60 Facts About England Rugby

1.

England Rugby dominated the early Home Nations Championship which started in 1883.

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2.

Four former players have been inducted into the International England Rugby Hall of Fame; one of these is a member of the IRB Hall of Fame.

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3.

In 1875, England Rugby played their first game against Ireland at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil; this was Ireland's first test match.

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4.

England Rugby defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup.

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5.

The subsequent meeting the following year at St Helen's in Swansea was a closer contest, with England Rugby defeating Wales by two goals and four tries to nil.

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6.

Two years later, England Rugby emerged as the inaugural winners at the first Home Nations championship.

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7.

England Rugby shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland in 1890.

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8.

England Rugby first played New Zealand in 1905 at Crystal Palace in London.

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9.

England Rugby then achieved their first Five Nations Grand Slam in 1913, another in 1914, and a third in 1921 after the First World War.

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10.

The early Five Nations competitions of the 1950s were unsuccessful for England Rugby, winning one match in the 1950 and 1951 championships.

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11.

England Rugby won the 1953 Five Nations, and followed this up with a Grand Slam in 1957, and win in 1958.

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12.

England Rugby broke France's four-championship streak by winning the 1963 Championship.

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13.

England Rugby did not win a single match in 1966, and managed only a draw with Ireland.

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14.

England Rugby had wins against Southern Hemisphere teams in the 1970s; with victories over South Africa in 1972, New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1973 and 1976.

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15.

England Rugby played in Dublin in 1973 and were given a standing ovation lasting five minutes.

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16.

England Rugby started the following decade with a Grand Slam victory in the 1980 Five Nations – their first for 23 years.

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17.

However in the 1983 Five Nations Championship, England Rugby failed to win a game and picked up the wooden spoon.

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18.

In 1989, England Rugby won matches against Romania and Fiji, followed by victories in their first three Five Nations games of 1990.

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19.

England Rugby recovered in the following year by winning their first Grand Slam since 1980.

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20.

England Rugby hosted the 1991 World Cup and were in pool A, along with the All Blacks, Italy and the United States.

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21.

England Rugby commenced the new millennium by winning the inaugural Six Nations Championship, although they lost their last match to Scotland.

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22.

At the 2003 Six Nations Championship, England Rugby won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1995, followed by wins over Australia and the All Blacks on their June summer tour.

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23.

England Rugby finished third in the 2004 Six Nations Championship after losing their matches to both France and Ireland.

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24.

England Rugby started the 2007 Six Nations Championship with a Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland.

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25.

At the 2007 World Cup, England Rugby were grouped in Pool A with Samoa, Tonga, South Africa, and the United States.

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26.

England Rugby followed up their World Cup disappointment with two consecutive second-place finishes in the Six Nations Championship, behind Wales and Ireland.

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27.

England Rugby had previously been employed in the position on a short-term basis, assisted by existing forwards coach Graham Rowntree, and Andy Farrell.

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28.

In 2015, England hosted the Rugby World Cup, but were eliminated in the pool stage.

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29.

England Rugby rounded out the year with wins over Japan and Australia.

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30.

England Rugby finished fifth in the 2021 Six Nations Championship, beating France and Italy but losing to all three home nations for the first time since 1976 and conceding defeat to Scotland at Twickenham for the first time since 1983.

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31.

England Rugby finished third in the 2022 Six Nations Championship after defeating Italy and Wales but losing to Ireland, France and Scotland.

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32.

England Rugby played a Five Nations match against Wales at Wembley Stadium on 11 April 1999.

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33.

England Rugby had wanted to use "Jerusalem", but it was used in the Rugby League Challenge Cup final that year, so the song was changed at short notice to "Swing Low".

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34.

England Rugby competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which is played against five other European nations: France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.

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35.

England Rugby have won the title outright 29 times and shared victory ten times.

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36.

England Rugby came top of their pool in 2003 and progressed to the final, beating Wales and France in the quarter- and semi-finals.

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37.

In 2015, England Rugby became the first sole host nation to fail to qualify for the knockout stage, after losing to Wales and Australia in the pool stage.

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38.

In 2019, England Rugby finished top of their pool before defeating Australia and New Zealand in the knockout stage.

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39.

In March 2016, after securing the Grand Slam in the 2016 Six Nations Championship, England Rugby rose to second place, where they remained the following year after winning the 2017 Six Nations Championship.

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40.

In October 2019, England defeated New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup to top the World Rugby Rankings for the first time since 2004.

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41.

England Rugby have won 429 of their 768 test matches; a winning record of 59.

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42.

On 17 October 2022, England Rugby named a 36-man squad for the autumn test series against Argentina, Japan, South Africa and New Zealand.

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43.

Four former England representatives have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame: Bill Beaumont, Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard and Wavell Wakefield.

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44.

Seven former England Rugby internationals are members of the IRB Hall of Fame.

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45.

England Rugby was involved in three Five Nations Grand Slams in 1921,1923 and 1924.

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46.

England Rugby became a Member of Parliament in 1935, and was knighted in 1944.

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47.

England Rugby became the RFU President in 1950 and following his retirement from politics was awarded the title the first Baron Wakefield of Kendal.

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48.

England Rugby was best known as a superlative leader, motivating England to a remarkable three Grand Slams in five years, including back to back slams in 1991 and 1992.

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49.

England Rugby led England to the final of the 1991 World Cup, and captained the Barbarians FC.

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50.

England Rugby's playing talents were not as flamboyant as some of his colleagues, but his effectiveness cemented him as a first choice at centre.

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51.

England Rugby first represented England in 1993, and later that year the Lions.

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52.

England Rugby captained the Lions to South Africa in 1997, and in 1999 was appointed captain of England.

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53.

England Rugby became the first player to captain two Lions tours when he captained them in Australia in 2001.

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54.

England Rugby retired from Test rugby after he led England to a Six Nations Grand Slam and World Cup victory in 2003 and has since become the team Manager.

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55.

England Rugby was on the England team that finished runners up to Australia in the 1991 Rugby World Cup final, but avenged this 12 years later, coming on as a substitute for Phil Vickery in England's victorious 2003 Rugby World Cup final appearance.

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56.

England Rugby went on three British and Irish Lions tours where he was capped five times.

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57.

The IRB recognised them for "their unique contribution to the way that England Rugby was played", specifically stating that they "are credited with pioneering the passing game and the three-man backline, which became widespread during the 1880s".

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58.

England Rugby went on to play significant roles in the early development of the sport in both New Zealand and Canada.

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59.

England Rugby took over from Stuart Lancaster a week after Lancaster's resignation.

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60.

Between September 2015 and March 2017, England Rugby won 18 test matches in a row – equalling the record for a top tier nation – 17 of which were under Eddie Jones.

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