September - October - November - December - January - February

Take a trip down memory lane courtesy of our historian John Griffiths.

September

1

1928 - New Zealand defeat South Africa 13-5 in Cape Town to draw their first series on Springbok soil 2-2. It is South Africa's first defeat in a Newlands Test since 1891.

1948 - The new season in Britain, Ireland and France begins with a change in scoring values. The drop goal, previously worth four points, is devalued to three.

1949 - Teddy Morgan, famous left-wing who scored the try by which Wales became the only team to defeat the first All Blacks of 1905, dies at North Walsham aged 69.

1953 - Mickey Steele-Bodger, former Cambridge University and England flanker, is named as a new member of the England Selection Committee. He succeeds former England hooker and captain Bert Toft and joins former England caps Carston Catcheside, Tom Berry, Robin Prescott and Alfred Aslett. England go on to win the Triple Crown in his first season on the committee.

1956 - Brilliant Peter Jones try seals New Zealand victory against the Springboks in Auckland and gives the All Blacks their first series over their great rivals since hostilities began in 1921.

1959 - Milan become the first Continental rugby team to play in Cornwall. Penzance open their season with an 18-0 win against the Italians. 1979 - Famous Argentine fly-half and captain, Hugo Porta, kicks 20 points as the touring Pumas defeat Bay of Plenty 32-12 in Rotorua, New Zealand.

2

1905 - The first New Zealand-Australia Test staged on New Zealand soil results in a 14-3 win for New Zealand in Dunedin. New Zealand field effectively their third XV while their leading players are en route for a tour of Britain, Ireland and France.

1970 - The New Zealand team set a new record score and winning margin for a touring team in South Africa beating the North-East Cape Selection 85-0 in Burgersdorp. Gerald Kember lands 34 points with 16 successful goal kicks from 20 attempts and Graham Thorne scores four tries.

1972 - New Zealand thrash Australia 30-17 in Lancaster Park, Christchurch to retain the Bledisloe Cup.

1974 - Fiji wind up a 13-match visit to New Zealand with a 31-20 win in a thriller against an Auckland Invitation XV. Victory gives them an 8-5 win credit for the tour.

1995 - In the first international match of the professional era, South Africa defeats Wales 40-11 in Johannesburg.

3

1939 - Outbreak of War results in the cancellation of the proposed 1939-40 Wallabies' tour of Britain and France.

1949 - For the only time on record, a nation plays and loses two official Tests on the same day. Separate New Zealand sides lose 11-6 at home to Australia and 9-3 in South Africa.

1955 - Lions go 2-1 up in series against the Springboks, Cliff Morgan leading the tourists to a 9-6 win in Pretoria.

1955 - The Romanian national side begins its first-ever tour of England and Wales with a strong 19-3 win against Swansea at St Helen's.

1963 - Rugby Roma, fielding 11 Italian international players, give Harlequins a run for their money at Twickenham before losing 16-14 in the opening game of their four-match tour to England & Wales.

4

1949 - Barry Holmes, having played for England against France in the Five Nations earlier in the year, makes history by playing against France for Argentina. Holmes remains the only man to play for both England and Argentina at rugby.

1965 - South Africa keeps alive its hopes of squaring their series against New Zealand with a last-minute penalty to snatch a 19-16 win in the third Test at Christchurch.

1967 - Dewi Bebb, 11 tries for Wales in 34 Tests between 1959 and 1967, retires from Rugby. Bebb, a compere for the ITV News network in Wales, makes the announcement while presenting his regioonal news programme.

1968 - Wales break new ground by sending a party of 23 under the captaincy of John Dawes to Argentina for a short six-match visit - the first Home Union to tour South America.

1976 - South Africa beat New Zealand 15-10 in Cape Town to go 2-1 up in their four-Test series.

1991 - Cardiff's National Stadium marks the installation of new floodlights with a night-time game against France. Wales, under new caretaker coach Alan Davies, give France a strong challenge before losing 22-9.

5

1920 - United States beat France 8-0 in the Olympic rugby Final at the Antwerp Games. Daniel Carroll, the American centre, collects a Gold medal to add to the one he won with the Australian side at the 1908 White City Games.

1953 - Garth Jones's wonderful run for a late try bring Australia a famous 18-14 Test win against the Springboks in Cape Town.

1959 - Coventry, then one of the strongest clubs in England, celebrate the opening of their new £10k pavilion at Coundon Road with a 34-19 defeat of a strong International XV.

1996 - After England had been threatened with expulsion from the Five Nations over their solo negotiations about TV rights, RFU treasurer Colin Herridge interrupts a London book launch to announce that a compromise has been reached effectively saving the cherished tournament.

1998 - Joel Stransky fires Leicester on their path to the Allied Dunbar Premiership Championship with a 19-point contribution to their 49-15 win against Harlequins on the opening Saturday of the league season.

6

1913 - The referee uniquely decides to split the New Zealand-Australia Test match into a game of four quarters owing to the appalling conditions in Wellington where the All Blacks win 30-5.

1978 - Rugby beat Bedford 15-14 in a mid-week match. It is the first time for more than fifty years that Bedford have lost at Rugby.

1986 - Australia serve notice of their rising stock, convincingly beating New Zealand 22-9 in Auckland less than a year before the inaugural Rugby World Cup.

1999 - The New Zealand Rugby Players Association is formed to provide a voice for players and liaise with the NZRFU and provincial unions.

2001 - The International Rugby Players Association is established and holds its inaugural meeting in London.

7

1945 - The London Evening News reports that the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces team - later known as the Kiwis - will make a 22-match tour of Britain and Ireland during the 1945-46 season. The announcement gives a great shot in the arm to the game in Europe as it gears up for the first season of peace-time rugby for seven years.

1963 - South Africa tie their series with the Wallabies, winning the fourth Test in Port Elizabeth 22-6 after suffering two successive defeats.

1974 - Ireland begin celebrations of their Centenary season with an 18-all draw against a powerful President's XV in Dublin.

1991 - An England XV led by Will Carling plays the Soviet Union in a warm-up for the World Cup a month later. England run in nine tries in brilliant sunshine on the USSR's only international appearance at Twickenham.

2007 - The sixth Rugby World Cup kicks off in Paris where hosts France are beaten 17-12 by Argentina.

8

1905 - The first official New Zealand tour side reaches England, landing at Plymouth after a 5½ week voyage on the Rimutaka.

1956 - First Twickenham appearance by the German national rugby side. The wind up their four-match tour of England & Wales with a 26-8 defeat by the Harlequins.

1962 - Don Clarke kicks the only points with a second half penalty to see New Zealand to a 3-0 win against Australia in Dunedin.

1964 - The first-ever Fijian rugby tour party to visit Britain touch down at London Airport. The party comprising 25 players arrived to play five games in Wales, five in France and two in Canada.

1968 - Miguel Cole, a Belgrano forward, dies from injuries received the day before playing for his club against the Welsh touring team. The lock died from a cerebral haemorrhage after receiving a knock on the head seven minutes before the end of the match.

9

1905 - First fully representative Australian team to tour overseas beats Wanganui/Taranaki Combined 18-13 in Hawera.

1978 - Greg Cornelsen becomes the first forward since 1881 to score four tries in a Test crossing for Australia in a 30-16 victory in Auckland against the All Blacks.

1989 - Wasps open their Courage Leagues Championship-winning season by laying down the gauntlet to main rivals Leicester. Rob Andrew leads his side to a 29-12 win at Repton Avenue and kicks five penalties and a conversion in the process.

2006 - The Tri-Nations ends its first season under a new format with South Africa beating Australia 24-16 in the tournament's ninth game of the season - the first time the three sides had played an extra game at home and away

2007 - Portugal make their first appearance at Rugby World Cup Finals, losing 56-10 against Scotland in Saint Etienne.

10

1904 - In only the third-ever Ranfurly Shield challenge, Wellington retain the trophy beating Otago 15-13. William "Massa" Johnston, the Otago forward, is dismissed early in the second half to become the first player sent off in a Shield match.

1955 - The Romanian national side completes its first tour of England & Wales with a 9-all draw against Harlequins at Twickenham. Flanker Viorel Moraru, later a distinguished ambassador for Romanian rugby, scores their only try.

1964 - Three Dax players are killed in an early-morning road accident while driving home from a rugby match in Bordeaux against Begles. The deceased are Raymond Albaladejo (the brother of Pierre, the well-known French fly-half), Jean Othats (a former French cap) and Emile Carrere, the club's fullback.

1966 - New Zealand beat the Lions 24-11 in Auckland to complete their first-ever 4-0 series whitewash of the tourists.

1977 - To celebrate HM The Queen's Silver Jubilee, the Lions beat the Barbarians 23-14 at Twickenham in the first representative match played under the "free-kick" laws.

1978 - Welsh legend Gareth Edwards breaks the news that, after 53 consecutive caps for Wales and ten Tests for the Lions, he is retiring aged 31.

11

1972 - New Zealand recall Keith Murdoch to shore up their front-row for their third and final Test with the touring Wallabies. It gives the prop the chance to stake a claim for a place in the party for the forthcoming tour of Britain, Ireland and France. His only previous Test was on the 1970 tour of South Africa.

1982 - New Zealand fullback Allan Hewson sets a then record for a match between the senior International Board nations, scoring 26 points against Australia.

1993 - Bath kick-off their double-winning season (Cup and Courage League champions) with an 18-10 win at Bristol. Mike Catt inspires the West Country side with two tries.

2006 - The NZRFU announces the names of the 22 players who will miss the first half of the 2007 Super 14 tournament in order to prepare for the Rugby World Cup later the same year.

2007 - Argentina are the first team to play a second-round match in the World Cup, beating Georgia 33-3 and scoring four tries to pick up a bonus point. The former dark horses of the so-called group-of-death are established as favourites to win a pool that also includes France, Ireland and Namibia

12

1903 - After draws at Johannesburg and Kimberley, South Africa beat Great Britain 8-0 in Cape Town to win a Test series for the first time.

1931 - New Zealand and Australia compete for the Bledisloe Cup for the first time. The All Blacks become the first holders of the giant silver trophy, beating the Wallabies 20-13 in Auckland. New Zealand fullback Ron Bush is first player to land four penalty goal in a Test.

1964 - The smiling Fijians open their historic first tour of Wales with a 23-12 victory against a combined Bridgend/Maesteg XV at the Brewery Field.

1973 - Graham Price and Bobby Windsor, later to become two-thirds of a very famous Pontypool and Wales front-row, give notice of their potential at representative level by laying the foundation for a well-merited 19-10 win by Crawshay's XV in an early-season match against Cornwall at Camborne.

1981 - New Zealand pip South Africa 25-22 at Auckland to win a match that is best remembered for the flour-bombing of the pitch by airborne anti-apartheid demonstrators.

13

1924 - Second All Blacks begin an invincible 30-match tour of Europe with an 11-0 win against Devon.

1924 - On the same day Ronald Cove-Smith's Lions team loses the series with South Africa. The tourists put up their best Test display of the tour in a 3-3 draw in Port Elizabeth, but they remain 2-0 down in the rubber with just one Test to come.

1930 - The Lions wind up their official matches on the tour of New Zealand and Australia with a narrow 41-36 victory in a match that yields 18 tries.

1947 - Devon & Cornwall combine to provide the Third Wallabies with their first opposition on their major European tour. The Australians, led by Bill McLean, score five tries in winning 17-7.

1952 - New Zealand, playing for 70 minutes with only 14 men after their wing breaks a leg, beat Australia 15-8 in Wellington to share the spoils in a two-match series.

14

1902 - Lord Ranfurly's eponymous Shield is awarded to the unbeaten Auckland side who become the first successful defenders of the prize.

1939 - The RFU issues a statement effectively cancelling all senior fixtures for the duration of the War but encouraging the arrangements of impromptu matches that "do not interfere with national duties."

1946 - New Zealand beat Australia 31-8 in Dunedin in the first post-war Test match staged on Antipodean soil.

1964 - A teenaged Barry John gave notice of his rising stock with a man-of-the-match display that included a brilliant try and a drop goal for Llanelli in their 17-13 defeat of a star-studded Irish Wolfhounds XV at Stradey Park.

2002 - New Zealand's Rob Fisher resigns as deputy chairman of the IRB in the fall-out from the country's loss of planned 2003 World Cup hosting rights.

2007 - In the Rugby World Cup holders England are beaten 36-0 by South Africa in a pool match in Paris.

15

1920 - 18 years after its inauguration, a Southern Island Union takes the Ranfurly Shield for the first time when Southland beats Wellington 17-6 in Invercargill.

1939 - The 29 members of the Australian Rugby tour side, whose visit was cancelled owing to the outbreak of War, are received at Buckingham Palace by HM King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

1967 - Rhys Gabe, legendary centre of the Welsh Golden Era of the early 1900s and member of the Welsh team that defeated New Zealand in 1905 dies aged 87 in Cardiff Royal Infirmary.

1973 - Jan Webster inspires England to a 16-10 victory over New Zealand in Auckland. It was the first away Test win by any Home Union against New Zealand.

2001 - Leicester win 40-18 at Kingsholm against a strong Gloucester side. Two drop goals by Andy Goode, two tries by Lewis Moody and accurate place-kicking by Tim Stimpson are the highlights of a win that even at this early stage of the season points to the Tigers taking the Zurich Premiership.

16

1905 - First All Blacks to Britain win their inaugural tour game 55-4 against the highly-rated Devon county side. Some disbelieving Fleet Street sports editors give score as 5-4 or even 55-4 against the tourists.

1924 - The Lions are limping towards the end of their tour of South Africa. Injuries have hit the tourists so hard that Tom Voyce, England's brilliant flanker, has to take the field for the match against South Districts at Oudtshoorn on the wing. Unfazed, the Englishman crosses for two tries as the Lions win 12-6.

1972 - New Zealand 38, Australia 3 at Eden Park, Auckland is the first international broadcast live on television in New Zealand.

2000 - For only the second time in first-class rugby in New Zealand a father and son appear in the same match when Ron and Kahu Tamatea feature in the Poverty Bay-East Coast NPC match.

2007 - In the World Cup's big "Battle of the Islands" Tonga surprise Samoa scoring the only try in a 19-15 pool match in Montpellier.

17

1921 - At the end of their first-ever Test series, New Zealand and South Africa draw 0-0 in wet and windy Wellington, leaving the first series between the game's superpowers tied at a win apiece.

1938 - Led by Ireland's Sam Walker the Lions finish their official South African tour duties with a 19-16 win against the Western Province Universities at Newlands. It is the 23rd match of a gruelling visit and Walker has skippered the team in 19 of the them.

1968 - Mike Coulman, the Moseley and England prop who toured South Africa earlier in the year with the Lions announces he is joining Salford Rugby League club. The 24-year-old policeman is reported to have received a record fee for a forward.

1977 - Sam Doble, Moseley and England fullback who won three caps and scored 14 points when England beat South Africa 18-9 in Johannesburg in 1972, dies aged 33 in Birmingham after a long illness.

1997 - Jonah Lomu is cleared to make a full return to rugby after a kidney disorder had threatened to end his playing career.

18

1926 - The great Hawke's Bay team defeats Canterbury 17-15 in Christchurch to log their 24th consecutive victory in defence of the Ranfurly Shield, establishing a new record for successive defences.

1937 - The touring Springboks close in on 400 points for their tour of New Zealand with a convincing 33-3 win against Poverty Bay/East Coast at Gisborne. They now have 380 points from 15 games with two matches to come.

1965 - All Blacks wrest the unofficial world crown off the Springboks with a 20-3 win in Auckland that gives the home side a 3-1 victory in the four-Test series.

1998 - Australia take to the road that leads to the World Cup title, defeating Fiji 66-20 in a qualifying match in Sydney.

2007 - Focus in the World Cup leaves France for the evening as Scotland take on Romania at Murrayfield. In one of only two pool matches staged at the ground Scotland run out comfortable 42-0 winners of a drab game.

19

1953 - South Africa bounce back from defeat in Cape Town with a much-changed XV to beat Australia 18-8 in a Test in Durban.

1959 - Lions beat All Blacks for the first time since 1930, winning by three tries (nine) to two penalties (six) in final Test at Auckland.

1981 - The Springboks play their first official match on American soil beating a Midwest selection 46-12 at Wisconsin.

1998 - The NZRFU confirms that John Hart is to continue as All Blacks coach through to the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Britain, Ireland and France.

2007 - Italy, coached by former World Cup finalist Pierre Berbizier, put on their best show of the World Cup beating Portugal 31-5 at the Parc des Princes.

20

1893 - At the AGM of the RFU held at the Westminster Palace Hotel in Victoria Street, London, a motion to legalise professionalism (by rewarding players with "broken time" payments) is defeated by 282 votes to 136: a majority of 146 against the motion.

1900 - The Bristol club's request for permission to establish a League to promote competition among junior clubs is rejected at the AGM of the RFU.

1958 - With Eden Park out of commission, New Zealand play Australia on the Epsom Showgrounds in Auckland, winning 17-8 in the deciding Test of a three-match series.

1969 - Popular Cardiff prop John O'Shea is sent off for punching Coventry's Bill Gittings in an ill-tempered second-half at Coundon Road. O'Shea becomes the first Cardiff player sent-off while captaining the club.

1980 - Wales open their Centenary season celebrations with a 32-25 win against a strong Overseas XV. Fullback Roger Blyth scores 24 points, including three tries, for the Welsh XV.

21

1975 - Stalwart England prop Ray Longland dies aged 66. He won 19 caps between 1932 and 1938 and played in the England side that beat New Zealand 13-0 in 1936. When he finally retired in 1948 he was the Northampton club's most-capped player.

1975 - Wales, on their first tour of Japan, beat the national side 56-12 in Osaka in the first match of a two-test series.

1978 - Munster limber up for their historic encounter with the All Blacks a month later with a disappointing 33-7 defeat in a friendly against Middlesex at Sudbury.

1983 - Leicester's Rory Underwood makes his senior debut for the club featuring in the 40-3 defeat of Birmingham. Within six months of making his bow for the club he is an England regular.

1995 - Rob Andrew becomes the first professional Director of Rugby, leaving Wasps to take over at Sir John Hall's Newcastle.

22

1945 - Two of England's oldest clubs, Richmond and Blackheath, make history by fielding a combined team for the first time. The Londoners are beaten 17-5 by Northampton at the Athletic Ground as peace-time club rugby gathers momentum.

1948 - Paul Roos, who led the Original Springbok touring side to Britain, Ireland and France in 1906, dies in Stellenbosch aged 68 and only a few hours after making a speech in the SA Parliament.

1962 - Aberavon end Neath's nine-month unbeaten home record with a crushing 21-0 win at the Gnoll.

1992 - Auckland defend the Ranfurly Shield for the record 56th successive time. The side under Graham Henry wins 25-16 against North Harbour.

1998 - Fiji upset favourites Samoa 26-18 in a World Cup qualifying match in Canberra.

23

1967 - The Coventry - Sale match is cancelled after the coach carrying the Sale team crashes through a hedge at Aldridge on its way to Coventry's Coundon Road ground. Sale captain John Lansbury, a medical doctor, administers first-aid on the spot to two of his players and later accompanies them to hospital.

1973 - fullback Fergie McCormick kicks 14 points for Canterbury in their win against West Coast at Greymouth to take his first-class tally to 1,863 points and overtake the previous New Zealand first-class career record held by Waikato and New Zealand fullback Don Clarke.

1978 - Dusty Hare has one of his darker days with the boot. The Leicester goal-kicker succeeds with only three kicks at goal from eight attempts in a 21-9 defeat by Harlequins in a stop-start match.

1989 - Northampton, on their way to promotion to Courage League One, lose 15-3 away to Headingley - their only League defeat of the season.

1990 - The United States defeats Japan 25-15 in a one-off Test in Tokyo, fly-half Chris O'Brien kicking three penalty goals and converting two of the Eagles' three tries.

24

1949 - Wallabies beat All Blacks 16-9 in Auckland to win their first Test series on New Zealand soil.

1955 - South Africa's 22-8 win in the final Test, played in Port Elizabeth, squares the series against the Lions and completes one of the most exciting tours in Lions history.

1960 - "Where are you Tompkins?" London Welsh celebrate their 75th anniversary with a 19-6 defeat of Crawshay's XV at Old Deer Park. The match is delayed ten minutes as London Welsh look for a reserve scrum-half after first-choice Dai Tompkins fails to turn up.

1968 - A second member of the returning Lions team to South Africa goes north. Welsh wing and Empire Games sprinter Keri Jones joins Wigan Rugby League club where he is expected to succeed the recently-retired Billy Boston.

1975 - Wales complete their first visit to Japan with a landslide 82-6 win against the national side in Tokyo. J P R Williams crosses for a hat-trick of tries and Phil Bennett scores 34 points.

25

1937 - South Africa secure their first series win on New Zealand soil with a convincing 17-6 third Test triumph in front of a packed audience at Auckland's Eden Park.

1939 - The Welsh Rugby Union announces that official club fixtures will be cancelled during the War. Clubs, however, are urged to arrange their own matches "in accordance with Government regulations."

1943 - Guy's Hospital, one of the oldest clubs in England, begin their centenary celebrations with a 33-3 win against their former students.

1976 - Cardiff RFC captained by Gerald Davies celebrates its Centenary with a 24-13 win over a star-studded Overseas XV that includes 13 international players. Davies and Gareth Edwards are among the try-scorers for Cardiff.

1981 - South Africa, playing their first-ever Test in the USA, beat The Eagles 38-7 in front of a handful of spectators at Owl Creek Polo Field in Glenville, New York.

26

1888 - The first British touring team to New Zealand beat the South Island in Dunedin. Arthur Stoddart, who later captained England at cricket, leads the tourists to a 5-3 victory.

1964 - Fiji, making their first tour of Europe, take part in a festival of memorable rugby against a strong Welsh XV at Cardiff before losing 28-22 in perfect conditions. Wales No 8 Alun Pask scores a dazzling try with the ball in one hand after dummying his way to the line.

1998 - John Eales lands four successful kicks in a hard-fought 25-13 defeat of Samoa to help Australia qualify for the 1999 World Cup finals in Wales.

2007 - As the World Cup pool stages draw to a close, the second-tier nations have their day in the limelight. In the first battle of the minnows the honours go to Georgia after a 30-0 win against Namibia in Lens gives them a fourth-place finish in the group table.

2007 - The day's second World Cup battle of the minnows is a tight affair between Samoa and the USA. The Islanders score three tries to pip The Eagles 25-21 in Saint Etienne. Samoa thus finish fourth in their group with the USA last.

27

1906 - First match played by South Africa on British soil. Original Springboks beat East Midlands 37-0 at Northampton.

1924 - The second All Blacks, in only the fifth match of their European tour, add to their growing reputation with a crushing 39-3 defeat of Swansea. The tourists, who went on to win every match of the visit, made Swansea look like "embarrassed phantoms" according to one newspaper.

1969 - Welsh star Keith Jarrett accepts a widely-reported £14k signing-on fee - a new record - to join Barrow Rugby League club.

1978 - Argentina open their tour of Britain and Ireland with a convincing 39-9 win against Southern Counties at Oxford. Captain and fly-half Hugo Porta, who establishes himself on this tour as one of the world's greatest players, is the inspiration of the side scoring 19 points.

1997 - The 100th match in Heineken Cup history takes place. Harlequins beat Bourgoin 30-18 in France.

28

1935 - Haydn Tanner and Willie Davies, Sixth Formers from Gowerton Grammar School, plot the downfall of the Third All Blacks. Swansea win 11-3 at St Helen's. New Zealand's captain Jack Manchester begs the press: "Don't tell them back home that we were beaten by a couple of schoolboys."

1946 - Despite scoring two tries to one, the Wallabies are beaten 14-10 by the All Blacks in a Test match in Auckland.

1959 - Dr Danie Craven, President of the South African Board, announces from Cape Town the fixture list for Scotland's tour scheduled for April 1960. Scotland will become the first Home Union ever to undertake a Test tour.

1968 - The Welsh XV including a teenaged J P R Williams draws its second Test against Argentina 9-9 in Buenos Aires but the series is lost, the tourists having been defeated in the first Test a fortnight earlier.

2001 - Closing date for applications for the post of head coach to the New Zealand team. There are a record 22 applicants for the post.

29

1949 - Jack Orr, a Scottish international forward who was later a high-ranking police officer, President of the SRU and awarded the OBE, was sent off for an uncharacteristic lack of indiscipline playing for the British Police against Cornwall at Penzance.

1951 - Sale beat Northampton 9-6 : three penalties to two tries - a result that would read 10-9 to the Saints under modern values.

1962 - A county friendly at Penzance between Cornwall and Hampshire in the presence of Brian Vaughan, an England selector, ends in a rare nil-all draw.

1990 - As part of their centenary celebrations the Barbarians are granted a match at Twickenham against the England XV. More than 50,000 watch a keenly contested match in which the Baa-Baas are narrowly defeated 18-16.

2007 - The Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes holds no joy for Wales as they slip out of the Rugby World Cup losing 38-34 to Fiji in their last pool match

30

1905 - In the fifth match of their tour, the Original All Blacks defeat Leicester 28-0. By that stage, the tourists had amassed 197 points conceding only a drop goal.

1939 - Informal war-time season opens. A crowd eager to see the rugby stars in action is rewarded with an exciting game between Rosslyn Park and Harlequins at Old Deer Park. Prince Alex Obolensky scores one the Rosslyn Park tries in their 11-5 victory.

1967 - On their first official visit to North America an international-class England XV defeats Canada 29-0 at Vancouver. Wing Rod Webb scores four tries in the second half.

2007 - In the wake of their Rugby World Cup defeat by Fiji the previous afternoon, the WRU announce that head coach Gareth Jenkins has been sacked.

2007 - Ireland follow Wales out of the Rugby World Cup, losing 30-15 to Argentina at the Parc des Princes in Paris.