From The Vaults

29 October 2015

Remembering the Kings Cup

The inaugural Rugby World Cup that took place in New Zealand and Australia in 1987 started a competition that has since grown into the third largest sporting event in the world.

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29 October 2015

Remembering the Kings Cup

The inaugural Rugby World Cup that took place in New Zealand and Australia in 1987 started a competition that has since grown into the third largest sporting event in the world.

21 October 2015

PLAYER PROFILE - Hugo Porta (Argentina)

Hugo Porta has been described as the foundation stone of Argentinian rugby. He made his debut for the national side as a 20 year-old in 1971, at a time when Argentina were considered a developing side.

17 October 2015

Lest We Forget - Harry Alexander (England) 17/10/1915

Harry Alexander was born in Oxton, Birkenhead in Cheshire. His father William was a cotton broker in Liverpool, and his mother Edith was the daughter of the little-known artist Robert Gathoney.

13 October 2015

Lest We Forget - Dan'l Lambert (England) 13/10/1915

Douglas Lambert was born in South Norwood, and in adult life, being a tall man, was more commonly known as 'Dan'l' or 'Danny', by allusion to the famous giant Daniel Lambert of 100 years earlier.

06 October 2015

RUGBY DYNASTIES - The 'Bok Family Morkel

Many families have contributed outstandingly to the history and development of international rugby. If Ireland holds a record for the number of brothers who have played in the emerald green at the highest level, one family stands supreme in its overall contribution to rugby in their country. The Morkel family...

29 September 2015

An American rugby pioneer in China - Henry Bluett Liversedge

Liversedge, nicknamed 'the Horse', had a huge influence on the rugby scene in China in the late 1920s, his legacy continued in Shanghai through to 1940. Born in California in 1894, he was a freshman at the University of California in 1914. During his first year, rugby was the football of choice on the west coast of America.

27 September 2015

Lest We Forget - Richard Davies Garnons Williams (Wales) 27/09/1915

Over 130 rugby internationals died in the Great War. The oldest - and one of the most courageous - was fifty-nine year-old Richard Davies Garnons Williams. To put this in perspective, the Crimean War had only just ended when Richard was born on 15 June 1856.

25 September 2015

Lest We Forget - Ernest Cotton Deane MC (Ireland) 25/09/1915

Ernest Deane was born on 4th May 1887 in Limerick, the third son of Thomas Stanley Deane and Aileen Annie (née Byrne), of Bank House, Rathkeale, co. Limerick. His father was manager of the National Bank, Rathkeale, co. Limerick.

18 September 2015

Match-Day Morning at Twickenham (1969)

Staff at Twickenham go through their morning routines in preparation for the 1969 Calcutta Cup contest between England and Scotland. Both sides were out of contention for the overall championship by this stage but the world's oldest international football contest was a sought after prize in its own right.

15 September 2015

A brief history of the Rugby World Cup

Proposals for a regular rugby world cup tournament first began to circulate in the 1950s. They were rejected by the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) who, in 1958, advocated a "go slow" policy in regard to 'foreign fixtures', fearing that club rugby might otherwise be adversely affected.

05 September 2015

Lest We Forget - David Revell Bedell-Sivright (Scotland) 05/09/1915

Triple-Triple Crown winner, hardest man ever to play for Scotland, horse-wrestling captain of the British Lions, heavyweight boxing champion, pioneer of the wing-forward role, jackaroo and surgeon in the Royal Navy.

26 August 2015

Twenty years of professional rugby union

On the 27th August 1895 22 clubs from the north of England ceded from the Rugby Football Union so that they might form a rival professional organisation. Rugby League was born and soon prospered.

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