From The Vaults

20 March 2023

#FromTheVaults - 1909 Varsity Match

The annual fixture between the Oxford and Cambridge university rugby teams has had its fair share of memorable moments and witnessed the breakthrough of several future international rugby stars. Ahead of this year’s Varsity Match at Twickenham, we are sharing the story of the 1909 game...

Read More

Showing Museum Collection articles

Browse by

20 March 2023

#FromTheVaults - 1909 Varsity Match

The annual fixture between the Oxford and Cambridge university rugby teams has had its fair share of memorable moments and witnessed the breakthrough of several future international rugby stars. Ahead of this year’s Varsity Match at Twickenham, we are sharing the story of the 1909 game...

Read More

04 February 2023

'A Football Match, Scotland v England'

To coincide with this year’s Calcutta Cup clash, a new painting has been unveiled at the World Rugby Museum. Commissioned by Oliver Donovan and painted by Robert Highton, the artwork recreates a famous lost painting from the 1880s.

Read More

19 December 2022

#FromTheVaults - Snow at Twickenham

This month, we’re highlighting some photographs in our collection which show action from a rugby match which was played in very wintry conditions...

Read More

14 November 2022

#FromTheVaults - L.A.N. Slocock letter, 1916

Following Remembrance Day, our object of the month is the last known letter sent home from the Western Front by England international, Lancelot Andrew Noel Slocock...

Read More

14 October 2022

#FromTheVaults - Centenary of the Scottish RFU

Fifty years ago, the Scottish Rugby Union kicked off its Centenary season celebrations by hosting a match which saw some unlikely alliances...

Read More

29 August 2022

#FromTheVaults - Anglo-Welsh Tour Souvenirs, 1908

What kind of souvenirs have you brought home from your summer holiday? When Tom Smith visited New Zealand and Australia as part of the British Isles touring team in 1908, he returned home with a boomerang and a cocoa pod...

Read More

25 July 2022

#FromTheVaults - ANZACS XV jersey, 1989

For this month’s highlight from the collection, we look back to the first – and so far, only – time that Australia and New Zealand fielded a combined rugby union team. Described as the ANZACS XV, this jersey was worn by the team’s Australian fly-half, Michael Lynagh...

Read More

12 July 2022

25 years of the Cook Cup

Today marks 25 years since the inaugural Cook Cup match was played. The trophy, contested by England and Australia, has recently been retired to make way for the new Ella-Mobbs Cup...

Read More

17 June 2022

Behind the Scenes at the World Rugby Museum: Collections Care

It’s Museum Week and we’re giving you behind-the-scenes insight into how we care for our historic collection...

Read More

09 May 2022

#FromTheVaults - Harlequins cap, 1920-21

With Harlequins taking on Gloucester at Twickenham Stadium this month, we’re highlighting the Harlequins cap which was awarded to William Wavell Wakefield in the 1920-21 season when he was club captain...

Read More

25 April 2022

#FromTheVaults - Navy badge, 1922

As the rugby teams of the British Army and the Royal Navy prepare for their return to Twickenham this coming weekend, we have decided to highlight this one-hundred-year-old cloth badge which was worn by Navy scrum-half Cecil Kershaw...

Read More

07 March 2022

#FromTheVaults - 'The Springbok Girl' photographs

Our object of the month is this photograph of Kathleen Trick, ‘The Springbok Girl’, which was recently donated to the museum by one of Kathleen’s nieces. When Kathleen wore this custom-made kit to a fancy-dress party in 1907, it was the start of a special relationship with South Africa’s touring rugby teams...

Read More