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...

26 January 2021

SPECIAL EXHIBITION- The Rugby Football Union at 150

On 26th January 1871 the representatives of twenty-one football clubs met at the Pall Mall restaurant in central London to form the Rugby Football Union. 150 years later this special exhibition will chronicle the colourful history of one of the world's oldest sporting institutions.

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.

01 September 2020

1971 and the Centenary of the Rugby Football Union

As the Rugby Football Union enters its 150th season, Barney Burnham looks back fifty years to his own involvement in the celebrations that marked a Century of international rugby.

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...

29 January 2018

I remember when...

Twickenham Stadium Tour Guide Phil Mead recalls his first trip to Twickenham back in 1953…

03 April 2017

Want to be part of Twickenham history?

The World Rugby Museum and Twickenham Stadium Tours have been operating since 1996 and we are looking for more volunteers to join our elite team of Tour Guides.

09 March 2017

The World Rugby Museum is on the move…

The museum began life as the Museum of Rugby in 1996 before rebranding as the World Rugby Museum in 2008. Its collection has increased significantly since 1996 and the move represents an opportunity to better tell the true story of rugby from around the world.

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.