From The Vaults

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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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.

22 August 2015

The Greater Game of War

A mixture of rain and snow accompanied the team on their journey north for their penultimate game of the 1914 5 Nations Championship. Their destination, Edinburgh, had experienced three weeks of solid rain but, against the odds, blue skies and a dry wind welcomed England on their arrival.

14 August 2015

MATCH REPORT - France v England, 1906

France and England contest their 100th international test rugby match in August 2015. John Griffiths here describes the first.

09 August 2015

Durham rugby friends die at Gallipoli in August 1915

Two teammates and close friends from the rugby fields of Durham School, Rosslyn Park and Oxford died at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, just days and a few hundred yards apart in August 1915. This is their story...

08 August 2015

Lest We Forget - Albert 'Doolan' Downing (New Zealand) 08/08/1915

Sergeant Albert Downing was born in Napier on July 12, 1886. He was educated at the Marist Brothers' School there, which he left in 1904, and was employed as a clerk successively by the Excelsior Dairy Co., Ltd., Barry Bros., Ltd., and Ellison and Duncan, Ltd., merchants...

06 August 2015

From Middle Park to Gallipoli

On Saturday 8 August, 1914, only four days after Australia had entered the war, East Melbourne played South Melbourne on the Middle Park ground in the final game of the season...

31 July 2015

Lest We Forget - Billy Geen (Wales) 31/07/1915

At his best, Billy Geen was a dazzlingly entertaining three-quarter, with a bewildering side-step. At times, he reminded supporters of some of the greatest exponents of Welsh back play, like Arthur Gould and Rhys Gabe.

23 July 2015

The 1956 Arctic Rugby Football Championship

The World Rugby Museum was recently contacted by a man who, in the 1950s, helped to implement the DEW Line system in northern Canada.

17 July 2015

Lest We Forget - Frank Tarr (England) 18/07/1915

Francis Nathaniel Tarr, known as Frank, was born at Ironville near Belper, Derbyshire, the only son of Frederick Tarr and his wife Emma. Francis had an older sister, Mabel.

14 July 2015

Rugby from the front, 1914-1918

Rugby led the rush to war in 1914. As a famous recruiting poster trumpeted in December, 'Rugby Union Footballers Doing their Duty - over 90% have enlisted'.

08 July 2015

MATCH REPORT - Harlequins v Richmond, 1909

Harlequin Football Club (Harlequins F.C) had a gentleman's agreement with the RFU to use their new football ground even before it was built in 1909. The first game at Twickenham was contested between Harlequins and Richmond, two local rivals, on the 2nd October 1909.

01 July 2015

Radio Pioneers

1927 witnessed a curious new addition to the rear of the Twickenham South Terrace. A little known company called the British Broadcasting Corporation was granted permission to construct what looked like a bird-hive on top of the fence at the back.

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