Sport in Europe The three main domestic rugby union competitions are the fully professional Premiership (England), Top 14 (France) and Pro14 (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa). The European Rugby Champions Cup is the premier continental championship, with clubs qualifying from the three professional competitions. Rugby league is popular in northern England, where the sport formed in 1895. The game is also popular in southern France. The Great Britain national team first played in 1908, and entered the World Cup until 1992 and the Tri-Nations until 2006. England, Scotland and Wales have played independently since then. Great Britain has won the World
Sport in Ireland a crucial match in the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales. Paul McGinley captained the winning European team for the 2014 Ryder Cup. Cricket in Ireland is a minority sport. It has been played in Ireland since the early 19th century, and the game against Scotland (a match which has first-class status) has been played annually since 1909. The sport is organised on an all-island basis and is overseen by the Irish Cricket Union, founded in its present incarnation in 1923. Ireland has entered some domestic English tournaments since the early 1980s, but becoming an Associate Member of