From The Vaults

10 October 2016

A.W.PEARSON: The first Australian-born International

It's doubtful if any of those in the party from Guy's Hospital Rugby Club, enjoying a drink before heading off to the 2001 Lions match in Melbourne, realised that they were only a metaphorical stone's throw from the venue where Alexander (Alec) William Pearson played his last rugby match...

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10 October 2016

A.W.PEARSON: The first Australian-born International

It's doubtful if any of those in the party from Guy's Hospital Rugby Club, enjoying a drink before heading off to the 2001 Lions match in Melbourne, realised that they were only a metaphorical stone's throw from the venue where Alexander (Alec) William Pearson played his last rugby match...

03 October 2016

Telling a 'pirate' from 'a pirate of a pirate'

Perhaps the easiest and most common path into memorabilia collecting is via the once-humble match programme. Some surviving examples from the 1880s and earlier were single-sheet, single-side even at international level, and intended mainly or solely as an aide-memoire and indication of the players selected.

26 September 2016

Durham County Diamond Jubilee 1936

The following is an extract from 'One Among Many: the Story of Sunderland Rugby Football Club' by Keith Gregson. "Of the many stirring rugby events at Ashbrooke, none aroused greater interest than the match played 26 September 1936"

18 September 2016

Lest We Forget - Rupert Edward Inglis (England) 18/09/1916

Rupert Edward Inglis was easily the oldest of the 27 England internationals to die in service in WW1. He came from a distinguished background. His father, Major-General Sir John Eardley Wilmot Inglis, K.C.B. was the "Defender of Lucknow" (Indian Mutiny), and his grandfather was Bishop of Nova Scotia.

12 September 2016

The most iconic image in the history of sport?

This photograph of Nelson Mandela awarding the 1995 Rugby World Cup to South African captain Francois Pienaar is one of the most iconic in sport and is significant on a number of levels.

05 September 2016

Lest We Forget - George Pugh (Australia) 05/09/1916

George Pugh was born in Glebe, Sydney on 16 January 1890 and won his only Australian test cap against the United States of America on the Wallabies North American tour of 1912.

03 September 2016

Lest We Forget - Horace Wyndham Thomas (Wales) 03/09/1916

Horace Wyndham Thomas was that very rare combination: not only a gifted Cambridge choral scholar, but also a brilliant Welsh international rugby player.

25 August 2016

“Dicky” Lloyd (Ireland) - the one who came back...

There were a handful of rugby players who played international rugby both sides of the 1st World War. Perhaps the most fortunate was the Irish fly half Dicky Lloyd...

18 August 2016

International Rugby's most decorated player

The Black Ferns fly half, Anna Richards, is the most decorated player in the history of international rugby. With a total of 49 caps under her belt, Richards is the most capped Black Fern to date...

15 August 2016

Rugby returns to the Olympics

In 1892, Baron Pierre de Coubertin made his first speech at the Sorbonne University of Paris, calling for the revival of the International Olympic Games. Such sports exchanges, he said, would be the "new free trade" of Europe.

14 August 2016

Lest We Forget ̶ Charles "Charlie" Meyrick Pritchard (Wales) 14/08/1916

During the Great War, Captain Wyndham Williams RAMC kept a diary of his experiences as a medical officer on the Western Front.

09 August 2016

Lest We Forget - John Abbott King (England) 09/08/1916

John Abbott King, known as Jack, was born in Burley in Leeds, and was one of the shortest men to wear an England jersey. His height of 5ft 5in (1.65m) was in contrast to his chest measurement of 46 inches, giving him the nickname of "Pocket Hercules".

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