Northern Ireland 2016. The six counties of Northern Ireland are among the nine governed by the Ulster branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union, the governing body of rugby union in Ireland. Ulster is one of the four professional provincial teams in Ireland and competes in the Pro14 and European Cup. It won the European Cup in 1999. In international competitions, the Ireland national rugby union team's recent successes include four Triple Crowns between 2004 and 2009 and a Grand Slam in 2009 in the Six Nations Championship. Northern Ireland plays as the Ireland cricket team which represents both Northern Ireland and
Explorers Grand Slam complete a "True Explorers Grand Slam". In June 2018, Zhang Liang became the second person to complete this kind of Grand Slam. In 2011, former Wales rugby union international Richard Parks became the first person ever to complete the (Last Degrees) Grand Slam within a single calendar year, doing so within seven months. Cheryl Bart is the first Australian female and the 31st person worldwide to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam. She completed the North Pole on 22 April 2013 AEST. Vanessa O'Brien became the first woman to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam under a single calendar year, doing