IRB took responsibility for all law changes.
1931
The Bledisloe Cup was donated by the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe. The Bledisloe Cup was first played for in 1931, when New Zealand beat Australia 20-13 in Auckland.
Edinburgh Academicals and Herriot's College arranged to number thier players for the game on Saturday 21st February 1931. The first time in history two Scottish teams were numbered.
October 31st - South of Scotland held Bennie Osler's Third Springboks to a pointless draw at Melrose in the ninth match of the tour - the first side to hold the visitors.
Ten French Clubs attempt to break away from the French Federation to form their own union. The Home Unions, concerned about alleged illegal payments to players and foul play in the French game, agree to suspend relations with the French Federation until they can prove that they have control over the game in their country.
Romanian Rugby Federation founded.
1932
New West Stand completed at Twickenham, with offices for RFU staff and room for 12,000 spectators. Cost £75,025. South terrace extended to accommodate 20,000.
1933
The Rugby Football Union prohibited floodlit rugby for gate money as "not in the best interests of the game".
February 11th - England vs. Ireland at Twickenham
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| Irish Team vs England 11th Feb 1933 |
England win the game 17 (9) - 6 (3).
April 1st - Ireland vs Scotland
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| 1933 Irish side that played Scotland |
Scotland won 8 (4) - 6 (3).
1934
The FIRA (Federation Internationale de Rugby Amateur) is founded by Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Catalonia (Spain), and Sweden. Belgium join in March. It is designed to organise the game outside the major rugby playing nations.
In Germany's last game before WWII, the Germans beat Italy 12-3 in Milan, confirming their status in the top six in Europe.
1935-6
V. R. Meredith (Manager)
29 Players:
N. A. Mitchell, C. Pepper, G. Gilbert, F. Vorrath, A. Lambourn, W. E. Hadley, D. Dalton.
W. Collins, J. Best, R. R. King, A. Mahoney, G. Wynyard, H. F. McLean, T. Reid, G. T. Adkins.
T. H. C. Caughey, M. M. Y. Corner, G. F. Hart, J. E. Manchester,
C. J. Oliver, J. Hore, D. Solomon, R. M. McKenzie.
J. R. Page, N. J. Ball, B. S. Sadler, J. L. Griffiths, E. W. Tindill, H. F. Brown.
Gilbert played in 26 of the 29 games
King played in 24
Mitchell played in 22
Caughey & Manchester played in 20
14th September, 1935 Devon & Cornwall 19th September, 1935 Midland Counties 21st September, 1935 Yorkshire & Cumberland 25th September, 1935 Abertillery & Cross Keys 28th September, 1935 Swansea 3rd October, 1935 Gloucester & Somerset 5th October, 1935 Lancashire & Cheshire 7th October, 1935 Northumberland & Durham 10th October, 1935 South of Scotland 16th October, 1935 Glasgow & Edinburgh 19th October, 1935 Combined services 22nd October, 1935 Llanelly 26th October, 1935 Cardiff 31st October, 1935 Newport 2 November, 1935 London Counties 7th November, 1935 Oxford University 9th November, 1935 Hampshire & Sussex 15th November, 1935 Cambridge University 16th November, 1935 Leicestershire & East Midlands 23 November, 1935 Scotland 27th November, 1935 North of Scotland 30th November, 1935 Ulster 7th December, 1935 Ireland 12th December, 1935 Mid-Districts of Wales 14th December, 1935 Neath & Abervon 21st December, 1935 Wales 26th December, 1935 London Counties 4th January, 1936 England
Geoffrey Rees-Jones, just like his England counterpart Prince Alexander Obolensky, became known as the man whose two tries defeated the 1935 New Zealand tourists. On 21 December that year, Rees-Jones collected his brace in a 13-12 Wales win and 14 days later Obolensky collected two as England won 13-0. Neither man ever scored another international try.
1936
The Rugby Union of the Soviet Union was founded in 1936 and the Soviet Union began to play international rugby union games. They were not a major world force, unlike in other sports, mainly because of its 'Western Capitalist' morals. They even supposedly refused an invitation to the 1987 Rugby World Cup for political reasons, including the continued IRB membership of South Africa.
1938
March 19th at Twickenham. The Calcutta cup match between England and Scotland was the first international rugby game to be shown live on TV. An exciting match played in perfect conditions resulting in a 21-16 Triple Crown win for Scotland.
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| Tries Unwin | Tries Dick, Renwick 2, Shaw 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pens Parker 3 | Pens Crawford 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drops Reynolds | Drops none | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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February 12th, Ireland vs England at Lansdowne Road.
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| Irish team: Back Row (L-R): Dr H.Emerson (Pres IRFU), M.J.Daly (Harlequins), L.McMahon (Blackrock Coll), J.W.S.Irwin (NIFC), J.Megaw (Richmond & Instonians), R.B.Mayne (Queens University), A.H.Bailey (UC Dublin), D.B.O'Loughlin (UC Cork). Middle Row: P.Crowe (Blackrock Coll), E.Ryan (Dolphin), G.J.Morgan (Capt) (Clontarf), S.Walker (Instonians), C.R.A, Graves (Wanderers), R.Alexander (NIFC). Front: G.E.Cromey ( Queens University ), V.J.Lyttle ( Belfast Collegians & Bedford). |
1939
France is invited to rejoin the Five Nations Championship for the following season, but war is declared and international rugby is suspended. Eight-eight international players from the British Isles, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, France, Germany and Romania are killed during the conflict.
The ban on Rugby League players is temporarily lifted by the RFU. Many play in the eight Services Internationals played between England and Scotland during the war years.
WW2 see more about Rugby at war.
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1945 Cambridge University XV |
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