From The Vaults

06 August 2018

The ill-fated 1939-40 Wallabies tour

Dubbed the ‘tour of a lifetime’, it was expected to be a ten-month, 28-match tour of Great Britain for an Australian representative side...

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06 August 2018

The ill-fated 1939-40 Wallabies tour

Dubbed the ‘tour of a lifetime’, it was expected to be a ten-month, 28-match tour of Great Britain for an Australian representative side...

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30 July 2018

Remembering South Africa's International Debut

127 years ago, 21 British rugby players set sail to South Africa, captained by Scotland’s Bill Maclagan.

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13 February 2017

On the Blind Side

One of the most remarkable matches in the history of international rugby took place between France and Scotland in Paris on 1st January 1920. This was the fifth time these two countries had met on the rugby field and the first match since their infamous encounter in Paris in 1913.

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23 January 2017

Rugby's Greatest Upsets Part 2 - Wales v New Zealand, 1905

New Zealand had set down a marker of quality when defeating a tired and injury ravaged British Lions side at the tail end of their tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1904.

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19 December 2016

Rugby's Greatest Upsets Part One - Scotland v England, 1871

In 1870 football enthusiast and administrator Charles W Alcock arranged an international football match between Scotland and England in London. It ended in a tie so another game was arranged which England won. Scotland was incensed.

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12 December 2016

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL MATCH AT KINGSHOLM - England 3 Wales 13, 6th January 1900

With a fixture list already bristling with Welsh opponents by the end of the 19th century, and flush with the success of their new ground at Kingsholm, opened in 1891, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Gloucester club aspired to stage an international, and in the autumn of 1899 an application was made to the Rugby Union.

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23 June 2016

1916: the first Rugby International in the Netherlands

On 5 November, an extraordinary wartime rugby 'international' will be replayed in the Netherlands town of Leeuwarden.

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16 June 2016

New Zealand Natives Tour, 1888-89

The first rugby tour of the British Isles by an overseas team was undertaken by the New Zealand Natives side in 1888-1889. Originally to be called the Maoris, the team were named the Natives instead.

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29 October 2015

Remembering the Kings Cup

The inaugural Rugby World Cup that took place in New Zealand and Australia in 1987 started a competition that has since grown into the third largest sporting event in the world.

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14 August 2015

MATCH REPORT - France v England, 1906

France and England contest their 100th international test rugby match in August 2015. John Griffiths here describes the first.

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15 June 2015

Sir Gareth Edwards first match at Twickenham, 1968

Keith Jarrett had sunk England at Cardiff in 1967; curiously it was his failure to place goals which contributed to their demise on this occasion. Twice his long kicks at goal were knocked-on by English fielders and Wales capitalised on these errors to score two tries and gain eight points.

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25 February 2015

Remembering when Ireland won the Calcutta Cup…

The Calcutta Cup, long understood to be exclusively retained by the winner of the annual England Scotland fixture, may have been won by Ireland, and indeed Wales towards the end of the 19th Century.

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