Veterrimi IV
The four oldest school rugby clubs in the world - Cheltenham College, Durham School, Rugby School and Sherborne School - met on Saturday 23rd October 2010 at Durham School to celebrate the origins of rugby football. The event was a great success with the a high standard of rugby played by all teams and enjoyed by spectators. The tournament and trophy was closely fought and ultimately won by Rugby Shool, with Durham School losing out by a few points.
The afternoon was followed by a Celebration Ball in the evening held at the Ramside Hotel, where funds were raised for the Durham School Sports and the Bobby Robson fund.
It is anticipated that this event will start the beginning of an annual tradition with each school playing host on alternate years.
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College rugby teams have a reputation for free-flowing and skilful rugby that harks back to the original ideals of the teams in the late 1800s.
In the early days internal matches only were played between the two academic parts of the school, Classical v Modern. Matches were finally played against clubs in the 1870s, and in 1885 Cheltenham College drew against an Oxford University side which included two Scottish internationals. The first fixture against a school appears to have been in 1892 against Wellington College, with the first regular fixture against Rugby School in 1896. This fixture is maintained to this day.
By the end of World War II, 40 Cheltonians had become international players and there were also a myriad of Oxford and Cambridge Blues. Since the war College has continued to produce a number of renowned players, with Simon Danielli and Nick Abendanon being the most recent Old Cheltonians to gain full international honours. There are now 14 rugby sides at College, with the 2008 season memorably seeing the 1st XV record its first unbeaten season for 51 years.
Durham School
Durham School is the fourth oldest school football club of any kind in the world and has produced many international rugby union players as well as introducing the game to Scotland. Durham School Football Club was founded in 1850 and was from 1890 to1930 one of the rugby nurseries in England. This was first recognised by the Barbarians who honoured the school by playing a full side against the Old Dunelmians in 1897 (Barbarians won 18-5). Just before the First World War the school supplied four England players as well as a number of England trialists. Between 1920 and 1930 the school produced seven full internationals as well as several trialists (England, Scotland and British Lions). The headmaster during this great period was Richard Thomas Dutton Budworth who was himself a former England international and Barbarian. Newcastle Falcons (originally Gosforth) rugby union club were founded as the old boys side and played in the school's colours until recently (green and white hoops).
Rugby School
'This stone commemorates the exploit of William Webb Ellis who, with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the Rugby game. AD 1823.' This plaque, by the Close, Rugby School, marks a place of pilgrimage for thousands.
Rugby is associated with many firsts: ‘captain’, according to the Oxford Dictionary, was first used by Thomas Hughes in Tom Brown’s Schooldays; the School team played in white – the only one - and England play in white today because the first RFU committee (1871) was composed largely of Old Rugbeians; the first England team included 10 ORs; Rugby provided the first 3 rule-makers; the first 5 RFU Presidents and the first England Captain.
Richard Sykes (OR) is credited with introducing Rugby Football to the USA and Thomas Wentworth Wills (OR), created Australian Rules Football.
This year the XV have proved extremely competitive - encouraged by the selection of recent OR Alex Grove for Scotland. If Rugby is the ‘birthplace of the game’, it promises to be the training ground of international stars for years to come.
Sherborne School
Sherborne School adopted the rules of Rugby in 1872 and the sport has flourished ever since. As early as 1879 four Shirburnians played in the Varsity match and another played for England. In 1881 a further two represented Wales. In December 1893 Sherborne played its first ever school match against Cheltenham College (Sherborne lost by one goal and two tries to nil) and in the next decade such fixtures extended the horizons of the School.
Whatever the results, Sherborne has always maintained its enthusiasm and quality of rugby. Perhaps the ‘golden age’ was between 1969 and 1982 when the School had considerable depth of good coaches who above all else were also good schoolmasters. Sherborne XVs became used to winning with unremitting regularity, culminating in a record for 1975-8 which read: played 35, won 35, tries for 148, tries against 14.
Dedicated, skilful and enthusiastic coaches ensure that Sherborne has always been known for its open running game. In the 21st century, under Director of Sport Paul Miles, rugby continues to play a significant part in the lives of Shirburnians who are both proud of their heritage as well as ambitious for the future.
