This poster is the oldest in the history of world rugby. Since 1871, the rivalry between the XV de la Rose and that of the Chardon has not weakened. History (s).
4-1. A football score forever in the annals of rugby. That of the very first international match. This March 27, 1871, Scots and English clash in Edinburgh, on the lawn of Raeburn Place. Visitors are favorites, already steeped in the certainties of being the inventors of this sport nearly half a century earlier (in 1823). But it is the Scots who prevail and, for the anecdote, the first try in the history of international rugby was scored by a local player, Angus Buchanan. A first for, 150 years later, to celebrate the oldest rivalry in world rugby. And his oldest trophy: the Calcutta Cup.
An elephant on the cover and three cobras as handles
Originally a British infantry regiment based in this Indian colony. He created a rugby club there in 1872 but, for lack of funds, was doomed to disappear. Before retiring, the leaders of the Calcutta Football Club sent a letter to the English Federation (RFU) to submit the idea of making a trophy that would be put into play between the English and the Scottish. Request granted. The crate is emptied and a silversmith melts the 270 silver rupees to make a majestic cup, with its elephant on the lid and its three cobra-shaped handles.
The Calcutta Cup was brought into play for the first time in 1879. For a winner often English. The two teams have faced each other 138 times in 150 years, for 76 English wins, 48 Scottish wins (and 19 draws). A trend that has been accelerating for twenty years with 17 victories for the XV de la Rose against only 3 for that of the Chardon. Unbalanced confrontations (the Scots have not won at Twickenham since 1983) before a Celtic revival in the last two years: a victory at Murrayfield in 2018 and an anthology draw (38-38) at Richmond in 2019. But the Scots do not have the real trophy in their possession. This has been kept in London, at the World Rugby Museum, since 1988. It is therefore a replica which has since been brandished by the winner.
The rivalry remains strong, tenacious. A little more livened up by the desire for independence of a part of the Scottish population refusing Brexit. With rugby as a manifesto since in 1990, at the initiative of the pillar and captain of the Chardon XV, the players refused to sing the God Save the Queen at hymn time to sing the magnificent Flower of Scotland. That day, the two teams faced each other for a final, Grand Slam on the line. And the Scots, transcended by this song in honor of Bannockburn’s victory in the First War of Independence, won 13 to 7. A hymn which now warms the spirits each time, spicing up a little more the ancestral rivalry between these two selections.
The confrontation this Saturday (5.45 p.m.) promises to be even more intense. The anniversary is underlined in red by the two protagonists. To give themselves a little more strength, the Scots will wear a collector’s jersey, each player having embroidered on his chest the name of his counterpart in 1871. Eddie Jones, he took care, as often, to put a little oil on the fire, asserting that the opponent of the XV of England was preparing as always a “bad trick”. “The Calcutta Cup means a lot to both countries. So I am sure it will be a difficult, perhaps unpleasant affair, warned the England manager. Historically, this has always been the case because we are close neighbors and it’s big brother versus little brother. There is still this intense rivalry between the two countries. ”
He was happy to recall that in 2018, an unexplained explosion had sounded in the tunnel leading to the lawn of Murryafield or that, the following year, one of his staff had received a bottle. “I also remember a few years ago being accosted by a few Scottish supporters on a train bringing me back from the match in Scotland… So it will be a big celebration, a big battle. But we are ready. ” Stuart Hogg’s Highlanders too. “The Calcuitta Cup against our oldest rival excites Scots all over the world every year,” coach Gregor Townsend reminded us.
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