From The Vaults

20 May 2024

The Evolution of the Rugby Ball

The rugby ball has changed considerably since the 1820s. This article explores how the leather ball William Webb Ellis would have played with at Rugby School evolved into the rugby ball we recognise today...

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20 May 2024

The Evolution of the Rugby Ball

The rugby ball has changed considerably since the 1820s. This article explores how the leather ball William Webb Ellis would have played with at Rugby School evolved into the rugby ball we recognise today...

16 May 2024

Who was William Webb Ellis?

It is over 200 years since William Webb Ellis is said to have run with a football on the playing fields at Rugby School. But who was the real Webb Ellis? And what did he go on to do in later life?

07 May 2024

Points Scoring Through The Ages

The first official laws of the Rugby Football Union in 1871 simply stated that ‘A match shall be decided by a majority of goals only.', but how has points scoring evolved?

01 May 2024

Back To Square One

For many years, the South Terrace at Twickenham was truly a place for rugby purists. Being exposed to the elements, in a way that the other three ‘covered’ sides were not, meant that tickets were generally a bit cheaper and the atmosphere a bit livelier...

08 April 2024

The First Women's Six Nations

The first women’s 6 Nations Championship took place in 2002, having started as the Home Nations Championship in 1996. This article gives an overview of the tournament that year...

27 March 2024

The Man Who Wore the World’s Oldest International Rugby Jersey

John Henry Clayton only played one international match of rugby in his life, but it was a match to be remembered...

18 March 2024

Cliff Morgan Interviews FC Christie

The World Rugby Museum has recently embarked on a long-term programme to permanently accession digital material into its collection. During this process, a cassette tape recording was discovered containing a radio interview, hosted by Cliff Morgan for BBC Radio Four in 1993. The subject of his interview was an elderly lady called Ms FC Christie, or ‘Chris’ for short, who had been attending rugby matches since 1914...

11 March 2024

Springbok nightmare at Twickenham

On Saturday November 23rd 2002, a demoralised Springbok squad took to the field at Twickenham for their final test of their tour...

08 March 2024

#FromTheVaults - Red Roses v France 2003

The 29th April 2023 went down in history, as the Red Roses played their first stand-alone fixture at Twickenham Stadium. More than twenty years on, we're looking back to their first fixture at the venue...

04 March 2024

Croke Park Stands Shoulder to Shoulder

When the Lansdowne Road Stadium, a home ground of the Irish national rugby team since 1878, was demolished in 2007, a temporary ground was required to host Ireland’s home 6 Nations fixtures. The GAA were approached and agreed to make Croke Park available, setting the scene for one of the most electrically charged test matches in rugby’s long history...

27 February 2024

Snowy Svenson – the unsung try-scoring wing

It is almost 100 years since the great All Black ‘Invincibles’ cut a swathe through the rugby teams of the United Kingdom, Ireland and France to record 30 straight victories. The unsung hero of the tour was the left winger, 'Snowy' Svenson...

21 February 2024

The Evolution of the Rugby Jersey

Rugby union has changed considerably since Ireland captain D.B. Walkington played an international match against Scotland wearing a monocle. This article explores the evolution of the rugby jersey...

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