England, London
England’s terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north (for example, the mountainous Lake District, Pennines, and Yorkshire Dales) and in the south-west (for example, Dartmoor and the Cotswolds). The capital of England is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. The population of over 53 million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London, the South East, and conurbations in the Midlands, the North West, the North East and Yorkshire, which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century.
England has a strong sporting heritage, and during the 19th century codified many sports that are now played around the world. Sports originating in England include association football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, tennis, boxing, badminton, squash, rounders, hockey, snooker, billiards, darts, table tennis, bowls, netball, thoroughbred horseracing, greyhound racing and fox hunting. It has helped the development of golf, sailing and Formula One.
Rugby union originated in Rugby School, Warwickshire in the early 19th century. The England rugby union team won the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the country was one of the host nations of the competition in the 1991 and 2015. The top-level clubs compete in the English Premiership competition. Leicester Tigers, London Wasps, Bath Rugby and Northampton Saints have had success in the European Championship Cup.