From The Vaults

09 September 2019

The Return of the Springbok Girl

One of the World Rugby Museum’s most beloved paintings has returned home after a long term loan period in South Africa and to celebrate we thought that we would share her tale with you...

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09 September 2019

The Return of the Springbok Girl

One of the World Rugby Museum’s most beloved paintings has returned home after a long term loan period in South Africa and to celebrate we thought that we would share her tale with you...

02 September 2019

England v Ireland 1911, as told by Robert Collis

This particular match was much celebrated in Dublin as Ireland recorded a first win over England since 1907, but the match was a close affair...

26 August 2019

England v Ireland 1988: The Nigel Melville Story

The Five Nations match between England and Ireland in March 1988 was a historic occasion for two reasons...

19 August 2019

Rugby, Resistance and the RAF

After more than four years of Nazi occupation Paris was finally liberated on the 25th August 1944. Central to the French struggle had been their underground resistance movement and the air campaign of the Royal Air Force. In the aftermath representatives of both met at Parc du Princes for a unique game of rugby.

12 August 2019

Historic Rugby Internationals: New Zealand v France, 1961

The second test in the 3-match series between New Zealand and France played in a gale at Athletic Park, Wellington on August 5th 1961 ranks as one of the most remarkable test matches ever played...

05 August 2019

Who was Lewis Cobden Thomas?

Lewis Cobden Thomas was born on 6 August 1865 in Merthyr Tydfil, the fourth son and fifth of eleven children of Thomas Thomas, an ironmonger, and his wife Gwladys, nee Jones. He was given the name of the radical liberal MP, Richard Cobden, who had fiercely opposed the Corn Laws, campaigned for their abolition and for an improved system of education.

29 July 2019

Hartlepool's Rugby History

Since RWC 2015 and as part of the “Impact Beyond 2015” initiative, the Hartlepool & District RFU has been engaged with the Hartlepool Museums and Library Services in cataloguing a large collection of Rugby ephemera dating between the 1870s and 1924...

22 July 2019

When the Crowd Stops Roaring by Neven MacEwan

Neven MacEwan played 20 times for New Zealand between 1956 and 1962. He helped defeat the British and Irish Lions three times during their 1959 tour of Australia and New Zealand and contributed to a 3-0 series whitewash of France in 1961. His international career came at a time when the All Blacks vied with South Africa for supremacy in the world game...

15 July 2019

Beginner’s Guide to The Rugby Championship

The Rugby Championship 2019 begins on Saturday so it’s the perfect time to get up to speed with the Southern Hemisphere’s round robin format tournament.

08 July 2019

Happy Blogiversary!

It's been 5 years since we started this blog and over that time we've covered all sorts of topics, from ghostly paintings and the Twickenham streaker, to the "First Lady" of rugby and international rugby's most decorated player. Not forgetting our extraterrestrial jersey! Here's a round up of our top 10 most read posts over the last 5 years...

24 June 2019

The Shimogamo Shrine: Rugby's First Religious Monument

The Shimogamo Shrine is a designated UNESCO world heritage site that dates from the 6th Century. It is described in the Japanese origin myth as the final resting place of Yatagarasu, the three legged crow, who guided Japan’s first Emperor to his place of residence at Yamato.

17 June 2019

Trend or Tradition? Part 2

3 years ago we posted a response to an article published on Americas Rugby News in which Richard Steele examined the history of Scottish selections and whether the trend of international teams selecting foreign born players really is as modern as is widely assumed. This time, John Jenkins takes a look at some other rugby nations...

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