1966)

• Brian Hambly (1967)

• Ian Johnston (1968–1969)

• Ron Lynch (1970)

• Ian Walsh (1971–1972)

• Dave Bolton (1973–1974)

• Norm Provan (1975)

• Terry Fearnley (1976–1979)

• John Peard (1980)

• Jack Gibson (1981–1983)

• John Monie (1984–1989)

• Mick Cronin (1990–1993)

• Ron Hilditch (1994–1996)

• Brian Smith (1997–2006)

• Jason Taylor (2006)

• Michael Hagan (2007–2008)

• Daniel Anderson (2009–2010)

• Stephen Kearney (2011–2012)

• Ricky Stuart (2013)

• Brad Arthur (2012, 2014–2024)

• Trent Barrett (2024)

• Jason Ryles (2025)

Supporters
At the end of the 2023 NRL season, Parramatta had the most NRL membership numbers out of the nine Sydney clubs in the competition with 35,015 paying members.

Some of the club's notable supporters include :
 * Sean Abbott, Australian cricketer
 * John Afoa, New Zealand rugby union footballer
 * Simon Baker, Australian actor
 * Katherine Bates, Australian track and road cyclist
 * Bruce Beresford, Australian film director
 * Toni Collette, Australian actress
 * Shaun Diviney, Australian musician
 * Greg Dyer, Former Australian cricketer
 * Joel Edgerton, Australian actor
 * Jon English, English-Australian musician and actor
 * Danny Green, professional Australian boxer
 * Nicholas Hamilton, Australian actor
 * Paul Hogan, Australian actor and comedian
 * Kevin Kocsis, renowned racehorse form analyst and colourful racing identity
 * Darren Lehmann, Former Australian cricketer
 * Ian Leslie, Indonesian-Australian journalist and television host
 * Aaron Mooy, Australian soccer player
 * Melanie McLaughlin, Australian sport presenter
 * Sam Naismith, AFL footballer
 * Tex Perkins, Australian musician
 * Simon Pryce, Australian performer in The Wiggles
 * Nathan Rees, 41st Premier of New South Wales
 * Mathew Ryan, Australian soccer player
 * Gurinder Sandhu, Australian cricketer
 * Dani Samuels, Australian Olympian
 * Jordan Silk, Australian cricketer
 * Daryl Somers, Australian television presenter

Individual records
Most appearances (200+)
 * 1) Nathan Hindmarsh (330) from 1998 to 2012
 * 2) Brett Kenny (265) from 1980 to 1993
 * 3) Luke Burt (264) from 1999 to 2012
 * 4) Nathan Cayless (259) from 1997 to 2010
 * 5) Ray Price (258) from 1976 to 1986
 * 6) Tim Mannah (233) from 2009 to 2019
 * 7) Peter Sterling (227) from 1978 to 1992
 * 8) Bob O'Reilly (216) from 1967 to 1982
 * 9) Mick Cronin (216) from 1977 to 1986
 * 10) Mark Laurie (205) from 1982 to 1992
 * 11) Daniel Wagon (204) from 1999 to 2008
 * 12) Fuifui Moimoi (201) from 2004 to 2014

Scoring records

Mick Cronin holds the record for most points scored across all grades (2,001) between 1977 and 1986. Cronin also holds the record for most points scored in a single season (282) in 1978. Luke Burt holds the record for most First Grade tries (111) between 1999 and 2012.

Parramatta's largest victory was a 74 - 4 win over Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on 23 August 2003 at Parramatta Stadium. The club's largest defeat was a 0 - 68 loss to Canberra Raiders on 22 August 1993 at Canberra Stadium.

Attendances

The largest crowd Parramatta has played before was 104,583 at Telstra Stadium in the Round 1 'doubleheader' in 1999. The largest home crowd at Parramatta Stadium, before the construction of the hill terraces, was 27,243 against South Sydney Rabbitohs on 17 August 1986. The record crowd Parramatta has played in front of at the new Western Sydney Stadium is 29,372. In this match, Parramatta defeated Brisbane 58–0 in week one of the 2019 finals series. It is the biggest winning margin in a finals match since the competition began in 1908.

All time match record
The all time playing record for the Parramatta team since 1947 (including finals).

Finals Appearances
31 (1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)

First-grade

 * New South Wales Rugby League, Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League Premierships: 4
 * 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986

 * Premiership runners-up: 6
 * 1976, 1977, 1984, 2001, 2009*, 2022

 * New South Wales Rugby League, Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League Minor Premierships: 5
 * 1977, 1982, 1986, 2001, 2005

 * Mid-week cup: 2
 * 1980, 1986

 * Rugby League World Sevens: 2
 * 1997, 2003

 * NRL Nines: 1
 * 2016*

 * Bandaged Bear Cup (Vs Bulldogs): 4
 * 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

 * I4Give Foundation Cup (Vs Bulldogs): 1
 * 2023

 * Jack Gibson Cup (Vs Roosters): 5
 * 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2022

 * Johnny Mannah Cup (Vs Sharks): 6
 * 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024

Youth and pre-season

 * First Division, Premier League: 9
 * 1975, 1977, 1979, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (as Wentworthville Magpies)

 * New South Wales Rugby League Club Championships: 17
 * 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008

 * Pre-Season Cup Titles: 1
 * 1975

 * Jersey Flegg Cup: 3
 * 1970, 1985, 1990

 * SG Ball Cup: 14
 * 1966, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2007, 2017, 2023

 * Harold Matthews Cup: 20
 * 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2016

 * Mills Cup: 2
 * 2007, 2008

Current squad
The current playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2023 NRL Women's season as of 18 June 2023.

title: Parramatta Eels


text:
Talk:Fine (penalty)

This looks awfully like a dictionary entry. - dcljr 09:31, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Minor crimes
A fine is money paid as a financial punishment for the commission of minor crimes or as the settlement of a claim. A synonym, typically used in civil law actions, is mulct.

In the UK fines are imposed for Corporate Manslaughter. Hardly a minor crime. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.138.12.194 (talk) 22:30, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

 * Probably more accurate to talk about a penalty than a punishment. For a poor person, a small fine might be punishing. For a rich person or a corporation, even a large fine might be just the cost of doing business. Ben Aveling 18:15, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

Fine as an adjective

 * I don't feel qualified to add this sort of information, but I haven't been able to find anything in Wikipedia about fine as an adjective - other than the slang uses of the word. 69.8.206.56 17:57, 9 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Try looking in a dictionary. Peterkingiron 22:22, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Wiktionary is one place you could look for more information. fine Redsoxcool (talk) 02:43, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

Suggestion to split

 * I suggest to remove the part "Fines in English land transactions" and incorporate this into a separate (and expanded) article, as this part has no bearing whatsoever to the punishment of crimes, but is a form of what nowadays perhaps would be best described as a kind of registration fee or property transfer tax. Bonicolli (talk) 02:32, 20 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I would suggest that the two concepts (punishment and payment for land) actully share an origin. Since this is only quite a short article, there is no need to split it.  Yes the payment to a lord on the transmission of land was a sort of tax, but it was more than a mere registration fee.  The fine (or premium) under a lease was a form of advnaced rent, and could (indeed can) be a very substantial sum indeed.  The best reason for splitting an article is that it has become too large.  This one has not, so I Oppose the suggestion.  However, I propose to alter the start of an article to deal with the objection inherent in the suggestion.  Peterkingiron (talk) 15:02, 21 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have made the split. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 05:47, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Are fines fair?
The entry states that fines are fair, yet a set fine can obviously be a devestating punishment for a low income person and a minor inconvinience to a high income person. There is a sentence about day fines, but no mention of how they can be considered much more just than a tariff fine. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Calamagrostis (talk • contribs) 03:45, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Where do fines go?
Who gets the money? Suppose a British bank is fined for mis-selling payment protection insurance - who gets the fine money? And how quickly or slowly does the bank have to pay it? Likewise with fines for all sorts of organisations: if they do something wrong and get fined, no reporter ever seems to mention where the fine goes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by UBJ 43X (talk • contribs) 19:23, 2 February 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Fine (penalty)


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Jürgen Todenhöfer

Jürgen Todenhöfer (born 12 November 1940) is a German author, journalist, politician, and executive.

Early life and education
Todenhöfer was born in Offenburg in what is now the current German state of Baden-Württemberg, and studied law at the universities of Munich, Paris, Bonn and Freiburg. He graduated as a doctor of law in 1969 and worked as a judge from 1972 on.

Politics
Todenhöfer became a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) in 1970 which he left on 12 November 2020, his 80th birthday, to found a new political party and was a member of the Bundestag from 13 December 1972 to 20 December 1990 (five election periods) where he represented Tübingen and was affiliated with the pejoratively named "Stahlhelm-Fraktion." He also acted as party spokesman for development policy and arms control. He was vice chairman of the executive board of German media company Hubert Burda Media until 2008. He is considered to be a pacifist although he pointed out that he is not. He participates in the Bundestag election 2021 with his own party, Team Todenhöfer.

He is a Christian.

Journalism
In 1980 he visited Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and started to raise money for refugees. Todenhöfer is one of the most prominent German critics of the US-led wars against Afghanistan and against Iraq in 2001 and 2003, respectively.

He claims that during the war in Iraq the Bush administration was deceiving the public and that the US war in Iraq has killed several hundred thousand Iraqi civilians. He has visited Iraq several times and did original research for his book Why do you kill, Zaid?

Following the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against the Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir, he sent an open letter to the Prosecutor General of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo. He asked for the reasons which led the prosecutor to indict the Sudanese dictator but not the US president George W. Bush or the British prime minister Tony Blair, seeing that neither Sudan nor the US have recognized the International Criminal Court.

First western journalist to visit ISIS
In the summer of 2014 Todenhӧfer sent a message on Facebook to more than 80 German ISIS soldiers asking whether he could visit the ISIS fighting cadre. His goal was to understand the motivations of ISIS. On 9 September, Abu Qatadah, a 31-year-old German and an important person in ISIS media, answered the message. They had Skype discussions for several months. Finally, Todenhӧfer received a document guaranteeing his safety. In October 2014, Todenhӧfer was the first western journalist to travel to ISIS-controlled territory. He was accompanied by his filmmaker son, Frederic.

Todenhöfer wrote that he stayed with an ISIS soldier who was armed with a Kalashnikov rifle. The soldier told him that he was sure to return home alive because ISIS wanted to be accepted as a state, so he had the guarantee of safety from their leadership. In other words, violation of the guarantee would mean violation of this state. Todenhӧfer spent most of his time in Mosul, Iraq but he could have visited ISIS-controlled cities in Syria such as Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor.

Interview with al Nusra commander
In 2016 Todenhöfer filmed an interview with an alleged Syrian rebel commander near Aleppo. The commander, said to be with the al-Qaeda affiliated group the Al-Nusra Front (later Jabhat Fateh al-Sham), claimed to have American support and said his group opposed humanitarian aid to civilians. Whether the commander was truly a Nusra fighter was later questioned and the authenticity of the video disputed. Todenhöfer did not respond to questions about his interview.

"Inside IS" book
In 2016 the German newspaper Der Spiegel analyzed Todenhöfer's book "Inside IS", in which he reports allegedly visiting the Islamic State and speaking to several of its members. Der Spiegel's article contained many strong accusations, disputing most of Todenhöfer's claims. The article concluded Todenhöfer's work was more a "fictional novel than a factual documentary", and calling Todenhöfer a "Märchenonkel" (lying pope). Todenhöfer subsequently sued Der Spiegel.

Cooperation with Xavier Naidoo
In 2015 Todenhöfer recorded a song with the German songwriter Xavier Naidoo, who drifted far into the right spectrum. The song was a protest against the German support of the military intervention in Syria. In it, Muslims are called the "new Jews bearing the responsibility of the star of David". In general opinion Naidoo's and Todenhöfer's song was widely criticized, citing their blunt antisemitism and relationship to Syria's dictator Assad. In fact, Todenhöfer has been found in close contact to Assad and his daughter, calling her "my little princess".

title: Jürgen Todenhöfer


text:
User:Roybb95~enwiki

My name is Roy, and I an Administrator from the Hebrew Wikipedia, where I am mostly active.

Contact

 * My talk page at the Hebrew Wikipedia
 * My talk page over here
 * E-mail

/monobook.css/

/monobook.js/ &

title: User:Roybb95~enwiki


text:
Danie Craven

Daniël Hartman Craven (11 October 1910 – 4 January 1993) was a South African rugby union player (1931–1938), national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic, and author. Popularly known as Danie, Doc, or Mr Rugby, Craven's appointment from 1949 to 1956 as coach of the Springboks signalled "one of the most successful spells in South African rugby history" during which the national team won 74% of their matches. While as a player Craven is mostly remembered as one of rugby's greatest dive-passing scrumhalves ever, he had also on occasion been selected to play for the Springboks as a centre, fly-half, No.8, and full-back. As the longest-serving President of the South African Rugby Board (1956–93) and chairman of the International Rugby Board (1962, 1973, 1979), Craven became one of the best-known and most controversial rugby administrators. In 1969, Craven sparked outrage among anti-apartheid activists when he allegedly said, "There will be a black springbok over my dead body". Craven denied saying this and in his later career promoted coloured training facilities.

Craven earned doctorates in ethnology (1935), psychology (1973) and physical education (1978). He not only created the physical training division of the South African Defence Force (1941) but became the first professor of physical education at Stellenbosch University (1949).

Early life and school years
Danie Craven was born on 11 October 1911 to James Roos Craven (b. 28 June 1882) and Maria Susanna Hartman (d. 1958) on Steeton Farm near Lindley, a small town on the Vals River in eastern Free State province of South Africa. Craven was the third of seven children. The family farm was named for Steeton in West Yorkshire, home to Craven's paternal grandfather, John Craven (1837–90), who came to South Africa as a diamond prospector. Craven later also named his home in Stellenbosch Steeton. His father, aged 18, fought against the British during the Anglo-Boer War and was interned in a British concentration camp, a fate that reportedly also befell his mother.

As a young boy Craven played barefoot soccer, and received his first lessons at a farm school. At the age of 13 he was sent to Lindley High School, and started playing rugby with a stone in the dusty town streets. At school he shone at cricket and rugby. In the following year Craven was selected to play for the town's adult team, but his principal, Tivoli van Huyssteen, prevented him from playing until he turned 15. Among his Lindley teammates was Lappies Hattingh, who would play with Craven 8 years later in the Springbok team against the Wallabies.

Education and teaching career
In 1929 Craven enrolled at Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape. He initially registered as a theology student, but later switched to Social Sciences and Social Anthropology. The switch was prompted by medical advice after his vocal chords were damaged by a kick to the throat while he tried to stop charging forwards during the 1932 test against Scotland.

Craven lodged in Wilgenhof Men's Residence, following in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather, George Nathaniel Hayward (1886–1977). In 1903 Hayward had been one of Wilgenhof's first residents. An all-round athlete, Craven represented his university in rugby, swimming (captain), water polo and baseball. He also participated in track and field, and played cricket, tennis, and soccer.

Craven obtained his BA (1932) as well as a MA (1933) and PhD (1935) in ethnology at Stellenbosch. His PhD dissertation was titled Ethnological Classification of the South African Bantu. His third doctorate was for his thesis on Evolution of Modern Games. He was appointed as Stellenbosch's first professor of physical education in 1949, and served in that capacity until 1975.

After completing his education at Stellenbosch, Craven started teaching at St. Andrew's College in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, in 1936. He coached the school's rugby side, and while there he was selected for the 1937 Springbok tour.

Craven joined the Union Defence Force in 1938 as director of physical education and was sent to Europe to study physical education in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, and Britain. The imminent outbreak of war forced the Cravens to return to South Africa. Craven was appointed head of physical education at the South African military academy with the rank of major. When his section was established as a separate Physical Training Brigade in 1947, Craven was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and director of the brigade. His military career was momentarily interrupted in 1947 as he was appointed lecturer in the Union Education Department at Stellenbosch University before returning to the brigade.

Due to his fame as a Springbok, Craven's image was used in Afrikaans language newspapers during the Second World War to encourage men to enlist. The advertisement showed Craven in uniform, looking into the distance and announcing, "I am playing in the biggest Springbok team ever; join me and score the most important try of your life."

Rugby playing career

At university Craven found a mentor in Stellenbosch coach and national selector A.F. ("Oubaas Mark") Markötter, in charge of the university team from 1903 to 1957. Markötter noticed Craven from the time he starting playing as a 19-year-old in 1929, and promoted him to the first team the following year.

Provincial career
Craven was selected as a Springbok in 1931 before he had made his provincial debut for Western Province in 1932. In a match against Free State in Bloemfontein that year he scored a hat-trick of tries in a performance regarded as one of his best.

In 1936 he worked in Grahamstown, and so started playing for Eastern Province, alongside Flappie Lochner. At Craven's suggestion, Markötter ensured that Lochner went on the 1937 tour to New Zealand.

International career
Craven played his first test match on 5 December 1931 as scrum half at the age of 21 against at St Helens, Swansea. His flyhalf was the captain, Bennie Osler. One of the other debutants that day was flanker André McDonald, who would later develop into the first specialist No. 8. Craven and McDonald became fast friends. His performance on a water-logged field led Die Burger to exult "Boy plays like a giant".

In his third test, against Scotland at Murrayfield on 16 January 1932, Craven scored the winning try. The opportunity came because Craven implemented advice that he had received at Stellenbosch from coach Markötter. Markötter had said that on a muddy field a scrumhalf should either play with his forwards or kick, Craven recalled later. His advice enabled Craven to choose between captain Osler, who wanted the ball to be passed to him, and leader of the forwards Boy Louw, who demanded that the ball stay with the forwards. During the match he was knocked unconscious, sustained damage to his vocal chords, and lost a tooth.

Craven's last test match was on 10 September 1938 as captain (also as scrum half) at the age of 27 against the British Lions at Newlands, Cape Town. During the 1930s he was one of the world's leading scrumhalves, but the start of the Second World War in 1939 ended his career prematurely.

Coaching career
After his rugby-playing career ended, he was a national selector from 1938 until he was appointed coach in 1949. He started his coaching career with a bang, winning 10 matches in a row, including a 4–0 whitewash of New Zealand in their 1949 tour to South Africa. Under his guidance the Springboks were undefeated from 1949 to 1952, and won 17 of 23 tests (74% success rate) – an achievement that makes Craven one of South Africa's greatest coaches. He also coached Stellenbosch University from 1949 until 1956.

Administrative career
Craven became the president of the South African Rugby Board (SARB) in 1956. He was also a member of the International Rugby Board from 1957 and served as its chairman on several occasions.

The last part of Craven's chairmanship of the SARB occurred during the country's most tumultuous years. Rugby had become the national sport of white South Africans and a symbol of Afrikaner power. In the 1970s and 1980s, the outlawed African National Congress allied with overseas anti-apartheid movements to successfully isolate South Africa from sporting and cultural contact with the rest of the world. Of all the sanctions aimed at South Africa, none irked the Afrikaner population more than the ban on rugby internationals.

Craven managed to maintain links with other rugby playing nations during the years of South Africa's sporting isolation through his position with the IRB. He feared that isolation would negatively affect the standard of Springbok rugby. Consequently, he was not above "some murky business", such as the New Zealand Cavaliers tour in 1986, which Craven denied would happen. By the time South Africa returned to international competition in 1992, there had been no outgoing tours since 1981, and no incoming tours since 1984.

In 1988 Craven met leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) in Harare, Zimbabwe in a bold bid to return to global competition. An unprecedented deal emerged to form a single rugby association that would field integrated teams for participation in foreign tournaments. Many right-wing white South Africans attacked Craven as a traitor for meeting with the ANC, and then-president P.W. Botha denounced the move. Although the deal did not lead to the immediate end of the sporting isolation, it paved the way for the formation of the unified body, the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) in 1992. Craven was SARFU's first chairman until he died in 1993, having served for an unbroken 37 years at the head of South African rugby.

Personal life

Craven married twice. He wed Beyera Johanna (née Hayward, d. 2007 ) on 2 July 1938. She was from the Eastern Cape, a teacher, and daughter of the member of parliament for Steytlerville, George Hayward. Danie and Beyera had four children: Joan, George Hayward, Daniel, and James Roos Craven. One of his grandsons is the professional Namibian road cyclist Dan Craven, winner of the 2008 African Road Race Championships in Casablanca, Morocco. Danie and Beyera divorced in 1972.

On 30 May 1975 Craven married Martha Jacoba (Merlė) Vermeulen, the widow of Cape Town detective Dirk Vermeulen. Merlė worked in the fashion industry as a buyer for a chain of stores, and so had to attend fashion parades. After one such a parade in Pretoria, she twisted her ankle badly at her hotel. A bystander introduced her to Craven as "a doctor" who "knew a lot about ankle injuries". After Craven treated her foot, he telephoned and arranged to meet her again, and their relationship developed.

Craven had a dog named Bliksem which accompanied him everywhere, even to rugby practices. A journalist recalled how "when Doc and Bliksem were on the touchline at training, no one within sight would dare shirk".

Legacy
There were "many contradictions and convolutions in Craven's life", wrote Paul Dobson, which made him both admired and despised: "His home language was Afrikaans, but he would claim not to be an Afrikaner ... a sportsman and yet he set higher store by academic achievement ... accused of trying to hang on to an exclusively white preserve, and yet he devoted himself to breaking down racial barriers"

Honours
Danie Craven was accepted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 1997, the first of 9 South Africans to date. In 2007 he became the third inductee into the IRB Hall of Fame, only preceded by Rugby School and William Webb Ellis, the alleged instigator of the game that would develop into rugby union.

The South African Craven Week schools rugby competition is named after him, as well as the Danie Craven Stadium and Danie Craven Rugby Museum in Stellenbosch. To commemorate him, Stellenbosch University commissioned sculptor Pierre Volschenk to execute a bronze sculpture of Craven and his faithful dog. The statue stands within the grounds of the Coertzenburg sports complex in Stellenbosch.

In 1981 Craven received the State President's Award for Exceptional Service, as well as the honorary citizenship of the city of Stellenbosch. He was made an honorary life president of the French Rugby Federation in 1992.

Aphorisms
Craven is often remembered for his quirky and controversial statements. For example, he said "When Maties and Western Province rugby are strong, then Springbok rugby is strong."

Initially he was unsure that all South Africans could play together, arguing in 1968 that the different race groups were "separate nations ... [who] won't ever play in the same side. But maybe ... one day, we would have such a team". Craven denied that he had ever said that people of colour would be Springboks "over my dead body". His supporters could point to his liking for coloured rugby enthusiasts, and the efforts that he made over the last few years of his life to run multiracial rugby workshops in rural South Africa as signs that he had changed his views.

Published works
Apart from his academic dissertations which were referred to above, Craven wrote numerous books as solo and co-author on rugby, including his autobiography (1949), rugby terms for translators (1972), and how to organize a tennis club (1951). According to The Independent of London "his coaching manual Rugby Handbook (1970) is a standard".

Partial list.

 * 1985 & 1986. Ons rugby op die platteland. Parts 1 & 2. Nuweland: SA Rugbyraad.
 * 1980. Die groot rugbygesin van die Maties. Kaapstad: Galvin & Sales.
 * and Tetsunosuke Ōnishi. 1979. Senshu to kōchi no tameno gendai ragubī no gijutsu to senpō.
 * 1976. Rugby vir almal. Kaapstad: Tafelberg-uitgewers.
 * 1975. Rugby Handbook. Wellington, N.Z.: A.H. & A.W. Reed.
 * 1974. Patroon vir rugby: 'n praktiese handleiding oor grondbeginsels, vaardighede, spelsette en oefenmetodes. Kaapstad: Tafelberg.
 * 1973. Spel as ondersteunende terapie in die behandeling van groep kroniese gehospitaliseerde psigiatriese pasiënte. S.l: s.n.
 * Chris Cillié, J. H. Jordaan, and H. J. Bothma. 1972. Rugbyterme: Eng.-Afr. 1,827 terme. Johannesburg: Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge.
 * 1970. Rugby handboek. Kaapstad: Tafelberg.
 * [1960] 1970. Die verhaal van rugby. Johannesburg: Afrikaanse Pers.
 * 1965. The Seven Pillars of Rugby. Johannesburg: Swan Press.
 * 1964. Springbok annale Springbok annals : internasionale toere na en van Suid-Afrika, 1891–1964. Johannesburg: Mimosa.
 * 1961. Handleiding van rugby vir skole en klubs. Johannesburg: A.P.B.
 * 1961. Springbok Annals: International Tours to and from South Africa, 1891–1958. Johannesburg: Mimosa.
 * 1960. Enjoyment in the Playing and Training of Rugby: Lekker rugby speel en oefen. [S.l.]: South African Rugby Board.
 * 1953. Danie Craven on Rugby. Wellington [N.Z.]: Reed.
 * 1951. Tennis vir die organiseerder. Stellenbosch: UUB.
 * 1954. Springbok Story, 1949–1953. Cape Town: R. Beerman.
 * 1949. Ek speel vir Suid-Afrika. Kaapstad: Nasionale Pers.
 * 1948. "Die Grondbeginsels van Rugby". Kaapstad: Nasionale Pers.

title: Danie Craven