From The Vaults

09 April 2015

Baa Baa’s Birthday

125 years ago on the 9th April 1890, in the early hours of the morning, W P Carpmael and the Southern Nomads team sat down after a successful Easter tour and a hearty meal to form a touring rugby side.

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09 April 2015

Baa Baa’s Birthday

125 years ago on the 9th April 1890, in the early hours of the morning, W P Carpmael and the Southern Nomads team sat down after a successful Easter tour and a hearty meal to form a touring rugby side.

31 March 2015

‘Good Sport’ – a history of English multi-discipline international sportsmen

The concept of the all-round sportsman was one of the most significant role models to emerge in the second half of the 19th century. In an era when to be a "good sport" was a distinct asset both in athletic and social terms, the playing of a number of different sports to a high standard frequently led to important opportunities for professional and social advancement for a young sportsman.

25 March 2015

Tales from the terraces - Cap That!

Dave Allsop recalls friendships made on the terraces of Welford Road...

16 March 2015

Rugby resumes in the aftermath of the Second World War...

After the long-awaited cease in hostilities, international rugby was quick to resume. Having stood shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield, Englishmen and Scotsmen now faced-off against each other for a 'Victory' international test match at Twickenham Stadium.

03 March 2015

Lest We Forget - Ronald Owen Lagden (England) 03/03/1915

Ronald Owen Lagden was born in Maseru, Basutoland (modern Lesotho) on the border of present day South Africa, one of five children of Sir Godfrey Yeatman Lagden KCMG and Lady Lagden.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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