Monthly Archives: 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. The cup was created when the … Continue reading
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. … Continue reading
Their Costume was All Black…
by Sean Fagan The 1888-89 “New Zealand Natives Football Team” took their final curtain bow on British soil on 27 March 1889. They were the first team of footballers from New Zealand to come north, and apart from hearing of … Continue reading
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. Williams, a contemporary of Jimmy Peters, played club rugby for Devonport Albion at the beginning of the 20th century. … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
