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Renaissance of the Rose. The Rise of English Rugby 1909-1914 When Twickenham Stadium opened in 1909 England had struggled for nearly twenty years to be competitive on the international rugby field. Players such as Adrian Stoop, Ronald Poulton and Dave Davies combined with a fresh style of play to match their new home brought a change of fortune which meant that the England team would barely loose a match from then until the outbreak of the First World War. In many ways the rugby played today is very different to that which graced the playing fields of a hundred years ago. In many places modern terminology that would have been quite unknown at the time is used but it hopefully simplifies matters for the modern reader. The concept of a ‘5 Nations’ championship, or a ‘grand slam’ was largely unheard of at the time, but as general rugby history marks it’s birth in 1910 so has the author. The metric system was still a far off dream and so today’s twenty two metre line is referred to by its imperial equivalent twenty five yards out. The British Lions were not so named until 1924 and so remain the British Isles within these pages. The scoring system of the day was three points for a try or penalty, two for a conversion and four for a drop goal. This book traces their journey from the international wilderness to the heights of their success. |
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