2003 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season
His next match was a blockbuster semifinal where he faced American favorite Andy Roddick. Roddick had won the other grass court tuneup at the Queen's Club Championships and was an extremely dangerous opponent on grass. Federer defeated his young American rival 7–6(6), 6–3, 6–3 and became the first Swiss man to advance to the finals of a Grand Slam tournament. In the finals Federer faced Australian Philippoussis who had defeated him earlier in the year at Hamburg. Federer, however, proved that he possessed the quality of a champion and rose to the occasion. As Philippoussis's backhand sailed into the net on championship point Federer sank to his knees, raised his arms above his head, and looked to the sky. He had defeated the Australian 7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3) and finally achieved his elusive first Grand Slam title.


2003 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season
His breakthrough and victory and the 2003 Wimbledon Championships proved especially significant because Federer would go on to win more Grand Slam and Wimbledon  titles than any man in tennis history. This achievement of winning his first ever Wimbledon and Grand Slam title has been repeatedly described by the Swiss star as the highlight of his career along with his 2009 victory at Roland Garros.


2003 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Gstaad
Immediately following his historic Wimbledon victory, Federer flew to the Bernese Alps to honor his commitment of playing the Swiss Open in Gstaad. This tournament was unique in Federer's calendar as it was played on a clay surface in between the grass and summer hard court seasons. Federer's Wimbledon victory was honored by the tournament which gave the Swiss star a 1,760 pound milking cow named Juliette. Federer continued his winning ways until exhaustion finally caught up to him in the finals, where he fell to Jiri Novak in five sets ending his 15 match winning streak. This loss, however, could not lessen the euphoric atmosphere in Switzerland in the wake of his Wimbledon performance.


2003 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Summer hard court season
During the North American summer hard-court season, however, Federer lost his initial opportunities to ascend to the top of the world rankings. Federer lost an extremely close match in the semifinals of the Masters Series tournament in Montreal to Roddick which ended in a final-set tiebreaker 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(3). This would be the last time he would lose to Roddick until 2008. At the Cincinnati Masters Federer lost to rival David Nalbandian in the second round. This loss to Nalbandian was extremely close as well with Federer on the unlucky end of a 6–7(4), 6–7(5) result.


2003 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Summer hard court season
Federer entered the 2003 US Open for the first time ever as a Grand Slam champion. The number two seed breezed through the first three rounds of the tournament dropping only his opening set. In the fourth round Federer again faced nemesis Nalbandian who had defeated him in the previous tournament and held a 4–0 head to head record against the Swiss. The Argentine again frustrated Federer as the Swiss lost 6–3, 6–7, 4–6, 3–6. His goal of achieving the number one ranking receded even further as Roddick completed the American summer hard court triple.


2003 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Fall indoor season
During the autumn, Federer played four consecutive indoor tournaments in Europe. He won the tournament in Vienna defeating former world number one and French Open champion Carlos Moyá 6–3, 6–3, 6–3. However, he failed to reach the finals in his home tournament of Basel and the Masters Series tournaments in Madrid and Paris.


2003 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Fall indoor season
To end the year, Federer won his first Tennis Masters Cup title in Houston. As the third-seeded player, he defeated Andre Agassi to open the round robin in a thrilling 6–7(2), 6–3, 7–6(7) epic. He would go on to win in straight sets against Nalbandian, 6–3, 6–0, defeating the Argentine for the first time in his career. His last round robin match was against world number 2 Juan Carlos Ferrero who fell to Federer 6–3, 6–1. In the semifinals he defeated world number 1 and US Open champion Andy Roddick 7–6, 6–2. Federer entered the final against the 1990 champion Andre Agassi and won decisively 6–3, 6–0, 6–4.


2003 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Fall indoor season
Federer challenged for the top ranking during 2003, finishing the year at world number 2, just behind Roddick and just ahead of Juan Carlos Ferrero.


2003 Rogers AT&T Cup – Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez were the defending champions, but lost in the second round to Jelena Dokić and Corina Morariu.


2003 Rogers AT&T Cup – Doubles
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Martina Navratilova won in the final 3–6, 6–3, 6–1, against María Vento-Kabchi and Angelique Widjaja.


2003 Rogers AT&T Cup – Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2003 Rogers AT&T Cup – Singles
Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Elena Dementieva.


2003 Rogers AT&T Cup – Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne won in the final 6–1, 6–0, against Lina Krasnoroutskaya.


2003 Rogers AT&T Cup – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2003 Rolex Sports Car Series
The 2003 Rolex Sports Car Series season was the fourth season of the Rolex Sports Car Series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. The season involved four classes, Daytona Prototypes (DP), Sports Racing Prototype II (SRPII), Grand Touring Sport (GTS), and Grand Touring (GT). 12 races were run from February 1, 2003 to November 2, 2003. Barber Motorsports Park was added.


2003 Romanian Figure Skating Championships
The 2003 Romanian Figure Skating Championships were the national championships of the 2002–03 figure skating season. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles and ladies' singles. The results were used to choose the Romanian teams to the 2003 World Championships and the 2003 European Championships.


2003 Romanian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Romania on 18 and 19 October 2003. The proposed amendments to the constitution were approved by 91.1% of voters.


2003 Romanian constitutional referendum
The 2003 referendum was the first revision of the Romanian constitution since its inception on 8 December 1991. The referendum included a variety of major changes to the constitution, namely in Articles 1, 2, 5, 9, 11, 15, 16, 20, and 21. Additionally, it included rules that heavily influenced criminal proceedings and how long the courts could hold an individual in preventive custody. The constitutional revision from 2003 also guarantees that "A person’s freedom to develop his/her spirituality and to get access to the values of national and universal culture shall not be limited."


2003 Ronde van Nederland
These are the results for the 43rd edition of the Ronde van Nederland cycling race, which was held from August 19 to August 23, 2003. The race started in Middelburg and finished in Landgraaf.


2003 Rose Bowl
The 2003 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2003. It was the 89th Rose Bowl game. It was a match-up between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Washington State Cougars. Oklahoma led 27–0 in the fourth quarter and won, 34–14. Sooner quarterback Nate Hybl was named the Player Of The Game.


2003 Rose Bowl, Pre-Game Activities
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses chooses their co-Grand Marshals of the 114th annual Rose Parade, they are: Actor/Comedian Bill Cosby, Art Linkletter and Fred Rogers from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS.


2003 Rose Bowl, Pre-Game Activities
On Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - Tournament of Roses President Gary L. Thomas selects 17-year-old Alexandra Wucetich, a senior at San Marino High School & a resident of San Marino, California to become the 85th Rose Queen to reign over the 114th Tournament of Roses Parade and the 89th Rose Bowl Game.


2003 Rose Bowl, Pre-Game Activities
Members of the court are: Princesses Anjali Agrawal, Arcadia, La Salle High School; Heather Bell, Pasadena, John Muir High School; Katherine Berber, San Marino, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy; Glynn Joseph, Altadena, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy; Megan Maclennan, Pasadena, Polytechnic School; and Danielle Yamamoto, La Canada Flintridge, La Canada High School.


2003 Rose Bowl, Teams
Prior to the BCS, this pairing never would have occurred. Oklahoma came into the game Big 12 Champions, while Washington State came in co-champions of the Pac-10. The Rose Bowl normally features the champions of the Big Ten and the Pac-10. However, because the Buckeyes had finished second in the BCS, they were set to play in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship against the Miami Hurricanes. Earlier in the season, Ohio State had defeated Washington State 25–7.


2003 Rose Bowl, Teams
The Orange Bowl had the next pick after the Fiesta Bowl pairing, and #3 (#5 BCS) Iowa was chosen. The Rose Bowl had the next BCS selection. The next, best available team to choose was #8 (#7 BCS) Oklahoma, who won the Big 12 Championship Game, to play Pac-10 winner Washington State. When it came time for the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl to make a second pick, both wanted the fifth-ranked USC Trojans. However, a BCS rule stated that if two bowls want the same team, the bowl with the higher payoff has the option.


2003 Rose Bowl, Teams
The Orange Bowl immediately extended an at-large bid to the Trojans and paired them with at-large number 3 Iowa in a Big Ten/Pac-10 "Rose Bowl" matchup in the Orange Bowl. Rose Bowl committee executive director Mitch Dorger was not pleased with the results. This left the Sugar Bowl with #14 BCS Florida State, the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Notre Dame at 10–2 and #9 in the BCS standings was invited to the Gator Bowl. Kansas State at #8 also was left out.


2003 Rose Bowl, Teams, Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners won the Big 12 South and defeated Colorado in the Big 12 Championship Game. Kansas State, although ranked higher in the AP poll, lost to Colorado in the Big 12 North, and could not play in the championship game.


2003 Rose Bowl, Aftermath
This game drew one of the lowest attendance numbers in the modern history of the Rose Bowl. It was the first time that the stadium held less than the nominal capacity for the Rose Bowl game since before the 1947 Rose Bowl and the agreement between the Pacific Coast and Big Ten conferences. The 1944 game had the third smallest crowd played in the Rose Bowl stadium at 68,000. The 1931 edition had the second smallest crowd at 60,000. The smallest crowd at the Rose Bowl stadium was the 1934 Rose Bowl at 35,000. Former University of Michigan coach Bo Schembechler remarked, "Didn't watch it," when asked what he thought of this game and also about the Nebraska-Miami Rose Bowl the previous year


2003 Rose Bowl, Aftermath
During the early 2010s cycle of conference realignment, the Pac-10 eyed six Big 12 members as possible additions to the conference, including Oklahoma. However, the only Big 12 school that did join the Pac-10 (now the Pac-12) was Colorado.


2003 Rossendale Borough Council election
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Trappedinburnley (talk | contribs) at 17:51, 5 January 2020 (main article). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2003 Rossendale Borough Council election
Elections to Rossendale Borough Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.


2003 Rother District Council election
The 2003 Rother District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Rother District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election after boundary changes reduced the number of seats by 7. The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Rother District Council election, Background
Originally a total of 81 candidates stood for the 37 seats that were to be elected after the boundary changes, comprising 37 Conservatives, 32 Liberal Democrats, 12 Labour and 3 independents. However the death of a Liberal Democrat candidate for Rother Levels meant the election in that ward was delayed until 12 June and so 75 candidates stood for the 35 seats that were contested on 1 May.


2003 Rother District Council election, Background
Both the Conservative leader of the council, Peter Jones, and the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, Stephen Hardy, stood down from the council at the election.


2003 Rother District Council election, Election result
The Conservatives continued to hold a strong majority on the council winning 13 of the 18 seats in Bexhill, compared to 2 each for the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties, and 1 independent. In the remaining rural areas of the council that were elected on 1 May, 9 Conservatives, 6 Liberal Democrats, 1 Labour and 1 independent councillors were elected.


2003 Rother District Council election, Election result
The delayed election in Rother Levels on 12 June had the Conservatives win both seats.


2003 Rother District Council election, Election result
The above totals include the delayed election in Rother Levels on 12 June 2003.


2003 Rother District Council election, Ward results, Rother Levels delayed election
The election in Rother Levels was delayed until 12 June 2003 after the death of a Liberal Democrat candidate Julian Emery.


2003 Rother District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Bexhill Sackville September 2004
A by-election took place in Bexhill Sackville on 9 September 2004 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Jean Hopkinson when she moved to New Zealand. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Graham Oliver with a majority of 184 votes over the Liberal Democrats.


2003 Rother District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Bexhill St Stephens
A by-election was held in Bexhill St Stephens on 29 September 2005 after the death of Conservative councillor William Clements. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Paul Lendon by a majority of 111 votes over the Liberal Democrats.


2003 Rother District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Ticehurst and Etchingham
A by-election was held in Ticehurst and Etchingham on 17 November 2005 after Conservative councillor John Potter moved away. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Robert Elliston with a majority of 367 votes over the Liberal Democrats.


2003 Rother District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Bexhill Kewhurst
A by-election was held in Bexhill Kewhurst on 4 May 2006 after Conservative councillor Martin Horscroft resigned from the council. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Martin Kenward with a majority of 616 votes over the Liberal Democrats.


2003 Rother District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Bexhill Sackville May 2006
A by-election was held in Bexhill Sackville on 4 May 2006 after Conservative councillor Graham Oliver resigned from the council. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Keith Standring with a majority of 89 votes over the Liberal Democrats.


2003 Rother District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Bexhill St Marks
A by-election was held in Bexhill St Marks on 4 May 2006 after Conservative councillor Stuart Earl resigned from the council. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Patrick Douart with a majority of 325 votes over the Liberal Democrats.


2003 Route 60 Hamas ambush
On 20 June 2003 Howard (Zvi; Tzvi) Goldstein, age 47, his wife Michal, and Goldstein's parents, Lorraine, 73, and Eugene, 73, Goldstein drove on Route 60 en route to a party in Jerusalem celebrating the wedding of Michal and Zvi Goldstein's son, David, which had taken place on the previous day. Two members of a Hamas cell waiting in ambush on the roadside opened fire with AK-47s, hitting all four occupants of the car. Eugene Goldstein took the steering wheel and to help his injured son drive the car away from the gunmen and drove eight miles for medical help before the car flipped over.


2003 Route 60 Hamas ambush
Zvi Goldstein, a technical writer who had immigrated from the U.S. to Israel, died of his injuries. Michal Goldstein survived. Lorraine Goldstein survived, although a series of operations to repair her damaged jaw caused by a bullet left her with little motion in her mouth. Eugene Goldstein survived with "a bullet lodged near his heart from (the) ambush." The survivors were taken to Hadassah Medical Center.


2003 Route 60 Hamas ambush, Hamas
Hamas immediately claimed responsibility for the shooting attack. This claim, in 2003, was described by the Haaretz newspaper as "surprising," since, according to writer Amos Harel, before the attack, the "militant Islamic organization (Hamas) has almost completely avoided carrying out shootings in the West Bank, focusing instead on using suicide bombers, primarily within the Green Line.


2003 Route 60 Hamas ambush, Hamas
On 21 June, the Israel Defense Forces killed Abdullah Qawasmeh, who was believed to be the senior Hamas commander in the Hebron area.


2003 Route 60 Hamas ambush, Immediate impact
The attack was also described as disruptive to the Road map for peace, an initiative involving United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was in Jerusalem at the time of the ambush. According to Ian Fisher of The New York Times, the attack was interpreted "as a message to Mr. Powell, the Israelis and its Palestinian supporters that Hamas remains strong and very much active."


2003 Route 60 Hamas ambush, Lawsuit
In 2004 Lorraine and Eugene Goldstein, who live in Plainview, New York, sued the Arab Bank for laundering money used to fund Hamas terror attacks targeting Israelis, including the attack in which his son, Howard, was killed.


2003 Route 60 Hamas ambush, Lawsuit
In 2006, the Goldsteins joined a group of 50 American victims of terrorism (survivors or relatives of people murdered by terrorists), suing three large international banks, Crédit Lyonnais, Arab Bank, and NatWest, alleging that all three banks were involved in channeling money to Hamas, which has been listed by the government of the United States as a terrorist organization since 1997. The Anti- Terrorism Act enables American victims of acts of terrorism that take place outside the United States can sue for damages in federal courts.


2003 Route 60 Hamas ambush, Lawsuit
In August 2015, Arab Bank agreed to a confidential settlement with hundreds of American victims of terrorism, including the Goldsteins.


2003 Royal Bank Cup
The 2003 Royal Bank Cup was the 33rd Junior "A" 2003 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.


2003 Royal Bank Cup
The Royal Bank Cup was competed for by the winners of the Doyle Cup, Anavet Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Fred Page Cup and a host city.


2003 Royal Bank Cup
The tournament was hosted by the Charlottetown Abbies in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.


2003 Royal Bank Cup, The playoffs, Round robin
Note: x- denotes teams who have advanced to the semi-final.


2003 Rua'au by-election
The Rua'au by-election was a by-election in the Cook Islands seat of Rua'au. It took place on 14 August 2003, and was precipitated by the death of Democratic Party MP Maria Heather.


2003 Rua'au by-election
Three candidates contested the by-election: the Democratic Party's Geoffrey Heather, husband of the former MP; the Cook Islands Party's Vaine Wichman, and Cook Islands National Party leader Teariki Heather. The poll was won by Geoffrey Heather.


2003 Rugby Borough Council election
Elections to Rugby Borough Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council seats were up for election. The council stayed under no overall control. The number of councillors for each party after the election were Conservative 18, Labour 16, Liberal Democrat 10 and Independent 4.


2003 Rugby League National Leagues
The 2003 National Leagues (known as the LHF National Leagues due to sponsorship) are the second, third and fourth divisions of rugby league played in the United Kingdom.


2003 Rugby League National Leagues
National Leagues One and Two were made up of the 18 clubs that competed in the Northern Ford Premiership during the previous season, plus the London Skolars and the York City Knights. National League Three consisted of ten additional teams from the amateur leagues. There was no automatic promotion and relegation with National League Two, but the RFL hoped to introduce this in the future.


2003 Rugby League National Leagues, National League One
National League One was won by Salford City Reds, and won promotion to the Super League after defeating runners-up the Leigh Centurions in the play-off final. The Dewsbury Rams were relegated to National Two.


2003 Rugby League National Leagues, National League Two
National League Two was won by the Sheffield Eagles, but lost to the Keighley Cougars in the play-off final.


2003 Rugby League National Leagues, National League Three
National League Three was won by Bradford Dudley Hill, with the play-offs being won by the Woolston Rovers (Warrington).


2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The pre-event favourites were England, regarded by many at the time as the best team in the world. New Zealand, France, South Africa and defending champions Australia were also expected to make strong showings, with New Zealand being second favourites after victory in the southern-hemisphere Tri-Nations championship.


2003 Rugby World Cup
The tournament began with host nation Australia defeating Argentina 24–8 at Stadium Australia in Sydney. Australia went on to defeat New Zealand 22–10 in the semi-final, to play England in the final. Along with a try to Jason Robinson, Jonny Wilkinson kicked four penalties and then a drop-goal in extra time to win the game 20–17 for England, who became the first northern hemisphere team to win the Webb Ellis Cup.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Qualifying
The following 20 teams, shown by region, qualified for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Of the 20 teams, eight of those places were automatically filled by the teams that reached the quarter-final stages in 1999, including hosts and world champions Australia and did not have to play any qualification matches. A record 81 nations from five continents were involved in the qualification process designed to fill the remaining 12 spots, which began on 23 September 2000.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Host
Australia won the right to host the 2003 World Cup without the involvement of New Zealand after a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. Australia and New Zealand had been expected to co-host – with New Zealand expected to host 23 of the 48 matches – but New Zealand's insistence on amending the provisions relating to stadium advertising was unacceptable to the IRB.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Venues
The overall stadium capacity was 421,311 across 11 venues. This was a reduction from the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales (with games also held in England, France, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland) which had a total capacity of 654,677 across 18 venues.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Venues
The Adelaide Oval underwent a AU$20 million redevelopment for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, financed entirely by the South Australian Cricket Association, with two new grandstands built adjacent to the Victor Richardson Gates. Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane (formerly Lang Park) was a new A$280 million venue designed specifically for rugby league, rugby union and soccer, and was opened just prior to the start of the 2003 World Cup with a capacity of 52,500, some 12,000 more than the old Lang Park could hold. The Central Coast Stadium was also a newly built rectangular venue built for union, league and soccer. It was built on the site of the old Grahame Park ground and was opened in February 2000 at a cost of A$30 million.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Venues
The Sydney Football Stadium was one of two venues in Sydney that were used for football during the 2000 Olympic Games. The other venue in Sydney was Stadium Australia, which was the centrepiece of the 2000 Olympic Games. It was built as the main stadium of the 2000 Olympics at a cost of $690 million and with a capacity of 83,500 was the biggest stadium used in the 2003 World Cup (the stadium had an original capacity of 110,000 before undergoing a post-Olympics redevelopment from 2001-2003). The only stadium with a retractable roof used was the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. Although the Docklands Stadium has movable seating which brings four sections of the lower bowl forward by 18 metres to create a more rectangular surround for the pitch, this was not used during the World Cup as it reduces the seating capacity of the stadium by approximately 3,500.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Pools and format
Following criticism of the complex format used in the 1999 Rugby World Cup a new simpler format was introduced and the twenty teams were divided into four pools of five nations, with the top two in each pool moving on to the knock-out quarter-final stage. With forty matches to be played in the pool stage on top of the knock-out matches would make the event the largest Rugby World Cup tournament to be played to date. For the first time, a bonus point system was implemented in pool play. This system is identical to that long used in Southern Hemisphere tournaments, and was soon adopted in most European competitions (though not in the Six Nations until 2017):


2003 Rugby World Cup, Pools and format
A total of 48 matches (40 pool stage and eight knock-out) were played throughout the tournament over 42 days from 10 October to 22 November 2003.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Pool stage
The Australian media criticised the competition early in the tournament as the smaller nations were crushed by the rugby superpowers by 60 points or more, in particular a 142–0 victory by the host nation over Namibia, the largest winning margin in Rugby World Cup history. However, some of these smaller, third-tier nations, such as Japan, acquitted themselves well in their opening matches. The South Pacific island countries of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa were reported as being handicapped by several of their foreign-based key players being warned by their clubs that their contracts would not be renewed if they played in the competition.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Pool stage
The pool stage of the competition played out largely as expected, with some tension as to whether some of the "developing" nations would overtake some of the weaker major countries for the second quarter-final qualification place in each pool – in Pool A, Argentina lost to Ireland by only one point, when a victory would have carried them into the quarter-finals in Ireland's place; in Pool B, Fiji narrowly missed out on a quarter-final berth, having led Scotland 20–15 with five minutes to go in their deciding match, only for a yellow card to lock Apenisa Naevo to allow Scotland to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a late converted try; in Pool D, Italy, despite missing the knockout stage, put up a good performance with two victories, a record they matched in the next three World Cups. In Pool C, Samoa gave England a fright with an adventurous approach that allowed them to take an early lead, but England overcame the early deficit and eventually won. This match was marked by controversy, as England fielded 16 players at one point during the game.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Pool stage
The big clashes ran mainly to form. South Africa came through the pool in second place, after they lost to England, which meant a quarter-final against New Zealand. Australia, however, only beat Ireland by one point to top their pool, while Wales pushed the All Blacks to the wire in arguably the most entertaining game of the entire tournament; adopting a hyper-attacking style of play, they led 37-33 with just 20 minutes left, but New Zealand eventually proved too much in the 12-try thriller. France meanwhile routed Scotland to set up a quarter-final against Ireland.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Knockout stage
The quarter-final stage produced the widely predicted set of semi-finalists, although England again made heavy weather of defeating a resurgent Wales. England were widely rated the world's best team, but they struggled, at least in the first half, against a Welsh side full of belief after their game against New Zealand.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Knockout stage
However, spurred into action after the tactical substitution of Catt for Luger and by a Will Greenwood try, set up by a remarkable run by Jason Robinson from inside his own half, England pulled away in the second half, until a late Welsh try gave the scoreline the respectability that their first-half performance had deserved. France destroyed an Irish side who had gone into the match hopeful of a win, scoring 31 early points to put the game out of reach. In the other quarter-finals, a disappointing South Africa fell to a clinical New Zealand and Australia comprehensively defeated the Scots.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Knockout stage
The first semi-final produced the first significant upset of the tournament, when Australia defeated the fancied New Zealand to become the first defending champions to reach the following championship final. Unfortunately, it was the last match for Australian star Ben Darwin, who badly injured his neck in a scrum. Although Darwin never played rugby again, the actions of Kees Meeuws – who immediately stopped exerting pressure when he heard the call "neck neck neck" – may well have saved his opponent's life and certainly prevented further injury. The match was decided by a Stirling Mortlock interception try, after a loose pass from highly rated All Blacks fly-half Carlos Spencer, and the excellent kicking of inside-centre Elton Flatley. George Gregan taunted his opponents in defeat with the comment, "Four more years boys, four more years".


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Knockout stage
The second semi-final saw France face England. The boot of Jonny Wilkinson was the difference between the two sides, with England coming out victors in torrential rain: although France scored the game's only try after an early English line-out error, they never seriously threatened the English line otherwise.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Knockout stage
With handling and place-kicking being so difficult in the wet and windy conditions (both Wilkinson and Michalak missed three kicks at goal each), England's superior forward pressure and territorial control forced France to concede a slew of penalties, of which Wilkinson kicked five, also adding three drop goals (two off his less-favoured right boot) - a remarkable display considering that the swirling winds made accurate kicking as difficult as the rain and mud made passing and running. French ill-discipline also cost them dear, with winger Christophe Dominici and flanker Serge Betsen both receiving yellow-cards for foul play: the former for a cynical trip on Jason Robinson, the latter for a late tackle on Wilkinson.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Knockout stage
New Zealand played France in the third-place playoff, and New Zealand avenged their shock defeat to France in the semi-finals at the 1999 World Cup, running in 6 tries in a 40-13 demolition. Mils Muliaina and Doug Howlett scored a try a-piece, finishing as the tournament's joint-leading try-scorers with 7 tries.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Final
The final between Australia and England was played at Sydney's Stadium Australia in front of a crowd of 82,957, and was refereed by veteran South African official André Watson, in so doing becoming the first, and so far only, referee to officiate two Rugby World Cup finals. Australia opened the scoring after they decided to run a penalty instead of kicking for touch. Lote Tuqiri beat England's right wing, Jason Robinson, to a high cross-field kick and went over for the first try, but Elton Flatley was not able to add the conversion.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Final
The rest of the half was a tight affair, with England edging in front from applying pressure and Jonny Wilkinson's boot put them up to a 9–5 lead after Australian indiscipline gave away several penalties, but were unable to capitalise on their territory. Towards the end of the first half, England stretched their lead further. Lawrence Dallaglio made a break and popped the ball inside to Jonny Wilkinson, who drew the defence before putting Robinson away in the corner for a try. The conversion was missed, but England went in at half time leading by 14–5.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Final
In the second half Australia tightened their discipline, and solid play forced mistakes from England. The game swung from end to end, with both sides having try-scoring opportunities, but neither able to take them. Australia managed to get points on the board and Elton Flatley scored two penalties to make the score 14–11 to England. In the 79th minute, Australia were putting pressure on England in their half, and Australia were awarded a penalty right before full-time, with the potential to tie the scores. Flatley converted it to make the score 14–14 and take the game into an additional 20 minutes' extra time.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Final
England opened the scoring in extra time with another Wilkinson penalty, but with two and a half minutes of extra time remaining Australia were awarded another penalty, which Flatley kicked successfully. With 20 seconds left before sudden death, Wilkinson scored a drop goal to win the match and with it the world championship.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Post-final
After the final, Australian Prime Minister John Howard was widely criticised for his behaviour during the presentation ceremony. The offhand manner in which he presented the Webb Ellis Cup to the England captain was seen by many as a graceless piece of bad sportsmanship not befitting such a climactic sporting spectacle.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Summary, Post-final
Three days after the final, the World Cup winning England team landed at Heathrow Airport in the early hours of the morning, emerging from their plane to a huge reception, despite the time. On 8 December, a national day of celebration took place in the form of a massive victory parade in the streets of London.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Pool stage, Pool B
Andy Miller's drop goal, at 52 metres, remains the longest in Rugby World Cup history.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Statistics
The tournament's top point scorer was England's Jonny Wilkinson, who scored 113 points. Doug Howlett and Mils Muliaina scored the most tries, seven in total.


2003 Rugby World Cup, Broadcasters
The event was broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Sports in Australia and by ITV in the United Kingdom.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final
The 2003 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and  the fifth Rugby World Cup. The match was played between England and Australia on 22 November 2003 at Telstra Stadium in Sydney in front of a crowd of 82,957 people.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final
England won 20–17 to win the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time, also becoming the first European side to win the cup. The scores were tied to 14–14 at full time, and Jonny Wilkinson kicked a drop goal in the final minute of extra time to win the match. The final was the second  to go to extra time.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final
The British television audience peaked at 15 million viewers, making it the most watched sports program of 2003; the worldwide television audience was 22 million people.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Path to the final
Australia opened the 2003 Rugby World Cup at Stadium Australia in Sydney, where they beat Argentina 24–8. The next two pool games were against tier 2 nations Romania and Namibia. The match against Namibia resulted in a 142–0 victory. The last pool match was against Ireland at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, where the Wallabies escaped with a one-point win, 17–16. They finished on top of their pool, with 18 table points and a massive for and against.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Path to the final
England were in Pool C, and kicked off their campaign with an 84–6 win over Georgia, which was then followed by a match against their biggest opposition in the pool, South Africa. However, England beat the Springboks 25–6. Their third pool match against Samoa was a lot closer, England winning 35–22. Their final pool match was against Uruguay, which England won 111–13. England finished first in their pool, four table points ahead of the Springboks.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Path to the final
Australia met Scotland in the quarter finals at Lang Park in Brisbane, and beat them 33–16 to go through to the semis, where they would take on their old rivals, the All Blacks. England beat Wales in their quarter final, 28–17, and went through to meet France in the semis. The Wallabies prevailed 22–10 over New Zealand at Stadium Australia. The following day England beat France 24–7 at the same venue.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match summary
Kick-off was preceded by performances including Kate Ceberano singing True Colours (a theme throughout the World Cup), the Sydney's Children Choir and the Rugby World Choir singing the Rugby World Cup's official theme song, World in Union. The national anthems of Australia (Advance Australia Fair) and England (God Save the Queen) were then performed.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match summary, First half
The first points of the final were scored by Australia. In the sixth minute, Lote Tuqiri outjumped the much shorter Jason Robinson and scored a try, following a sensational cross field kick from Wallaby fly-half Stephen Larkham. The conversion unsuccessfully crashed against a post. Jonny Wilkinson kicked a penalty goal for England in the 11th minute, bringing the score to 5–3. A further penalty goal by Wilkinson in the 20th minute took England into the lead, 6–5. In the 28th minute, following a Wallabies infringement Wilkinson slotted a penalty to make it 9–5. Following a flowing attacking move involving English forwards and backs, Robinson slid into the corner for a try for England in the 38th minute. Wilkinson missed the conversion, but England led at half-time 14–5.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match summary, Second half
Flatley kicked a penalty goal for Australia in the 47th minute, after the England scrummage was penalized by referee Andre Watson, taking the score to 14–8. With England dominant in possession but lacking in finishing Wilkinson made 2 unsuccessful drop goal attempts. England's forwards were again penalized by Watson in the 61st minute, and Flatley kicked the penalty goal for Australia. England were again to suffer when Flatley kicked a penalty goal on the 80th minute, taking the score to 14-14, and the match headed into extra time.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match summary, Extra time
Wilkinson and Flatley both scored penalties to put the score at 17–17. England got the ball back after the ensuing restart from a Mat Rogers kick, then won the line-out and advanced deep into Australian territory after a Matt Dawson line break off a dummy. With 26 seconds on the clock, Wilkinson kicked a right-footed drop goal to give England their first ever Rugby World Cup 20–17.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match summary, Extra time
Wilson (sic) still in place for the drop goal! Australia come back, here it is for Jonny – has he done it? He sure has! Heartbreaker for the Wallabies! Seconds remaining, and that surely is the stairway to rugby heaven for England!


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match summary, Extra time
Gordon Bray on Seven Network's TV broadcast of Wilkinson's drop goal


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match summary, Extra time
There's 35 seconds to go. This is the one. It's coming back for Jonny Wilkinson! He drops for World Cup glory! (Color commentator Rob Andrew in the background: "Yeah!") It's up – it's over! He's done it! Jonny Wilkinson is England's hero yet again! And there's no time for Australia to come back – England have just won the World Cup!


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match summary, Extra time
Ian Robertson on BBC Radio Five Live's radio broadcast of Wilkinson's drop goal


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Match details
Touch judges:Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)Paul Honiss (New Zealand)Television match official:Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)Fourth official:Joël Jutge (France)Fifth official:Alain Rolland (Ireland)


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, After the final
The English squad arrived at London's Heathrow Airport to a huge reception of English fans. Captain Martin Johnson, holding the trophy, was the first player to appear, which resulted in a celebration of singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". Scrum-half Matt Dawson described the reception as "mind blowing" and hooker Steve Thompson said that "Walking through Heathrow was breathtaking".


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, After the final
A national day of celebration was held on Monday, 8 December. Thousands of fans lined the streets of London to pay tribute to the World Cup victory, as the team paraded in open-top buses from Marble Arch to Trafalgar Square. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, awarded the whole squad the freedom of Greater London. The English squad then went on to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace, followed by a reception at Downing Street with then Prime Minister Tony Blair.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, After the final
In the subsequent New Year's Honours List, the entire English team and coaching staff was also either appointed to or promoted within the Order of the British Empire, with each man awarded at least an MBE. Jason Robinson, Wilkinson, Leonard, head assistant Andy Robinson and RFU chief executive Francis Baron were awarded OBEs, while Johnson was appointed a CBE and Woodward was knighted. Wilkinson also became the first rugby player to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, with Johnson placing second.


2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Notes
a. Will Greenwood, for superstitious reasons, prefers to play wearing the number 13 shirt, even when selected to play inside centre.


2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying
The qualification process for the 2003 Rugby World Cup began during the pool stages of the 1999 tournament in Wales, during which the quarterfinalists were awarded automatic qualification for the 2003 event. A further twelve teams qualified through regional tournaments and the repechage process.


2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Qualifiers
A total of 79 teams from around the world were involved in some stage of qualifying.


2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Africa qualification
In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, there was one position for an African nation, as well as the possibility of repechage qualification. Namibia qualified, joining automatic qualifiers South Africa at the competition in Australia.


2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Africa qualification, Round 4
Namibia won the round based on total tries scored (4 to 3). Namibia qualified to Pool A of the 2003 Rugby World Cup as Africa 1. Tunisia advanced to Repechage.


2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Americas qualification
In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, a number of positions were available to Americas nations. Canada, Uruguay and the USA would eventually qualify.


2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Americas qualification, Round 4
Top two (Canada and Uruguay) qualified to World Cup as Americas 1 and 2. 3rd Place (USA) to Repechage.


2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Asia
In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, there was one position available to the Asia qualifiers, as well as the possibility of further repechage qualification. Japan would go on to qualify for the competition.


2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Asia, Round 3 – June–July, 2002
Winner (Japan) qualified to Pool B of 2003 Rugby World Cup as Asia 1. Runner-up (Korea) advanced to Repechage.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was played in Australia between 10 October and 22 November 2003.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool A, Australia
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool A, Ireland
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool A, Argentina
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool A, Romania
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool A, Namibia
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool B, France
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool B, Scotland
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool B, Fiji
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool B, United States
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool B, Japan
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool C, England
England announced their 30-man squad for the tournament on 7 September 2003. Danny Grewcock suffered an injury mid-tournament and was replaced by Simon Shaw on 3 November.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool C, England
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool C, South Africa
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool C, Samoa
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool C, Uruguay
Lock Leonardo de Oliveira was replaced by José Viana on 24 September 2003, due to a back injury.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool C, Uruguay
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool C, Georgia
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool D, New Zealand
1 Ben Atiga replaced Ben Blair following a mid-tournament injury.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool D, New Zealand
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool D, Wales
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool D, Italy
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool D, Canada
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup squads, Pool D, Tonga
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2003 Rugby World Cup statistics
This article documents statistics from the 2003 Rugby World Cup, held in Australia from 10 October to 22 November.


2003 Rugby World Cup statistics, Team statistics
The following table shows the team's results in major statistical categories. No teams were shown a red card during the tournament.


2003 Rugby World Cup statistics, Hat-tricks
Unless otherwise noted, players in this list scored a hat-trick of tries.


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
Throughout August 2003, various teams prepared for the Rugby World Cup in Australia with a short series of test matches, and involving the RBS Six Nations sides. In addition, South Fiji toured New Zealand and South America and Samoa played two match with New Zealand provincial team . Argentina, South Africa played other matches (not international)


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
The tests are effectively a replacement for the usual Autumn international series in November which does not take place in World Cup years.


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
Meanwhile there were two tournaments involving teams that were preparing for the World Cup.


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
There were also a tour of Fiji in New Zealand and South America


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
Note: this article does not include international results not involving at least one side who had qualified for the 2003 World Cup


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 26 July
Canada: 15. James Pritchard, 14. Sean Fauth, 13. Nik Witkowski, 12.John Cannon, 11. Winston Stanley, 10. Bobby Ross, 9. Morgan Williams, 8. Kevin Tkachuk, 7.Mark Lawson, 6. Garth Cooke, 5. Mike James, 4. Ryan Banks (c), 3. Colin Yukes, 2. Adam van Staveren, 1. Phil Murphy; Replacements: 17. Pat Dunkley, 18.Jim Douglas, 19. Jeff Reid, 20. Ed Fairhurst, 21. Ryan Smith, 22. Marco di Girolamo; Unused: 16. Kevin WirachowskiNZ Māori: 15. Christian Cullen, 14. Joe Maddock, 13. Rico Gear, 12. Norm Berryman, 11. Shayne Austin, 10. Willie Walker, 9.David Gibson, 8. Ron Cribb, 7. Troy Flavell, 6. Germaine Anaha, 5. Paul Tito (c), 4. Kris Ormsby, 3. Carl Hayman, 2. Slade McFarland, 1. Joe McDonnell; Replacements: 16. Bryce Robins, 17. Glen Jackson, 18. Brendan Haami, 19. Wayne McEntee, 20.Warren Smith, 21. Deacon Manu


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 2 August
Canada: 15. James Pritchard, 14.John Cannon, 13. Marco di Girolamo, 12.Matt King, 11. Winston Stanley, 10. Ryan Smith, 9. Morgan Williams, 8. Kevin Tkachuk, 7. Pat Dunkley, 6. Garth Cooke, 5. Mike James, 4.Jim Douglas, 3. Colin Yukes, 2. Adam van Staveren, 1. Ryan Banks (c); Replacements: 16.Mark Lawson, 17. Kevin Wirachowski, 18. Phil Murphy, 19. Ed Fairhurst, 22. Nik Witkowski; Unused: 20. Bobby Ross, 21. Sean FauthNZ Māori: 15. Christian Cullen, 14. Joe Maddock, 13. Rico Gear, 12. Norm Berryman, 11. Shayne Austin, 10. Willie Walker, 9. Brendan Haami, 8. Ron Cribb, 7. Troy Flavell, 6. Wayne McEntee, 5. Paul Tito (c), 4. Kris Ormsby, 3. Carl Hayman, 2. Slade McFarland, 1. Joe McDonnell; Replacements: 16. Glen Jackson, 17. Germaine Anaha, 18.Warren Smith, 19. Deacon Manu, 20. Scott Linklater


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 16 August
Ireland: 15. Geordan Murphy, 14. Tyrone Howe, 13. Brian O'Driscoll, 12. Kevin Maggs, 11. Anthony Horgan, 10. David Humphreys, 9. Peter Stringer, 1. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Keith Wood (c), 3. Simon Best, 4. Malcolm O'Kelly, 5. Alan Quinlan, 6. Paul O'Connell, 7. Keith Gleeson, 8. Anthony Foley; Replacements: Shane Byrne, Justin Fitzpatrick, Donncha O'Callaghan, David Wallace, Guy Easterby, Gordon D'Arcy, Girvan Dempsey Wales: 15. Nick Robinson, 14. Garan Evans, 13. Jamie Robinson, 12. Iestyn Harris, 11. Gareth Thomas (c), 10. Ceri Sweeney, 9. Dwayne Peel, 8. Alix Popham , 7. Richard Parks, 6. Rhys Oakley, 5. Gareth Llewellyn, 4. Michael Owen, 3. Ben Evans, 2. Mefin Davies, 1. Duncan Jones; Replacements: Huw Bennett, Gethin Jenkins, Vernon Cooper, Robin Sowden-Taylor, Andy Williams, Andy Marinos, Nathan Brew; Unused: Robin Sowden-Taylor, Andy Williams, Andy Marinos, Nathan Brew


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 22 August
France: Pepito Elhorga, 14. Aurelien Rougerie, 13. Yannick Jauzion, 12. Damien Traille, 11. Christophe Dominici, 10. Frederic Michalak, 9. Fabien Galthie (c), 8. Jean-Jacques Crenca, 7. Yannick Bru, 6. Sylvain Marconnet, 5. Fabien Pelous, 4. Serge Betsen, 3. Jerome Thion, 2. Olivier Magne, 1. Imanol Harinordoquy; Replacements: 16. Raphael Ibanez, 17. Olivier Milloud, 18. David Auradou, 19. Christian Labit, 20. Dimitri Yachvili, 21. Gerald Merceron, 22. Brian Liebenberg Romania: 15. Dan Dumbrava, 14. Cristian Sauan, 13. Valentin Maftei, 12. Romeo Gontineac (c), 11. Gabriel Brezoianu, 10. Ionut Tofan, 9. Lucian Sirbu, 8. Ovidiu Tonita, 7. Costica Mersoiu, 6. George Chiriac, 5. Cristian Petre, 4. Sorin Socol, 3. Marcel Socaciu, 2. Marius Tincu, 1. Petru Balan; Replacements: 16. Petrisor Toderasc, 17. Cezar Popescu, 18. Augustin Petrechei, 19. Alex Tudori, 20. Cristian Podea, 22. Mihai Vioreanu; Unused: 21. Iulian Andrei


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 23 August
Scotland: Ben Hinshelwood, 14. Simon Danielli, 13. James McLaren, 12. Andrew Henderson, 11. Kenny Logan, 10. Gordon Ross, 9. Mike Blair, 8. Tom Smith, 7. Robbie Russell, 6. Bruce Douglas, 5. Scott Murray (c), 4. Jason White, 3. Nathan Hines, 2. Jon Petrie, 1. Simon Taylor; Replacements: 16. Gordon Bulloch, 17. Gordon McIlwham, 18. Iain Fullarton, 19. Martin Leslie, 21. Chris Paterson, 22. Brendan Laney; Unused: 20. Graeme BeveridgeItaly: 15. Gert Peens, 14. Nicola Mazzucato, 13. Andrea Masi, 12. Cristian Stoica, 11. Mirco Bergamasco, 10. Ramiro Pez, 9. Alessandro Troncon (c), 8. Matthew Phillips, 7. Scott Palmer, 6. Maurizio Zaffiri, 5. Marco Bortolami, 4. Santiago Dellape, 3. Salvatore Perugini, 2. Carlo Festuccia, 1. Andrea Lo Cicero; Replacements: 16. Fabio Ongaro, 17. Ramiro Martinez-Frugoni, 18. Sergio Parisse, 19. Mauro Bergamasco, 21. Francesco Mazzariol, 22. Gonzalo Canale; Unused: 20. Juan Manuel Queirolo


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 23 August
Wales: Rhys Williams, 14. Mark Jones, 13. Mark Taylor, 12. Sonny Parker, 11. Gareth Thomas, 10. Stephen Jones (c), 9. Gareth Cooper, 1. Iestyn Thomas, 2. Robin McBryde, 3. Gethin Jenkins, 4. Robert Sidoli, 5. Colin Charvis, 6. Chris Wyatt, 7. Martyn Williams, 8. Dafydd Jones; Replacements: 16. Gareth Williams, 17. Adam R.Jones, 18. Jonathan Thomas, 19. Gavin Thomas; Unused: 20. Mike Phillips, 21. Gavin Henson, 22. Tom ShanklinEngland: 15. Dan Scarbrough, 14. James Simpson-Daniel, 13. Jamie Noon, 12. Stuart Abbott, 11. Dan Luger, 10. Alex King, 9. Andy Gomarsall, 8. Joe Worsley, 7. Lewis Moody, 6. Martin Corry, 5. Simon Shaw, 4. Danny Grewcock, 3. Julian White, 2. Mark Regan, 1. Jason Leonard (c); Replacements: 16. Dorian West, 17. Will Green, 18. Steve Borthwick, 19. Alex Sanderson, 21. Dave Walder, 22. Ollie Smith; Unused: 20. Austin Healey


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 27 August
Wales: Gavin Henson, 14. Nathan Brew, 13. Matthew Watkins, 12. Andy Marinos, 11. Shane Williams, 10. Nick Robinson, 9. Mike Phillips, 1. Paul James, 2. Mefin Davies (c), 3. Ben Evans, 4. Brent Cockbain, 5. Ian Gough, 6. Jonathan Thomas, 7. Gavin Thomas, 8. Alix Popham; Replacements: 16. Paul Young, 17. Chris Anthony, 18. Deiniol Jones, 19. James Bater, 20. Gareth Wyatt, 21. Jon Bryant, 22. Andy Williams Romania: 15. Dan Dumbrava, 14. Cristian Sauan, 13. Valentin Maftei, 12. Romeo Gontineac (c), 11. Gabriel Brezoianu, 10. Ionut Tofan, 9. Lucian Sirbu, 8. Ovidiu Tonita, 7. Costica Mersoiu, 6. George Chiriac, 5. Cristian Petre, 4. Sorin Socol, 3. Marcel Socaciu, 2. Marius Tincu , 1. Petru Balan ; Replacements: 16. Dan Tudosa, 17. Petrisor Toderasc, 18. Cezar Popescu, 19. Augustin Petrechei, 20. Alex Tudori, 21. Iulian Andrei, 22. Ion Teodorescu


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 30 August
Ireland: Girvan Dempsey, 14. John Kelly, 13. Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12. Rob Henderson, 11. Denis Hickie, 10. David Humphreys, 9. Guy Easterby, 8. Marcus Horan, 7. Shane Byrne, 6. Reggie Corrigan, 5. Gary Longwell, 4. Simon Easterby, 3. Leo Cullen, 2. Eric Miller, 1. Victor Costello; Replacements: 16. Paul Shields, 17. Justin Fitzpatrick, 18. Donncha O'Callaghan, 19. Kieron Dawson, 20. Brian O'Meara, 21. Geordan Murphy, 22. Jonathan Bell Italy: 15. Gert Peens, 14. Nicola Mazzucato, 13. Cristian Stoica, 12. Matteo Barbini, 11. Diego Sacca, 10. Francesco Mazzariol, 9. Alessandro Troncon (c), 8. Sergio Parisse, 7. Mauro Bergamasco, 6. Andrea de Rossi, 5. Mark Giacheri, 4. Cristian Bezzi, 3. Martin Castrogiovanni, 2. Fabio Ongaro, 1. Andrea Lo Cicero; Replacements: 16. Carlo Festuccia, 18. Aaron Persico, 19. Matthew Phillips, 22. Andrea Masi; Unused: 17. Ramiro Martinez-Frugoni, 20. Matteo Mazzantini, 21. Ramiro Pez


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 30 August
France: Nicolas Brusque, 14. Aurelien Rougerie, 13. Yannick Jauzion, 12. Damien Traille, 11. Christophe Dominici, 10. Frederic Michalak, 9. Fabien Galthie (c), 8. Jean-Jacques Crenca, 7. Yannick Bru, 6. Sylvain Marconnet, 5. Fabien Pelous, 4. Serge Betsen, 3. Jerome Thion, 2. Olivier Magne, 1. Imanol Harinordoquy; Replacements: 16. Raphael Ibanez, 17. Olivier Milloud, 18. David Auradou, 19. Sebastien Chabal, 20. Patrick Tabacco, 22. Brian Liebenberg; Unused: 21. Xavier GarbajosaEngland: 15. Iain Balshaw, 14. Josh Lewsey, 13. Ollie Smith, 12. Mike Tindall, 11. Ben Cohen, 10. Paul Grayson, 9. Austin Healey, 8. Alex Sanderson, 7. Lewis Moody, 6. Martin Corry, 5. Danny Grewcock, 4. Steve Borthwick, 3. Julian White, 2. Dorian West (c), 1. Graham Rowntree; Replacements: 16. Steve Thompson, 17. Jason Leonard, 18. Simon Shaw, 22. Jamie Noon, 22. Jamie Noon; Unused: 19. Andy Hazell, 21. Dave Walder


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 30 August
Wales: 15. Garan Evans, 14. Jamie Robinson, 13. Tom Shanklin, 12. Iestyn Harris, 11. Matthew Watkins, 10. Ceri Sweeney, 9. Dwayne Peel, 1. Duncan Jones, 2. Robin McBryde, 3. Adam R. Jones, 4. Vernon Cooper, 5. Michael Owen, 6. Colin Charvis (c), 7. Richard Parks, 8. Alix Popham; Replacements: 16. Huw Bennett, 18. Gareth Llewellyn, 19. Rhys Oakley, 22. Hal Luscombe; Unused: 17. Ben Evans, 20. Mike Phillips, 21. Nick RobinsonScotland: 15. Glenn Metcalfe, 14. Rory Kerr, 13. Andy Craig, 12. Brendan Laney, 11. Simon Danielli, 10. Gregor Townsend, 9. Graeme Beveridge, 8. Jon Petrie, 7. Andrew Mower, 6. Martin Leslie, 5. Stuart Grimes, 4. Scott Murray (c), 3. Bruce Douglas, 2. Gordon Bulloch, 1. Gavin Kerr; Replacements: 16. Dougie Hall, 17. Gordon McIlwham, 18. Nathan Hines, 19. Andrew Dall, 22. Chris Paterson; Unused: 20. Mike Blair, 21. Andrew Henderson


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 6 September
Italy: 15. Gonzalo Canale, 14. Mirco Bergamasco, 13. Cristian Stoica, 12. Nanni Raineri, 11. Nicola Mazzucato, 10. Ramiro Pez, 9. Alessandro Troncon (c), 1. Andrea Lo Cicero, 2. Fabio Ongaro, 3. Martin Castrogiovanni, 4. Santiago Dellape, 5. Andrea de Rossi, 6. Marco Bortolami, 7. Aaron Persico, 8. Sergio Parisse; Replacements: 16. Carlo Festuccia, 17. Salvatore Perugini, 18. Carlo Checchinato, 19. Mauro Bergamasco, 20. Juan Manuel Queirolo, 22. Gert Peens; Unused: 21. Vincenzo ZulloGeorgia: 15. Bessik Khamashuridze , 14. Malkhaz Urjukashvili, 13. Tedo Zibzibadze, 12. Irakli Giorgadze, 11. Irakli Machkhaneli, 10. Paliko Jimsheladze, 9. Irakli Abuseridze, 8. Ilia Zedginidze (c), 7. Gregoire Yachvili, 6. Giorgi Chkhaidze, 5. Victor Didebulidze, 4. Zurab Mtchedlishvili, 3. Aleko Margvelashvili , 2. Akvsenti Giorgadze, 1. Avto Kopaliani; Replacements: 16. Goderdzi Shvelidze, 17. David Dadunashvili, 18. Vano Nadiradze , 19. Grigol Labadze , 20. Irakli Modebadze, 21. David Kiknadze


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 6 September
England: 15. Jason Robinson, 14. Iain Balshaw, 13. Will Greenwood, 12. Stuart Abbott, 11. Ben Cohen, 10. Jonny Wilkinson, 9. Kyran Bracken, 8. Trevor Woodman, 7. Steve Thompson, 6. Julian White, 5. Martin Johnson (c), 4. Richard Hill, 3. Ben Kay, 2. Neil Back, 1. Martin Corry; Replacements: 16. Dorian West, 17. Jason Leonard, 18. Simon Shaw, 19. Lewis Moody, 20. Matt Dawson, 21. Paul Grayson, 22. Josh Lewsey France: 15. Clément Poitrenaud, 14. Xavier Garbajosa, 13. Yannick Jauzion, 12. Brian Liebenberg, 11. Christophe Dominici, 10. Gerald Merceron, 9. Dimitri Yachvili, 8. Christian Labit, 7. Patrick Tabacco, 6. Sebastien Chabal, 5. Olivier Brouzet, 4. David Auradou, 3. Jean-Baptiste Poux, 2. Raphael Ibanez (c), 1. Olivier Milloud; Replacements: 16. Yannick Bru, 17. Sylvain Marconnet, 18. Fabien Pelous, 19. Imanol Harinordoquy, 20. Olivier Magne, 22. Aurelien Rougerie; Unused: 21. Frederic Michalak


2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, 6 September
Scotland: 15. Glenn Metcalfe, 14. Chris Paterson, 13. Andy Craig, 12. Andrew Henderson, 11. Kenny Logan, 10. Gordon Ross, 9. Mike Blair, 8. Allan Jacobsen, 7. Gordon Bulloch (c), 6. Gordon McIlwham, 5. Stuart Grimes, 4. Ross Beattie, 3. Nathan Hines, 2. Andrew Mower, 1. Simon Taylor; Replacements: 16. Robbie Russell, 17. Matthew Proudfoot, 18. Jon Petrie, 19. Iain Fullarton, 21. James McLaren, 22. Simon Webster; Unused: 20. Graeme BeveridgeIreland: 15. Geordan Murphy, 14. Anthony Horgan, 13. Brian O'Driscoll, 12. Kevin Maggs, 11. Denis Hickie, 10. Ronan O'Gara, 9. Peter Stringer, 8. Victor Costello, 7. Eric Miller, 6. David Wallace, 5. Paul O'Connell, 4. Malcolm O'Kelly, 3. Reggie Corrigan, 2. Keith Wood (c), 1. Marcus Horan; Replacements: 16. Shane Byrne, 17. Simon Best, 18. Simon Easterby, 19. Kieron Dawson, 20. Guy Easterby, 21. David Humphreys, 22. Girvan Dempsey


2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification
There were a number of positions open to European nations to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Ireland, Romania, Georgia and Italy, joining a number of other nations that automatically qualified.


2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification, Round 1 – 2000–2001
Three Pool Winners and top Runner-Up advanced to Round 2.


2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification, Round 4 – September–October, 2002
Pool Winners and Runners-Up qualified to 2003 Rugby World Cup. 3rd-Place advanced to Round 5.


2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification, Round 4 – September–October, 2002, Pool A
Italy qualified as Europe 2 to Pool D, Romania as Europe 3 to Pool A.  Spain advanced to Round 5.


2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification, Round 4 – September–October, 2002, Pool B
Ireland qualified as Europe 1 to Pool D, Georgia as Europe 4 to Pool C.  Russia advanced to Round 5.


2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification, Round 5 – October–November, 2002
Spain advanced to Repechage as Europe 5 to play Africa 2.


2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification, Round 5 – October–November, 2002
Russia won 58–41 on aggregate. However, after it was determined they used ineligible South African players, they were ejected from the competition and Spain advanced to Repechage.


2003 Rugby World Cup – Oceania qualification
In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, a number of positions were available to Oceania nations. Fiji, Samoa and the Tonga would eventually qualify, joining automatic qualifiers Australia and New Zealand.


2003 Rugby World Cup – Oceania qualification, Round 2
Top two teams (Fiji and Samoa) qualified to 2003 Rugby World Cup. Winner (Fiji) to Pool C.  Runner-up (Samoa) to Pool B. Third place (Tonga) to Round 4.


2003 Rugby World Cup – repechage qualification
There were two repechage positions available in qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The USA and Tonga would eventually qualify through the two positions. Russia had originally qualified for Repechage as Europe 5, but Russia were ejected from the competition for using ineligible South African players and were replaced by Spain.


2003 Rugby World Cup – repechage qualification
The first round was rescheduled as a single match at a neutral site due to logistical issues caused by delays resulting from the investigation and subsequent ejection of Russia.


2003 Rugby World Cup – repechage qualification, Repechage 1, Round 2
USA qualified to Pool B of the 2003 Rugby World Cup as Repechage 1.


2003 Rugby World Cup – repechage qualification, Repechage 2
Tonga qualified to Pool D of the 2003 Rugby World Cup as Repechage 2.


2003 Runnymede Borough Council election
Elections to Runnymede Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Rushmoor Borough Council election
The 2003 Rushmoor Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Rushmoor Borough Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Campaign
One third of the seats were being elected with the third placed councillor in the 2002 election having their seat be contested. While a couple of former councillors were attempting to win seats back, George Paparesti for the Liberal Democrats in Manor Park and Stella Olivier for Labour in Grange, Labour's group leader Andy Straker stood down at the election and did not defend his seat in North Town. Apart from the 3 main political parties there were also 3 Green, 1 English Democrat and 2 independent candidates.


2003 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Campaign
Rushmoor was one of 18 councils which trialed electronic voting in the 2003 local elections.


2003 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw no seats change hands with the Conservatives keeping their majority on the council. The closest results came in St Mark's ward where Conservative Diane Bedford held on by 30 votes over the Liberal Democrats after a recount and in Manor Park where again the Conservatives finished 47 votes ahead of the Liberal Democrats. Labour held their 2 seats in Heron Wood and North Town with reduced majorities but did not make any gains. Overall turnout in the election was 31%.


2003 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Election result
Following the election John Marsh remained the leader of the council and Conservatives after defeating a challenge from within the Conservative group by 14 votes to 11. Meanwhile, Keith Dibble became the new leader of the Labour group on the council.


2003 Russian Figure Skating Championships
The 2003 Russian Figure Skating Championships (Russian: Чемпионат России по фигурному катанию на коньках 2003) took place in Kazan from December 26 through 29th, 2002. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The results were one of the criteria used to pick the Russian teams to the 2003 World Championships and the 2003 European Championships.


2003 Russian First Division
The Russian First Division 2003 was the 12th edition of Russian First Division. There were 22 teams.


2003 Russian Premier League
CSKA won their first Russian title. It was their first championship since the last edition of the Soviet Top League in 1991. Newly promoted Rubin got the bronze.


2003 Russian Premier League, Teams
As in the previous season, 16 teams are playing in the 2003 season. After the 2002 season, Anzhi Makhachkala and Sokol Saratov were relegated to the 2003 Russian First Division. They were replaced by Rubin Kazan and Chernomorets Novorossiysk, the winners and runners up of the 2002 Russian First Division.


2003 Russian Premier League, Awards
On November 14 Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
Goalkeepers: Veniamin Mandrykin (19), Igor Akinfeev (13). Defenders: Aleksei Berezutski (30), Bohdan Shershun  (27 / 1), Denis Yevsikov (24), Vasili Berezutski (23), Deividas Šemberas  (21), Andrei Solomatin (20). Midfielders: Elvir Rahimić  (28 / 1), Jiří Jarošík  (27 / 7), Rolan Gusev (26 / 9), Igor Yanovsky (25 / 5), Sergei Semak (24 / 7), Juris Laizāns  (21 / 1), Spartak Gogniyev (11 / 2), Alan Kusov (11), Artur Tlisov (3 / 1). Forwards: Denis Popov (22 / 8), Dmitri Kirichenko (22 / 5), Ivica Olić  (10 / 7), Alexander Geynrikh  (2 / 1), Sergey Samodin (2), Vardan Mazalov (1). (league appearances and goals listed in brackets)


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
One own goal scored by Andrés Scotti  (FC Rubin Kazan).


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
Transferred out during the season: Alan Kusov (on loan to FC Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz).


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
Goalkeepers: Vyacheslav Malafeev (27), Kamil Čontofalský  (3). Defenders: Milan Vještica  (28), Pavel Mareš  (26 / 2), Martin Horák  (21 / 2), Daniel Chiriţă  (21 / 1), Aleksei Katulsky (17 / 1), Aleksei Igonin (11), Sargis Hovsepyan  (10), Konstantin Lobov (9), Valeri Tsvetkov (8), Igor Nedorezov (1).


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
Midfielders: Andrei Arshavin (27 / 5), Aleksandr Spivak  (26 / 6), Vladislav Radimov (21 / 3), Vladimir Bystrov (19 / 4), Igor Denisov (19 / 2), Radek Šírl  (18 / 1), Konstantin Konoplyov (15 / 1), Oleg Vlasov (13 / 2), Sergei Osipov (8). Forwards: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (27 / 13), Dmitri Makarov (12 / 2), Lukáš Hartig  (12 / 1), Andrei Nikolayev (6 / 2), Maksim Astafyev (4), Predrag Ranđelović  (3).


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
Transferred out during the season: Sargis Hovsepyan  (to FC Torpedo-Metallurg Moscow), Sergei Osipov (to FC Torpedo Moscow), Predrag Ranđelović  (free agent).


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
Goalkeepers: Sergei Kozko (24), Pavel Kharchik  (4), Valeri Aleskarov (2). Defenders: Jiří Novotný  (29 / 6), Mikhail Sinyov (27), Calisto  (23 / 1), Roman Sharonov (18 / 1), Andrei Fyodorov  (17 / 1), Leandro Samaroni  (9), Sergei Kharlamov (7), Andrei Streltsov (1), Pape Magatte Kebe  (1). Midfielders: Denis Boyarintsev (28 / 7), Andrés Scotti  (27 / 4), Tomáš Čížek  (25 / 1), MacBeth Sibaya  (24 / 1), Andrei Konovalov (23 / 2), Ebrima Sillah  (12 / 2), Abdelkarim Kissi  (5), Dmitri Michkov (5), Carlos Castro  (4), Baye Gueye Ndiaga  (2 / 1). Forwards: Roni  (29 / 11), Oleg Nechayev (25 / 2), David Chaladze  (20 / 3), Aloísio  (6), Wladimir Baýramow  (1).


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
One own goal scored by Denis Yevsikov (PFC CSKA Moscow).


2003 Russian Premier League, Medal squads
Transferred out during the season: Leandro Samaroni , Wladimir Baýramow  (both to FC Terek Grozny).


2003 Russian Super Cup
The 2003 Russian Super Cup was the 1st Russian Super Cup match, a football match which was contested between the 2002 Russian Premier League champion, Lokomotiv Moscow, and the winner of 2001–02 Russian Cup, CSKA Moscow. The match was held on 8 March 2003 at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Lokomotiv Moscow beat CSKA Moscow 4–3 on penalties, after the extra time had finished in a 1–1 draw, to win the first Russian Super Cup.


2003 Russian legislative election
Legislative election were held in Russia on 7 December 2003. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), the lower house of the Federal Assembly.


2003 Russian legislative election
As expected, the  pro-Vladimir Putin United Russia party received the most votes (37.6 percent) and won the most seats. The Communist Party remained the second largest, though much reduced in strength. The Liberal Democratic Party improved its position by 19 seats, while the liberal Yabloko and the liberal-conservative Union of Right Forces lost most of their seats.


2003 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
The 2003 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 2003 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Scarlet Knights were led by third-year head coach Greg Schiano and played their home games at Rutgers Stadium. They are a member of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 2–5 in Big East play to finish in a tie with Syracuse for 6th place.


2003 Rwandan constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Rwanda on 26 May 2003. The new constitution created a presidential republic with a bicameral parliament, and banned the incitement of racial hatred. It was approved by 93% of voters with a 90% voter turnout. Following its approval, presidential elections were held on 25 August and parliamentary elections on 29–30 September.


2003 Rwandan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Rwanda between 29 September and 2 October 2003. They were the first parliamentary elections since 1988 and the second multi-party national elections in the country's history. They were held following the approval of a new constitution in a referendum in August 2003.


2003 Rwandan parliamentary election
The result was a victory for the Rwandan Patriotic Front-led coalition, which won 40 of the 53 elected seats in the new Chamber of Deputies, and eighteen of the 27 reserved for women, youth and the handicapped. Voter turnout was 96.5%.


2003 Rwandan parliamentary election, Electoral system
The 80 members of the Chamber of Deputies consisted of 53 directly-elected members elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency, 24 women elected by electoral colleges, and three members elected by mini-committees, two of which represented youth and one represented disabled people.


2003 Rwandan parliamentary election, Campaign
AA total of 230 candidates contested the 53 directly-elected seats, with the official campaigning period starting on 5 September 2003.


2003 Rwandan presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Rwanda on 25 August 2003. They were the first direct presidential elections since the Rwandan Civil War and the first multi-party presidential elections in the country's history. Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was elected to a seven-year term with 95% of the vote.


2003 Rwandan presidential election
The results were disputed by Twagiramungu, the main opposition candidate, who argued that "People were controlled, people were forced to vote. It’s not possible that we in the opposition got only 3.7% of the vote. There is something wrong." The elections were widely condemned as fraudulent by outside observers; according to the scholar Timothy Longman, "the Rwandan population experienced the elections not as a transition to democracy but as a series of forced mobilizations that ultimately helped to consolidate RPF rule." The international reactions were nevertheless muted, which, according to Filip Reyntjens, "reinforced the RPF in its conviction that things would blow over, which they did." In Reyntjens' view, "after failing Rwanda in 1994, the international community did so again in 2003 by allowing a dictatorship to take hold."


2003 Rwandan presidential election, Background
Prior to the elections a campaign was launched by the RPF to ban the Democratic Republican Movement (MDR), which was charged with "divisionism". This move was criticized by Human Rights Watch, which stated "If the MDR is dissolved, conditions for the elections will change even more dramatically. As the only party outside of the RPF with any substantial support, the MDR would be the only one able to seriously contest at least the legislative if not the presidential elections." The MDR was banned, and Faustin Twagiramungu was forced to run as an independent.


2003 Ryedale District Council election
Elections to Ryedale District Council were held on 1 May 2003 in the United Kingdom. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999 increasing the number of seats by 7. The council stayed under no overall control.


2003 S.League
2003 S.League was the eighth season of Singapore's professional football league. It was won by Home United, which was their second league title.


2003 S.League, Foreign players
Each club is allowed to have up to a maximum of 4 foreign players.


2003 SANFL Grand Final
The 2003 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Grand Final saw the Central District Bulldogs defeat West Adelaide by 34 points to claim the club's third premiership victory.


2003 SANFL Grand Final
The match was played on Sunday 5 October 2003 at Football Park in front of a crowd of 28,199.


2003 SANFL season
The 2003 South Australian National Football League season was the 124th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.


2003 SASF season
The South Australian Soccer Federation 2003 season consisted of two divisions of twelve teams each, across the State of South Australia.


2003 SASF season, 2003 SASF Premier League
The 2003 South Australian Premier League was the third last season of the SASF Premier League, the top level domestic association football competition in South Australia. It was contested by 12 teams in a single 22 round league format, each team playing all of their opponents twice.


2003 SASF season, 2003 SASF State League
The 2003 South Australian State League was the third last season of the SASF State League, as the second highest domestic level association football competition in South Australia. It was contested by 12 teams in a single 22 round league format, each team playing all of their opponents twice.


2003 SCCA ProRally season
The 2003 SCCA ProRally Season was the 31st season of the SCCA ProRally and won by Manxman David Higgins and co-driver Daniel Barritt. Nine rounds were held but the season was overshadowed by a tragic accident at the Oregon Trail Rally in which the 2001 champion Mark Lovell and his co-driver Roger Freeman were killed. They were the second and third drives to die in the series, after Jonel Broscanc, who was killed in an accident at the 1992 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally.


2003 SCCA ProRally season
Nonetheless, the title was won by Higgins who beat Americans Lauchlin O'Sullivan and Ramana Lagemann to defend his title from 2002. Higgins is now known for winning five straight titles in SCCA ProRally's successor Rally America. The manufacturer's title went to Mitsubishi.


2003 SEAT Cupra Championship
The 2003 SEAT Cupra Championship season was the inaugural running of the one-make championship. The championship consisted of ten rounds at five meetings held in England, beginning on 4 May at Croft, and finishing at Thruxton on 17 August. The championship winner was rewarded with a drive in the British Touring Car Championship for the SEAT Sport UK team. Robert Huff would eventually win the championship, holding off both Gordon Shedden and Stefan Hodgetts, as those three drivers shared nine of the ten race victories between them. Huff would go on to finish seventh in the 2004 British Touring Car Championship with his prize-winning drive.


2003 SEAT Cupra Championship, Teams and drivers
All entries ran the Mk1 SEAT León entered by SEAT themselves.


2003 SEAT Open
The 2003 SEAT Open was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg which was part of Tier III of the 2003 WTA Tour. It was the 13th edition of the tournament and was held from 20 October until 26 October 2003. First-seeded Kim Clijsters won the singles title, her third consecutive at the event and fourth in total, and earned $35,000 first-prize money.


2003 SEAT Open, Finals, Doubles
Maria Sharapova /  Tamarine Tanasugarn defeated  Elena Tatarkova /  Marlene Weingärtner, 6–1, 6–4


2003 SEAT Open – Doubles
Kim Clijsters and Janette Husárová were the defending champions, but none competed this year. Clijsters decided to focus on the singles tournament, which she ended winning.


2003 SEAT Open – Doubles
Maria Sharapova and Tamarine Tanasugarn won the title by defeating Elena Tatarkova and Marlene Weingärtner 6–1, 6–4 in the final.


2003 SEAT Open – Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion and successfully defended her title, by defeating Chanda Rubin 6–2, 7–5 in the final.


2003 SEAT Open – Singles, Seeds
The first two seeds received a bye into the second round.


2003 SEC Championship Game
The 2003 SEC Championship Game was won by the LSU Tigers 34–13 over the Georgia Bulldogs. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.


2003 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 13–16, 2003 in New Orleans at the Louisiana Superdome. Georgia did not participate; it had pulled out of the postseason as NCAA violations by coach Jim Harrick were emerging.


2003 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
As shown in the bracket below, the designated berth for the Eastern division's sixth-seeded team was instead given to a Western division team, while the designated berth for the Western division's sixth-seeded team was left vacant.


2003 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
Kentucky won the tournament and received the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by beating Mississippi State on March 16, 2003.


2003 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament took place on March 6–9, 2003 in North Little Rock, Arkansas at Alltel Arena.


2003 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament
LSU won the tournament and received the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by beating Tennessee on March 9, 2003 by the score of 78 to 62.


2003 SFA Season
The 2003 SFA season was the fifth regular season of the Texas Sixman Football League.


2003 SFA Season
2003 was the first season that the league did not expand, in fact they lost a team dropping them down to twelve.


2003 SFA Season, Teams
The Seminoles and Wolf Pack both returned for their fifth seasons of the SFA. The Mean Machine, Red Raiders and Rhinos continued for their fourth seasons. The Bandits, Bucs, Mad Dogs, Outlawz, Rage and Wolverines are all in their third year of competition. The Six-Pack entered into their second season of play.


2003 SFA Season, Teams
The Northern Conference consisted of the Bandits, Bucs, Mean Machine, Outlawz, Six-Pack and Wolf Pack. The Southern Conference consisted of the Mad Dogs, Rage, Red Raiders, Rhinos, Seminoles and Wolverines for the third straight season.


2003 SFA Season, Regular season
The fifth year of the SFA lasted eleven weeks from February 2, 2003 - April 3, 2003.


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 1
February 2, 2003Bandits 44 - Bucs 15Rage 30 - Mad Dogs 18Rhinos 20 - Six-Pack 12Raiders 21 - Wolf Pack 7Outlawz 25 - Seminoles 0Mean Machine 41 - Wolverines 24


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 2
February 9, 2003Rage 26 - Raiders 0Outlawz 46 - Bucs 18Mad Dogs 19 - Rhinos 6Wolf Pack 14 - Seminoles 6Six-Pack  20 - Wolverines 0Bandits 38 - Mean Machine 18


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 3
February 16, 2003Bucs 12 - Wolf Pack 9Rhinos 14 - Raiders 12Rage 26 - Seminoles 25Outlawz 37 - Bandits 32Mad Dogs 24 - Wolverines 20Six-Pack 22 - Mean Machine 19


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 4
February 23, 2003Rage 38 - Bucs 31Bandits 39 - Six-Pack 0Rhinos 20 - Seminoles 0Outlawz 29 - Wolf Pack 24Raiders 40 - Wolverines 25Mean Machine 26 - Mad Dogs 20


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 5
March 2, 2003Bucs 27 - Rhinos 22Outlawz 33 - Rage 22Six-Pack 20 - Mad Dogs 6Bandits 39 - Wolf Pack 18Seminoles 14 - Wolverines 12Mean Machine 32 - Raiders 24


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 6
March 9, 2003Outlawz 46 - Rhinos 35Rage 38 - Wolf Pack 20Bucs 50 - Wolverines 20Six-Pack 22 - Raiders 14Bandits 57 - Mad Dogs 18Seminoles 25 - Mean Machine 20


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 7
March 16, 2003Bandits 18 - Rage 14 Rhinos 26 - Wolf Pack 8Raiders 33 - Mad Dogs 25Bucs 27 - Mean Machine 19Six-Pack 34 - Seminoles 20Outlawz 39 - Wolverines 25


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 8
March 23, 2003Rage 16 - Rhinos 14Six-Pack 20 - Bucs 19Bandits 19 - Raiders 0Mad Dogs 33 - Seminoles 27Wolverines 45 - Wolf Pack 18Outlawz 27 - Mean Machine 25


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 9
March 30, 2003Bandits 46 - Rhinos 0Bucs 40 - Mad Dogs 14Rage 36 - Wolverines 32Outlawz 32 - Six-Pack 24Seminoles 19 - Raiders 14Mean Machine 47 - Wolf Pack 21


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 10
April 6, 2003Bucs 34 - Raiders 25Bandits 27 - Seminoles 13Wolverines 31 - Rhinos 28Six-Pack 27 - Wolf Pack 18Outlawz 42 - Mad Dogs 12Rage 36 - Mean Machine 14


2003 SFA Season, Regular season, Week 11
April 13, 2003Bucs 34 - Seminoles 21Outlawz 48 - Raiders 26Bandits 51 - Wolverines 20Rage 50 - Six-Pack 48 3OTsWolf Pack 28 - Mad Dogs 12Mean Machine 25 - Rhinos 20


2003 SFA Season, Playoffs
The fifth year of playoffs for the SFA consisted of the top 4 from each conference making the playoffs again.


2003 SFA Season, Playoffs, Conference Semi-Finals
April 27, 2003Bandits 20 – Six-Pack 7Outlawz 41 - Bucs 30Rage 36 - Seminoles 20Mad Dogs 13 - Rhinos 6


2003 SFA Season, Playoffs, Conference Championships
May 4, 2003Bandits 33 – Outlawz 30Rage 42 – Mad Dogs 19


2003 SFL Premier League season
The 2003 AFL Southern Tasmania (SFL) Premier League premiership season was an Australian Rules football competition, staged across Southern Tasmania, Australia over twenty-one roster rounds and six finals series matches between 5 April and 20 September 2003. The competition's major sponsors for the season were Toyota and Hobart radio station Magic 107.3 FMSorell Football Club went into recess prior to the season starting owing to a lack of board members and volunteers to run the club, as a consequence, the Eagles sat out the season and joined the AFLST Regional League the following year.


2003 SFL Premier League season, Participating Clubs, AFLST Premier League Reserves Grand Final
Clarence 16.14 (110) d New Norfolk 7.10 (52) at North Hobart Oval.


2003 SFL Premier League season, Participating Clubs, AFLST Premier League Under-18's Grand Final
New Norfolk 8.4 (52) d Clarence 6.6 (42) at North Hobart Oval.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 1
(Saturday, 5 April 2003) Clarence 19.16 (130) d Brighton 6.3 (39) at Pontville Oval. Hobart 16.6 (102) v Glenorchy 12.9 (81) at TCA Ground. New Norfolk 20.15 (135) v Kingston 7.3 (45) at Kingston Beach Oval. Bye: North Hobart.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 2
(Saturday, 12 April 2003) North Hobart 11.12 (78) d Clarence 10.11 (71) at Bellerive Oval. Hobart 12.11 (83) d New Norfolk 12.5 (77) at TCA Ground. Glenorchy 16.14 (110) d Kingston 9.2 (56) at KGV Football Park. Bye: Brighton.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 3
(Saturday, 19 April 2003) New Norfolk 17.9 (111) d Brighton 13.8 (86) at Boyer Oval Clarence 20.12 (132) d Kingston 10.12 (72) at Kingston Beach Oval. North Hobart 14.12 (96) d Glenorchy 8.14 (62) at KGV Football Park. Bye: Hobart.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 4
(Saturday, 26 April 2003) Hobart 15.18 (108) d Brighton 13.10 (88) at Pontville Oval. North Hobart 29.15 (189) d Kingston 9.8 (62) at North Hobart Oval. Clarence 18.13 (121) d Glenorchy 17.8 (110) at Bellerive Oval. Bye: New Norfolk.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 5
(Saturday, 3 May 2003) Clarence 6.21 (57) d Hobart 6.10 (46) at TCA Ground. New Norfolk 17.11 (113) d North Hobart 12.9 (81) at North Hobart Oval Glenorchy 14.13 (97) d Brighton 9.5 (59) at KGV Football Park Bye: Kingston.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 6
(Saturday, 10 May 2003) Hobart 14.8 (92) d North Hobart 7.11 (53) at North Hobart Oval. Clarence 22.11 (143) d New Norfolk 9.15 (69) at Bellerive Oval. Kingston 18.16 (124) d Brighton 12.8 (80) at Pontville Oval. Bye: Glenorchy.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 7
(Saturday, 17 May 2003) Hobart 26.9 (165) d Kingston 9.7 (61) at TCA Ground. North Hobart 18.18 (126) d Brighton 10.6 (66) at Pontville Oval. New Norfolk 15.15 (105) d Glenorchy 15.9 (99) at KGV Football Park. Bye: Clarence.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 8
(Saturday, 24 May 2003) Hobart 14.8 (92) d Glenorchy 10.7 (67) at TCA Ground. Clarence 27.20 (182) d Brighton 4.5 (29) at Bellerive Oval. New Norfolk 17.11 (113) d Kingston 5.6 (36) at Boyer Oval. Bye: North Hobart.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 9
(Saturday, 31 May 2003) New Norfolk 12.9 (81) d Hobart 7.9 (51) at Boyer Oval. Clarence 18.11 (119) d North Hobart 7.16 (58) at North Hobart Oval. Glenorchy 16.13 (109) d Kingston 6.7 (43) at Kingston Beach Oval. Bye: Brighton.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 10
(Monday, 9 June 2003) Clarence 13.10 (88) d New Norfolk 11.14 (80) at Boyer Oval. North Hobart 14.15 (99) d Hobart 11.13 (79) at KGV Football Park. Kingston 20.17 (137) d Brighton 13.8 (86) at Kingston Beach Oval. Bye: Glenorchy.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 11
(Saturday, 14 June 2003) New Norfolk 19.17 (131) d Brighton 5.4 (34) at Pontville Oval. Clarence 16.15 (111) d Kingston 3.9 (27) at Bellerive Oval. North Hobart 7.9 (51) d Glenorchy 7.6 (48) at KGV Football Park. Bye: Hobart.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 12
(Saturday, 21 June 2003) Hobart 16.13 (109) d Brighton 8.5 (53) at TCA Ground. North Hobart 13.16 (94) d Kingston 6.7 (43) at North Hobart Oval. Clarence 11.15 (81) d Glenorchy 11.12 (78) at KGV Football Park. Bye: New Norfolk.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 13
(Saturday, 28 June 2003) Clarence 17.14 (116) d Hobart 16.11 (107) at Bellerive Oval. Glenorchy 22.14 (146) d Brighton 7.7 (49) at Pontville Oval. New Norfolk 18.13 (121) d North Hobart 10.8 (68) at Boyer Oval. Bye: Kingston


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 14
(Saturday, 5 July 2003) North Hobart 15.6 (96) d Hobart 13.12 (90) at TCA Ground. New Norfolk 15.6 (96) d Clarence 12.7 (79) at Bellerive Oval. Brighton 11.13 (79) d Kingston 8.6 (54) at Pontville Oval. Bye: Glenorchy.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 15
(Saturday, 12 July 2003) New Norfolk 15.13 (103) d Glenorchy 8.6 (54) at Boyer Oval. North Hobart 20.19 (139) d Brighton 9.11 (65) at North Hobart Oval. Hobart 19.12 (126) d Kingston 10.7 (67) at Kingston Beach Oval. Bye: Clarence.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 16
(Saturday, 19 July 2003) Clarence 24.18 (162) d Brighton 8.2 (50) at Pontville Oval. Glenorchy 16.15 (111) d Hobart 12.7 (79) at KGV Football Park. New Norfolk 28.16 (184) d Kingston 3.5 (23) at Kingston Beach Oval. Bye: North Hobart.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 17
(Saturday, 26 July 2003) New Norfolk 16.11 (107) d Hobart 11.9 (75) at TCA Ground. Clarence 18.14 (122) d North Hobart 9.7 (61) at Bellerive Oval. Glenorchy 22.18 (150) d Kingston 7.5 (47) at KGV Football Park. Bye: Brighton.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 18
(Saturday, 2 August 2003) New Norfolk 31.11 (197) d Brighton 7.10 (52) at Boyer Oval. North Hobart 17.13 (115) d Glenorchy 9.14 (68) at North Hobart Oval. Clarence 24.26 (170) d Kingston 6.6 (42) at Kingston Beach Oval. Bye: Hobart.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 19
(Saturday, 9 August 2003) Clarence 10.22 (82) d Hobart 9.9 (63) at Bellerive Oval. Glenorchy 22.12 (144) d Brighton 2.8 (20) at KGV Football Park. North Hobart 11.9 (75) d New Norfolk 10.9 (69) at North Hobart Oval. Bye: Kingston.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 20
(Saturday, 16 August 2003) Clarence 16.10 (106) d Glenorchy 12.15 (87) at Bellerive Oval. Hobart 14.13 (97) d Brighton 8.11 (59) at Pontville Oval. North Hobart 22.8 (140) d Kingston 16.9 (105) at Kingston Beach Oval. Bye: New Norfolk.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Round 21
(Saturday, 23 August 2003) Kingston 14.11 (95) d Hobart 7.11 (53) at TCA Ground. North Hobart 20.19 (139) d Brighton 8.12 (60) at Pontville Oval. New Norfolk 20.19 (139) d Glenorchy 16.12 (108) at KGV Football Park. Bye: Clarence.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Elimination Final
(Saturday, 30 August 2003) Hobart: 5.3 (33) | 5.4 (34) | 7.4 (46) | 9.6 (60) Glenorchy: 1.2 (8) | 1.2 (8) | 3.7 (25) | 5.8 (38)Attendance: N/A at TCA Ground


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Qualifying Final
(Saturday, 30 August 2003) North Hobart: 1.3 (9) | 1.8 (14) | 5.8 (38) | 10.10 (70) New Norfolk: 3.2 (20) | 4.6 (30) | 6.7 (43) | 7.9 (51) Attendance: N/A at Boyer Oval.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, First Semi Final
(Saturday, 6 September 2003) Hobart: 4.0 (24) | 9.1 (55) | 16.5 (101) | 19.6 (120) New Norfolk: 1.2 (8) | 4.5 (29) | 5.7 (37) | 10.9 (69) Attendance: 1,300 at Boyer Oval.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Second Semi Final
(Sunday, 7 September 2003) North Hobart: 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 16.20 (116) Clarence: 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 12.7 (79) Attendance: 10,073 at Bellerive Oval. * Note: This match was played as a curtain-raiser to the Tasmania Devils v Port Melbourne VFL Semi Final.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Preliminary Final
(Saturday, 13 September 2003) Hobart: 3.1 (19) | 8.1 (49) | 11.7 (73) | 13.10 (88) Clarence: 2.1 1(3) | 6.5 (41) | 10.11 (71) | 12.15 (87) Attendance: 1,300 at North Hobart Oval.


2003 SFL Premier League season, 2003 AFLST Premier League Ladder, Grand Final
(Saturday, 20 September 2003) North Hobart: 3.2 (20) | 6.9 (45) | 15.13 (103) | 21.20 (146) Hobart: 3.4 (22) | 5.5 (35) | 5.6 (36) | 5.6 (36) Attendance: 4,289 at North Hobart Oval.


2003 SM84
2003 SM84 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Amor group orbiting between Earth and Mars. It was first observed by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) at the Lincoln Laboratory ETS on 20 September 2003.


2003 SM84
2003 SM84 was being considered by the European Space Agency as a candidate target for the Don Quijote mission to study the effects of impacting a spacecraft into an asteroid.


2003 SM84, Orbit and classification
2003 SM84 is an Amor asteroid – a subgroup of near-Earth asteroids that approach the orbit of Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.0–1.2 AU once every 14 months (436 days; semi-major axis of 1.13 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.


2003 SM84, Orbit and classification
The body's observation arc begins with its first observation by LINEAR in 2003.


2003 SM84, Numbering and naming
As of 2020, this minor planet has neither been numbered nor named.


2003 SM84, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
Using a magnitude-to-diameter conversion, 2003 SM84 measures 86 and 160 meters in diameter, based on an absolute magnitude of 22.7 and an assumed albedo of 0.20 (S-type) and 0.057 (C-type), respectively.


2003 SQ317
2003 SQ317 is a classical trans-Neptunian object and member of Haumea family from the Kuiper belt located in the outermost regions of the Solar System, approximately 300 kilometers in diameter. It was first observed on 23 September 2003, by astronomers of the Canada–France Ecliptic Plane Survey at Mauna Kea Observatories on Hawaii. The surface of 2003 SQ317 is made of water ice.


2003 SQ317, Physical properties
2003 SQ317 is a classical Kuiper belt object (cubewano) belonging to the hot population. Its size estimated to lie between 150 and 450 km based on a range of plausible albedos. The object has a large light curve amplitude of about 0.85, which indicates that it has an extremely elongated shape or is a contact binary. In the former case the density of 2003 SQ317 is estimated at about 0.86 g/cm3 and its axis ratios at 0.55 and 0.41. If 2003 SQ317 is a contact binary, which is actually more likely, the density is estimated at about 2.67 g/cm3. In the latter case, the components are also thought to be unequal in size with the mass ratio of about 0.3 and axis ratios of about 0.8 and 0.5, respectively, for the primary and secondary components.


2003 SQ317, Origin
2003 SQ317 was identified as a member of the Haumea family, which is defined based on a common pattern of IR water-ice absorption, neutral visible spectrum and the clustering of the orbital elements. The Haumea family members including (19308) 1996 TO66, (55636) 2002 TX300, (120178) 2003 OP32, (145453) 2005 RR43 and others all appear to be collisional fragments broken off of the dwarf planet Haumea.


2003 SS422
2003 SS422 is a trans-Neptunian object located in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 28 September 2003, by American astronomers at the Cerro Tololo Observatory in La Serena, Chile, and estimated to measure approximately 168 kilometers (104 miles) in diameter.


2003 SS422
Due to the object's high eccentricity and large perihelia, 2003 SS422 is an extreme trans-Neptunian object from the scattered disc (ESDO). It was a lost minor planet until it was recovered in June 2021.


2003 SS422, Orbit and classification
Based on an observation arc of 14.9 years with 26 observations in total, 2003 SS422 orbits the Sun at a distance of 39.6–356.8 AU once every 2790 years (1,019,048 days; semi-major axis of 198.2 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.80 and an inclination of 17° with respect to the ecliptic.


2003 SS422, Orbit and classification
As of 2021, 2003 SS422 belongs to a small number of 21 high-eccentricity and large-perihelia objects (q > 38 AU) with a semi-major axis of larger than 150 AU, which are the defining orbital parameters of the group of extreme scattered disc object, or ESDO. It is thought that objects cannot reach such orbits without some perturbing object outside the eight planets, which has led to the speculation of Planet Nine.


2003 Sacramento Monarchs season
The 2003 WNBA season was the 7th season for the Sacramento Monarchs. The team returned to the conference finals for the first time in two years, only to lose in three games to the Los Angeles Sparks.


2003 Sacramento State Hornets football team
The 2003 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented Sacramento State University during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season.


2003 Sacramento State Hornets football team
Sacramento State competed in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets were led by first-year head coach Steve Mooshagian and played home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. They finished the season with a record of two wins and nine losses (2–9, 1–6 Big Sky). Sacramento State was outscored by its opponents 237–332 for the season.


2003 Sacramento State Hornets football team, Team players in the NFL
The following Sacramento State players were selected in the 2004 NFL Draft.


2003 Saga gubernatorial election
A gubernatorial election was held on 13 April 2003 to elect the Governor of Saga Prefecture. Newcomer Yasushi Furukawa won the election.


2003 Sahara hostage crisis
The 2003 Sahara hostage crisis concerns the events surrounding the abduction of 32 European tourists in seven separate groups in the Algerian Sahara desert in 2003. They were released in two groups:  one in Algeria and the other from neighbouring Mali, several months later.