Wikipedia:WikiProject Rugby union/Newsletter/January 2014

The WikiProject Rugby Union Newsletter Issue 1: January 2014 WP:RUNEWS
Welcome to the first issue of the as-yet-unnamed WikiProject Rugby union newsletter. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide an overview of the project for 2013, and it is envisaged that this will become a semi-regular publication – hopefully quarterly or six-monthly. This inaugural issue covers some news and notices, a list of content promoted during 2013, and a Special report on the page view statistics of some prominent articles. We hope this report will be of particular interest to project participants. It is also hoped that this issue will spark a more collaborative and interactive community of project members. With that in mind, it is proposed that the inactive "Collaboration of the fortnight" be revived (as a "Collaboration of the month" or simply "Collaboration"), and that the first article under the spotlight be Rugby union positions. As outlined in our Special report, the page receives over 350,000 views a year – behind only rugby union and New Zealand national rugby union team – and is the most viewed article not rated as Good or Featured in quality. It is also an article in which a wide variety of our members will have an interest. If you have any thoughts on this, or would like to get involved, please visit the collaboration page here, or comment at the talk page. Readers interested in receiving notifications regarding any future issues can add their names to the subscription list at Wikipedia:WikiProject Rugby union/Newsletter/Subscriptions, and we will hopefully be able to arrange for automated delivery via a bot. Comments and feedback regarding this inaugural issue are welcome at the newsletter talkpage. A newsletter such as this, even though brief, does require a bit of time to draft and publish, so if any other editors are interested in contributing, please contact the acting editor Shudde (talk · contribs). Any help, however minor, will be greatly appreciated.
Newsletter name Despite publishing our first issue, this newsletter remains unnamed. If this publication is to become a regular occurrence, then a suitable name will be necessary. We have a number of names in mind, including: Rucked The Pack The Hospital Pass If you have any ideas, please let us know at the newsletters talk page. This image was the Picture of the day for 26 July 2013. Project news and notices According to the participants page here, the project had seven editors join during 2013. See this issue's introduction (above) regarding an idea to revive the project's collaboration of the month. There has been a discussion on the project talk page regarding updating and maintaining Portal:Rugby union. Further comments and contributions are welcome. The image ST vs LOU - 21.jpg (pictured) that depicts a line-out between the French clubs Stade Toulousain and Lyon OU was the Picture of the day on 26 July 2013, and was therefore displayed on the main page. The image and caption can be seen at {{POTD/2013-07-26}}. The article line-out (rugby union) received 2400 views that day, when it normally sees less than 100. Recognised content from 2013 Two pieces of content from the project have achieved featured status in 2013: In 1902 Thomas Ellison published the classic coaching manual The Art of Rugby Football. The article Thomas Ellison was promoted to Featured Article in July 2013. Ellison was a 19th-century player and coach from New Zealand that toured with the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team. He went on to captain New Zealand on their tour of New South Wales in 1893, and refined and popularised the archaic wing forward position. He died in his thirties after contracting tuberculosis in 1904. List of 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team matches was promoted to Featured List status in July. The article lists the numerous fixtures – including 107 rugby matches – played by the Natives on their 14-month tour of the New Zealand, Australia, and the British Isles. The list had been featured before, but was demoted in 2009. Three articles achieved Good Article status in 2013: 1906–17 Stanford rugby teams: The Stanford rugby team represented Stanford University from 1906 after the university abandoned American football due to the sport's violence and converted to rugby union instead. The team was very successful, but with few American universities adopting rugby, and after playing no sport in 1918 due to the First World War, Stanford returned to American football in 1919. 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team: The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team was the first team from the Southern Hemisphere to tour the British Isles, and played 74 matches in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. On their return to New Zealand, the team introduced a style of play not before seen in their home country, as well as a number of tactical innovations. Two former players went on to captain New Zealand – Thomas Ellison, and David Gage. Ronan O'Gara: Former fly-half Ronan O'Gara represented Ireland 128 times between 2000 and 2013. He achieved a number of individual and collective achievements during his career, including winning two Heineken Cups with Munster, four Triple Crowns with Ireland, and making two Test appearances for the British and Irish Lions. Since retiring in 2013 O'Gara has been working as an assistant coach with the Paris-based Top 14 club Racing Métro 92. Contributor – Shudde	Special report: Page view statistics A table of page view statistics (compiled using stats.grok.se) has been assembled for a number of important rugby union articles. The statistics are for the years 2008 and 2012 – each one year following a Rugby World Cup (RWC). A summary of the results can be found below, and a more detailed breakdown of the figures can be seen at User:Shudde/sandbox. The selected national teams are those that have featured in the quarter-finals of any RWC. Among a number of insights from the data are: Page views of national teams have risen dramatically between 2008 and 2012. Mobile views may be playing a part in this. The articles rugby union, New Zealand national rugby union team, and rugby union positions are comfortably the most viewed. Views for the tournaments Heineken Cup, Rugby World Cup, and The Rugby Championship have grown enormously. Figures for Women's Rugby World Cup and Women's rugby union are very low, but are growing. Encouragingly, of the top ten viewed articles for 2012, four are Featured Articles, and one is a Good Article. Summary viewing statistics for articles under the scope of WikiProject:RU Article Class Importance Total 2008 Total 2012 Rugby union GA Top 644,156 672,354 Women's rugby union Start Top 4,539 18,964 Rugby sevens B Top 97,290 228,228 History of rugby union B Top 61,497 68,812 Rugby union gameplay B Top 60,312 69,469 Rugby union positions B Top 318,088 391,667 Laws of rugby union B Top N/A 9,914 Line-out (rugby union) C Top 20,629 22,409 Scrum (rugby union) B Top 22,982 37,111 International Rugby Board B Top 40,898 64,070 Rugby World Cup FA Top 173,022 289,919 Women's Rugby World Cup Start Top 11,734 15,551 The Rugby Championship C Top 50,436 154,092 Six Nations Championship B Top 180,703 330,124 Super Rugby B High 145,070 270,448 Heineken Cup B High 106,884 214,722 New Zealand FA High 387,313 413,472 All Blacks FA High N/A 125,297 England FA High 215,133 320,815 France FA High 134,448 158,383 Australia B High 115,296 185,228 South Africa B High 171,703 290,383 Wales FA High 133,224 241,743 Argentina B High 56,447 97,849 Scotland C High 74,230 130,670 Ireland B High 98,467 188,782 Fiji B High 29,023 44,962 Canada C High 21,962 39,769 Samoa Start High 36,750 66,647 For a more detailed breakdown, and notes on the compilation and interpretation of the figures see User:Shudde/sandbox
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