The 1873–74 Home Nations rugby union matches was a single international friendly held between the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

national

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

teams. With no other recognised rugby union teams in Britain or the rest of the World, the encounter between Scotland and England represented the only possible match that could be arranged, and would continue as such until 1875, when

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

formed a

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

Results

Scoring system

The matches for this season were decided on goals scored. A goal was awarded for a successful conversion after a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

, for a dropped goal or for a

goal from mark A goal from mark is a former scoring move in rugby football. It occurred when a player " marked" the ball by making a fair catch and shouting "mark". From this position the player could not be tackled. The player then had the option of a free kick, ...

. If a game was drawn, any unconverted tries were tallied to give a winner. If there was still no clear winner, the match was declared a draw.

The matches

England vs. Scotland

England: John Batten (

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

), Marshall Brooks (

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

Harold Freeman Harold Freeman was a rugby union international who represented England from the years 1872 to 1874. Early life Harold Freeman was born on 15 January 1850 in Dursley, Gloucestershire. Rugby union career Freeman made his international debut on ...

(

Marlborough Nomads The Marlborough Nomads was a 19th-century English rugby union club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union. They also supplied a number of players for the sport's early international fixtures. ...

), WE Collins ( Old Cheltonians), Sydney Morse (

William Henry Milton Sir William Henry Milton (3 December 1854 – 6 March 1930) was the third Administrator of Mashonaland, played rugby for England and was South Africa's second Test cricket captain. Born in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and educated at Marlbo ...

(

), Thomas Batson ( Blackheath), Henry Bryden (

Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club playe ...

), Ernest Cheston ( Richmond), Charles Crosse (

), FL Cunliffe (RMA), JSM Genth (

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

), Alfred St. George Hamersley (

) capt., Edward Kewley (

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

), Henry Arnold Lawrence ( Richmond), Murray Marshall ( Blackheath), S Parker (

), William FH Stafford ( Royal Engineers),

Dawson Turner Dawson Turner (18 October 1775 – 21 June 1858) was an English banker, botanist and antiquary. He specialized in the botany of cryptogams and was the father-in-law of the botanist William Jackson Hooker. Life Turner was the son of Jam ...

( Richmond), Roger Walker (

) Scotland:

William Davie Brown William Davie Brown (29 May 1852 – 24 March 1876) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a full back. He played for Glasgow Academicals, one of the top teams in Scotland at the time. He was called up to the Glas ...

(

Glasgow Academicals The Glasgow Academical Football Club is the third oldest rugby football club in Scotland. The club was also a founder member of the Scottish Football Union (the future SRU) in 1873. History Glasgow Hawks In 1997 the decision was made to ...

) capt., T Chalmers (

), HM Hamilton ( West of Scotland), TR Marshall ( Edinburgh Academicals), William Hamilton Kidston ( West of Scotland), W St Clair Grant (Craigmount School), AK Stewart (

Edinburgh University RFC Edinburgh University Rugby Football Club is a leading rugby union side based in Edinburgh, Scotland which currently plays its fixtures in the Edinburgh Regional Shield competition and the British Universities Premiership. It is one of the eight ...

), Charles Chalmers Bryce (

), John Davidson ( RIE College), JF Finlay ( Edinburgh Academicals),

Gilbert Heron Gilbert Heron sometimes as Gilbert Haron (6 September 1854 – 18 March 1876) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a forward. He played for Glasgow Academicals, one of the top teams in Scotland at the time. He ...

(

), RW Irvine ( Edinburgh Academicals), JAW Mein ( Edinburgh Academicals),

Tom Paterson Neilson Tom Neilson (22 October 1851 – 19 January 1909) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a forward. He played for West of Scotland, one of the top teams in Scotland at the time. He was called up for the Glasgow D ...

( West of Scotland), AG Petrie (Royal HSFP), J Reid (

Edinburgh Wanderers Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club, founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union, playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfie ...

John Kennedy Tod John Kennedy Tod (11 September 1852 – 2 June 1925) was a Scottish-American merchant banker. In his youth he was a Scottish rugby union international who represented Scotland in the 1873–74 Home Nations rugby union matches and 1874–75 Ho ...

(

), RW Wilson ( West of Scotland), A Wood (

Royal HSFP Royal High School Former Pupils was a former Edinburgh rugby union club; but the club was re-formed as Barnton RFC and is now known as Royal High RFC. Royal HSFP was a founder member of the Scottish Rugby Union, the second oldest national gove ...

), AH Young ( Edinburgh Academicals)

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Home Nations History of rugby union matches between England and Scotland England national rugby union team matches Scotland national rugby union team matches 1873–74 in British rugby union 1874 in Scottish sport 1874 in English sport