02 March 2015 LAST CHANCE TO SEE: Old Streetonians: life, rugby and art in Shoreditch For the purposes of this exhibition a section of the World Rugby Museum has been converted into a Shoreditch loft. Read More
02 March 2015 LAST CHANCE TO SEE: Old Streetonians: life, rugby and art in Shoreditch For the purposes of this exhibition a section of the World Rugby Museum has been converted into a Shoreditch loft. Read More
25 February 2015 Remembering when Ireland won the Calcutta Cup… The Calcutta Cup, long understood to be exclusively retained by the winner of the annual England Scotland fixture, may have been won by Ireland, and indeed Wales towards the end of the 19th Century. Read More
19 February 2015 How close did Wales come to being the Leeks of international rugby? The crest on the badge below is from the 1899 Anglo-Australia team although this name is slightly misleading as the team was in fact a British representative side that toured Australia and not the teams combined as the name suggests. Read More
17 February 2015 Their Costume was All Black... The 1888-89 "New Zealand Natives Football Team" took their final curtain bow on British soil on 27 March 1889. Read More
12 February 2015 Family Histories - Samuel George Williams Like Great Grandfather, Like Son... The Museum was recently contacted by Paul Whitehead, the great-grandson of Devon and England stalwart Samuel George Williams. Read More
10 February 2015 The Mysteries of 'Forever England' Shane Record's 'Forever England' was unveiled inside the West Stand of Twickenham Stadium in 2014 to commemorate a century since the outbreak of the First World War. It depicts an England side on the cusp of winning the 1914 5-Nations Championship, collecting a second consecutive Grand Slam in the process. Read More
05 February 2015 The 'Real' Triple Crown In 2006 a silver shield was produced as the physical embodiment of an idea that had existed since 1894. The Triple Crown was first made reference to by the Irish Times in 1894 after Ireland had defeated England, Wales and Scotland in a single season for the first time. Read More
02 February 2015 William Webb Ellis, Are You Mad? In 1971 the Rugby Football Union produced a promotional film detailing the history and culture of rugby union. It included the following re-enactment of the alleged moment that William Webb-Ellis 'picked up the ball and ran' at Rugby School in 1823. Read More
29 January 2015 PLAYER PROFILE- Jimmy Peters Jimmy Peters, a relatively unknown figure, was the first Black England International Rugby player. With a fascinating life, Peters should be known as one of the many black icons to have pushed the boundaries for race equality. Read More
25 January 2015 Lest We Forget - Percy Dale Kendall (England) 25/01/1915 Percy Dale Kendall, known as 'Toggie", was born in Prescot, Lancashire. His father and mother, Francis and Margaret, had four children, of whom Percy was the third. Francis was a solicitor. Read More
24 January 2015 Lest We Forget - Charles Gerald Taylor (Wales) 24/01/1915 If Charles Taylor hadn't decided to pursue a naval career he might never have become a rugby player. He was born in Ruabon, north Wales on 8 May 1863, the son of Reverend Alfred and Annie Taylor. His father was headmaster of Ruabon Grammar School, where Charles was educated. Read More
20 January 2015 Stoddart sells the Natives short In February of 1889, during a test-match against the touring New Zealand Natives, England's AE Stoddart, whilst on the attack, lost a 'portion' of his shorts. As was the custom, Stoddart's team-mates formed a circle around him to protect his modesty whilst he collected himself. Read More