The 1872–73 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

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 its m ...

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 exam ...

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

Scotland: WD Brown (

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 ...

), T Chalmers (

), James Sanderson (

Edinburgh Academicals The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Pl ...

), GB McClure ( West of Scotland), JLH McFarlane (

), W St Clair Grant (Craigmount School), TR Marshall (

), Henry William Allan (

), P Anton ( St. Andrew's University), EM Bannerman (

), CC Bryce (

), CW Cathcart (

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

), John Davidson ( RIE College), RW Irvine (

), JAW Mein (

), AG Petrie (

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 ...

), FJ Moncreiff (

) capt., TP Whittington ( Merchistonians), RW Wilson ( West of Scotland), A Wood (

) England:

Charles Vanderspar Charles Vanderspar (1853–1877) was a rugby union international who represented England in 1873. Early life Charles Vanderspar was born on 1 July 1853 in Kandy, in Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon. He attended Wellington College in England. R ...

(

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Frederick Mills Frederick Mills may refer to: *Sir Frederick Mills, 1st Baronet (1865–1953), English iron and steel manufacturer and politician *Frederick Mills (engineer) (1898–1949), Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Western Australian Government Railways *Fr ...

(

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. ...

Sydney Morse Sydney Morse was a rugby union international who represented England from 1873 to 1875. Early life Sydney Morse was born on 1 June 1854 in Birmingham. He was the son of Rev Francis Morse, MA, and his wife Clarissa Catharine Morse. Francis, at ...

( Law Club),

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 ...

(

), Cecil Boyle (

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 the ...

), Stephen Finney ( I.C.E. College), James Body ( Gipsies), James Bush (

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

), Ernest Cheston ( Law Club), William Fletcher (

Alfred St. George Hamersley Alfred St George Hamersley (8 October 1848 – 25 February 1929) was a nineteenth-century solicitor and entrepreneur of great renown, an English MP, and an English rugby union international who played in the first ever international match. He ...

(

Henry Arnold Lawrence Henry Arnold Lawrence (17 March 1848 – 18 April 1902) was a rugby union forward who played club rugby for Richmond F.C. and international rugby for England. He was the third captain of the England rugby team. Personal life Lawrence was born ...

(

Francis Luscombe Francis Luscombe (23 November 1849 – 17 July 1926) was a rugby union international who represented England from 1872 to 1876. He also captained his country. Early life Francis Luscombe was born on 1849 in Norwood, then in Surrey. He was ba ...

( Gipsies), James Mackinlay (

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

), Henry Marsh ( I.C.E. College), Murray Marshall (

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

), Cyril Rickards ( Gipsies),

Ernest Still Ernest Still was a rugby union international who represented England from 1873 to 1873. Early life Ernest Still was born on 14 July 1852 in Epsom, the fifth son of Robert Still of Sutton in Surrey. He attended Rugby School and went on to study ...

(

Ravenscourt Park Ravenscourt Park or RCP is an public park and garden located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England. It is one of the Borough's flagship parks, having won a Green Flag Award. Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park tube stations ar ...

), Frederick Stokes (

) capt.,

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 ...

(

)

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 1872–73 in British rugby union 1873 in Scottish sport 1873 in English sport