26 June 2017 Remembering George Nepia The New Zealand full-back was nineteen years old, and he was the only man in the side who played every match of the tour [NZ to UK, 1925]. Read More
26 June 2017 Remembering George Nepia The New Zealand full-back was nineteen years old, and he was the only man in the side who played every match of the tour [NZ to UK, 1925]. Read More
17 June 2017 Lest We Forget – George Eric Burroughs Dobbs (England) 17/06/1917 George Eric Burroughs Dobbs was born in Co Kilkenny, near Castlecomer where his father Joseph owned a coal mine. Joseph had married Mary Augusta Harte in Dublin in 1878 and they had seven children, George being the 2nd of four boys. Read More
11 June 2017 Lest We Forget – John Edward Raphael (England) 11/06/1917 John Edward Raphael was born in Belgium and died in Belgium, though this did not prevent him becoming one of England's most accomplished sportsmen of his day, exemplified by the fact that at Oxford he won 14 Blues across four sports. Read More
07 June 2017 All Blacks at Messines Ridge, 1917 In the attack leading to the capture of the Messines ridge in West Flanders, Belgium, by the Allies between June 7th and 14th 1917, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force were to the fore. Read More
29 May 2017 How the 1950 British and Irish Lions prepared for their trip to New Zealand A Lions tour involves vast amounts of preparation and a numerous tactical discussions. Ahead of this year's tour in New Zealand, let's take a look at how things were done nearly seventy years ago. Read More
22 May 2017 A Rugby Pioneer: Lloyd McDermott This week we celebrate the 55th anniversary of Lloyd McDermott's international debut for the Wallabies, where he became one of the earliest Indigenous Australian to represent his country at international rugby Read More
15 May 2017 Lest We Forget - Lt. John George Will (Scotland), 25 March 1917 On 25th March 2017 The Old Merchant Taylor Society and Old Merchant Taylor Football Club gathered in the Memorial Garden at the School to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of John G. Read More
08 May 2017 The Life and Times of Herbert Fallas Herbert Fallas was born in Wakefield in November 1861. James Henry was his elder brother, whom he would later play alongside at Belle Vue. On the 1881 census, Herbert was described as an accountant clerk and three years later he was referred to as an accountant in newspaper reports. Read More
30 April 2017 Remembering the first British and Irish Lions Tour In 1888 a British touring team was sent to the antipodean colonies to play rugby; an event that subsequently became a key moment in rugby history, setting a precedent for years to come and beginning one of the great traditions of the sport. Read More
24 April 2017 Rugby’s Greatest Upsets Part 5 – Rugby World Cup, 2015 English merchants and soldiers had brought rugby to Japan even before it had arrived in New Zealand. Yokohama Football Club, founded in 1866, is the oldest known rugby club in Asia. Read More
18 April 2017 'The Captain Who Never Came Back' - Bob Seddon Bob Seddon was the only player to have been described as being 'good at every point of the game' in Lillywhite's 1886 Football Annual. Elsewhere the versatile broad shouldered forward was described as 'one of the best forwards in the north' and a 'typical Lancashire Lad'. Read More
10 April 2017 Rugby Memorabilia - Not just for rugby enthusiasts… Player interviews in programmes can reveal a rapid changing taste in entertainment, fashion and cars - how we now laugh at the selection of a Ford Granada as a players dream car! Changes in technology are demonstrated in programmes. Read More