From The Vaults

04 April 2022

How Scotland Saved the 1994 Rugby World Cup

In January 1994 the Netherlands unexpectedly cancelled the second instalment of the women’s Rugby World Cup, but with just 90 days to go Scotland stepped in as hosts and rescued the tournament. Renamed the Women’s Rugby World Championship, the event proved to be a significant turning point in the history of the women’s game...

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04 April 2022

How Scotland Saved the 1994 Rugby World Cup

In January 1994 the Netherlands unexpectedly cancelled the second instalment of the women’s Rugby World Cup, but with just 90 days to go Scotland stepped in as hosts and rescued the tournament. Renamed the Women’s Rugby World Championship, the event proved to be a significant turning point in the history of the women’s game...

27 March 2022

1991 pioneers, players, and perseverance: The first women’s Rugby World Cup

The inaugural women’s Rugby World Cup took place in Wales over a two-week period in April, 1991. Twelve teams competed in venues around Cardiff in Wales, ultimately vying to take home an antique silver trophy...

21 March 2022

Lost and Found: The History of the Original Women’s Rugby World Cup

Of all the meticulous planning that went into the organisation of the first women’s Rugby World Cup in 1991, the trophy itself was something of an afterthought...

14 March 2022

Le Crunch, Old Gaytonians, PLESSIS MEUDON and 60 years of sporting frivolity by Connor Dickins

Connor Dickins explores the 60-year relationship that epitomised England v France…

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...

28 February 2022

Springbok kickers through the ages

The Springboks have been renowned for hard and athletic ruggedness since joining the international fold against the British Isles in 1891...

21 February 2022

Madagascar - The rugby mad country you need to hear about, by Connor Dickins

Madagascar may not be the first country many think of when it comes to rugby. However, the East African island has one of the most vibrant rugby cultures on the planet...

14 February 2022

The Wales tour of the Pacific Islands, 1986

In the summer of 1986, with professionalism still almost ten years away, the Welsh Rugby Union sent a touring party of 25 players to the south seas to play six matches in Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa...

07 February 2022

#FromTheVaults - The Calcutta Cup

Rupees, rivalries and revelries: An exclusive audience with a (nearly) priceless trophy...

31 January 2022

The Four Proud Provinces of Ireland

As the Six Nations Championship of 2022 approaches, several highly significant clashes await between old rivals. Whichever country you support, the England match against Ireland at Twickenham in March for the Millennium Trophy is likely to be particularly hard-fought...

24 January 2022

The History of Wimbledon RFC

In 1865 Queen Victoria reigned, Alice in Wonderland was published, the American Civil War was coming to an end and Wimbledon Rugby Football Club was born...

17 January 2022

The First Golden Age Of Australian Rugby

Rugby union in Australia suffered hugely in the aftermath of the First World War, but as the 1920s progressed, the sport gradually re-established its foothold...

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