From The Vaults

18 November 2024

Japan v England XV, 1971 by Hideki Shoji

In September 1971, about one month after the British Lions clinched their first-ever Test Series victory in New Zealand, the first international match between England and Japan was about to kick off in the Far East...

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18 November 2024

Japan v England XV, 1971 by Hideki Shoji

In September 1971, about one month after the British Lions clinched their first-ever Test Series victory in New Zealand, the first international match between England and Japan was about to kick off in the Far East...

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14 November 2024

Why did the 1924 New Zealand Invincibles not play Scotland? By Stephen Berg

It is one hundred years since the great All Blacks side, the 'Invincibles' of 1924-25. Heroes and household names for a generation of New Zealanders, forever to be remembered as the team that beat them all. But did they beat them all and why didn’t they play Scotland?

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13 September 2024

All Hail the Invincibles

In any discussion of the greatest men’s international rugby teams of all time, there are a number of sides that get a mention but those in the know namecheck a side whose credentials in many ways surpass all others - the Invincibles...

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18 June 2024

The Original Brave Blossoms Tour by Hideki Shoji

In 1930 the first representative Japan rugby team embarked on a tour of Canada. Setting sail from Yokohama on August 17th, the touring party came on the Canadian shore on the evening of the 29th, three days before their first match...

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05 June 2024

The Tour That Never Was

Andrés H. Reggiani of the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella – Buenos Aires takes a look at the 1973 England XV tour to Argentina that never was...

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08 April 2024

The First Women's Six Nations

The first women’s 6 Nations Championship took place in 2002, having started as the Home Nations Championship in 1996. This article gives an overview of the tournament that year...

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11 March 2024

Springbok nightmare at Twickenham

On Saturday November 23rd 2002, a demoralised Springbok squad took to the field at Twickenham for their final test of their tour...

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04 March 2024

Croke Park Stands Shoulder to Shoulder

When the Lansdowne Road Stadium, a home ground of the Irish national rugby team since 1878, was demolished in 2007, a temporary ground was required to host Ireland’s home 6 Nations fixtures. The GAA were approached and agreed to make Croke Park available, setting the scene for one of the most electrically charged test matches in rugby’s long history...

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02 February 2024

Scotland v Wales, 1924

One hundred years ago, the 1924 Five Nations Championship began badly for Scotland when they travelled to Paris to play France on New Year’s Day...

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16 October 2023

New Zealand Universities visit Japan

New Zealand Universities toured Japan from January to February in 1936. In this article, Hideki Shoji presents research from the tour...

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05 June 2023

The 'Garryowen' - Ireland’s secret weapon

Garryowen Football Club is one many great Irish rugby clubs, but its unique feature is that it has a particular facet of the rugby union game named after it...

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09 May 2023

England’s first tour to the southern hemisphere 1963

In the summer of 1963, an England tour party embarked on an historic tour of New Zealand and Australia...

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