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While we’re all enjoying the Rugby World Cup, let’s take a moment to look back at some incredible rugby footage from 1901!

The Oldest Footage of Rugby: Dewsbury v Manningham (1901)

 

 

This old film shows a Rugby League match between Dewsbury and Manningham at Dewsbury’s Crown Flatt ground. What is amazing is just how rough the game was even back then.

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The film has been identified by the British Film Institute as the oldest surviving footage of the game of rugby. Woo-hoo!

It shows the players entering the field, several game plays and a player losing his shirt. It also shows a very lively crowd and one man who seems to be some sort of cheerleader.

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The players uniforms are also quite different, with the noticeable absence of shoulder pads. They made ’em tough back then.

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