From The Vaults

01 February 2021

RFU150 - The Rugby Football Union

It is not known which telegram or conversation among gentlemen led to the birth of international rugby in 1871, but it is clear that polite society was abuzz...

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01 February 2021

RFU150 - The Rugby Football Union

It is not known which telegram or conversation among gentlemen led to the birth of international rugby in 1871, but it is clear that polite society was abuzz...

14 December 2020

Rugby Raptors: The History of Birds of Prey at Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham has had a long history of welcoming birds of prey through its gates for various reasons. Initially, they were a necessity, employed to deal with the stadium's serious pigeon problem, but now they come of their own accord.

16 April 2020

I remember when...

World Rugby Museum Committee Member Richard Steele recalls his first trip to Twickenham back in 1960...

07 March 2020

Swing Low Uncovered

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was first sung at Twickenham during the ‘Chris Oti match’ of 1988. Or was it? New research by the World Rugby Museum casts doubt on this claim and puts forward a new theory for how and why the song became synonymous with English rugby…

14 March 2019

William Webb Ellis, Are You Mad?

In the late 1960s the Rugby Football Union began making plans to celebrate its 1971 centenary year. As part of the programme of events a film was commissioned that would tell the story of rugby union, from its origins to the present...

06 March 2017

In 1877 the RFU were sent a letter…

In Calcutta on the 25th of December 1872, a game of rugby was played between a team of ex-pats from England and a mixed team of Scots, Irish and Welsh. The match proved a success and provided the impetus for the Calcutta Football Club to be formed in January 1873.

11 November 2016

Twickenham’s Rose and Poppy Gates of Remembrance

On 29 April 2016, the Rugby Football Union unveiled their stunning new Rose and Poppy Gates at Twickenham stadium, the official Home of England Rugby.

23 October 2016

Alf Wright and the England Rose

Alf Wright recently made the news as the person who standardised the England rose way back in 1920. In homage to Alf's original design, the 2016/17 England jersey features a patched rose. But who exactly was Alf Wright and why is he fondly remembered by all at the World Rugby Museum?

28 April 2016

The Memorial Gate, Twickenham

The Rowland Hill Memorial Gates were first unveiled in 1929 to commemorate the life of Sir George Rowland Hill, at the time rugby's most famous administrator, who had died the previous year.

20 January 2016

The Story of the Lion

Visitors to Twickenham Stadium may be familiar with the golden lion that graces the top of the Rowland Hill Memorial Gates at the entrance to the West concourse.

04 January 2016

Remembering Twickenham's First Groundsman

Michael Leslie Rycroft, Great Grandson of Charles Hale, remembers Twickenham's first groundsman...

18 September 2015

Match-Day Morning at Twickenham (1969)

Staff at Twickenham go through their morning routines in preparation for the 1969 Calcutta Cup contest between England and Scotland. Both sides were out of contention for the overall championship by this stage but the world's oldest international football contest was a sought after prize in its own right.