), interest in rugby diminished in the area and sports such as tennis and polo began to thrive as they were better suited to the Indian climate. order back issues and use the historic Daily Express Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Calcutta Cup: Find out why England and Scotland play for the cup, Calcutta Cup: England and Scotland enjoy one of rugby's greatest rivalries, Six Nations live stream FREE: How to watch Six Nations 2020 online, Six Nations TV coverage: How to watch every Six Nations match live, Six Nations 2020 table: Full standings after Round 1. Both nations possess replica trophies. The trophy, which stands at approximately 18 inches (45 cm) high, sits on a wooden base whose plates hold the date of each match played; the winning country and the names of both team captains. Although it was given to the Rugby Football Union with the intention of it becoming a club trophy equivalent to association football's FA Cup, the RFU decided it would instead become the prize in an annual match between England and Scotland. The story begins with the popular introduction of rugby to India in 1872, the Calcutta  Rugby Football Club was established by former students of Rugby School in January 1873, and the club then went on to join the Rugby Football Union in 1874. With the Cup having been suspended between 1915-19 nad 1940-46, due to the World Wars, 2017 will see the 124th edition of the match played at Twickenham Stadium on March 11. Calcutta Cup: Can Scotland retain the trophy? Heading into this year’s Calcutta Cup clash, both sides are looking to bounce back from opening round defeats in the Six Nations. Changed days indeed, with an expected crowd of 67,000 due to watch the latest Calcutta Cup game on Saturday – and Scotland very much the underdogs. As you could probably guess from its title the cup has Indian origins. Unfortunately, the club was forced to close after only 5 years established in the country due to a … The oldest and probably most famous trophy in rugby, is the Calcutta Cup, played for annually between Scotland and England. The members then presented it to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) as “the best means of doing some lasting good for the cause of [rugby]”. “England are an excellent team whose run to the Rugby World Cup final was no fluke. Although the Cup was first competed for in 1879, the plates on its base display records dating back to 1871. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism. The proposal to use the remaining club monies in this way was seconded by Benjamin Burns, who had accepted the challenge from the Scottish clubs to the English clubs to play an international match. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! The original cup suffered the indignation of being kicked up and down Princes Street in Edinburgh in 1988, by several drunk players from both teams. On Christmas Day 1872, in Calcutta, India, a team of English players faced off against a Scottish, Welsh and Irish select in conditions that were bound to be anything but ‘Christmassy’. However many people are unaware of the origins of this famous piece of silverware. The original trophy is still in existence but years of mistreatment (including a drunken kick about in 1988 on Princes Street in Edinburgh by the England player Dean Richards and the Scottish player John Jeffrey in which the trophy was used as the ball) have left it too fragile to be moved from its permanent home at the Museum of Rugby in Twickenham. The origins of the Calcutta Cup dates back to the 1870s, when rugby was introduced to India and a group of former students of Rugby School, where the game was invented, formed the Calcutta … Six Nations 2020 bonus points - How does the table work? As you could probably guess from its title the cup has Indian origins. The trophy actually predates the Six Nations, inaugurated as the Home Nations Championships in 1883. It is popular in backgammon, the Melbourne Cup, and college basketball pools during March Madness. 'Not buying it': Kris Boyd doesn't believe Neil Lennon's reason for dropping Scott Brown, Scottish cyclist enjoying the limelight after breakthrough Alps wins. The Calcutta Cup has to be the most famous trophy in the rugby world. The story begins with the popular introduction of rugby to India in 1872, the Calcutta Rugby Football Club was established by… The Calcutta Football Club, upon deciding to disband in 1878, withdrew the club's remaining funds in silver rupees from their bank account and commissioned the Cup to be crafted from these. The first contest between the nations for the cup would take place in 1879 and the fixture has been an annual tradition since - with the exception of the years during World War I and World War II. They beat England 25-13 at Murrayfield in 2018 and retained the trophy following the epic 38-38 draw at Twickenham last year. Find out more, The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. This year’s game will take place at Murrayfield, but the first time the two nations played for the Cup, in 1879, the venue was Raeburn Place. However many people are unaware of the origins of this famous piece of silverware. The English side have 70 wins to Scotland’s 40. Exeter Chiefs vs Wasps - player ratings: Who stood out in Premiership final and who went missing. The masterpiece of workmanship has a truly wonderful, colourful history.