December 12 down the years
Birth of England's youngest skipper
Will Carling was born on this day in 1965
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1965
Former England skipper Will Carling was born in Bradford-on-Avon. Carling was handed the captaincy of his country at the tender age of 22 after a spell in the Army, leading Geoff Cooke's men in to a successful era during the 90s. He took charge of the England side that contested the 1991 Rugby World Cup final and played one Test for the British & Irish Lions in New Zealand in 1993. He formed an excellent partnership in the England midfield alongside Jerry Guscott but is perhaps best remembered for the outburst that saw him brand the RFU committee as "57 old farts" ahead of the 1995 World Cup.
2012
Lions head coach Gatland named England duo Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell and Wales' Rob Howley as his assistants for the three-Test tour to Austrlaia in 2013. One notable omission was Shaun Edwards who worked with Gatland at Wasps, Wales and on the Lions tour to South Africa in 2009.
"I am delighted with today's appointments and confident that Rob, Graham, Andy and myself can come together quickly to face one of the hardest rugby challenges," Gatland said. "Lions tours are unique as we have to mould together players from four countries in an incredibly short space of time.
"We have no illusion as to the hard work required but we have spoken of the challenges and truly believe that as a coaching team we can provide the players with the support and environment needed for victory in Australia."
1908
Australia played a Test match on British soil for the first time, losing 9-6 to Wales in Cardiff. A penalty from Welsh fullback Bert Winfield separated the sides, who scored two tries apiece, at the final whistle. Australia went on to defeat England at Blackheath in their other Test on tour.
1953
Swansea's John Faull landed two penalty goals as the All Whites held the All Blacks to a 6-6 draw at St Helen's.
1936
Gloucestershire beat Cornwall 11-0 at Redruth in the County Championship, finishing off their round-robin matches unbeaten and undisputed champions of the South-West.
1945
In the first official Varsity Match since December 1938, Cambridge beat Oxford 11-8 in a Wednesday game staged at Twickenham.
1972
Cambridge began a record run of five successive Varsity Match wins with a 16-6 triumph over Oxford at Twickenham.
1998
Sid Cabot, the oldest surviving All Black, died aged 98. His sole match for
New Zealand was against New South Wales in 1921.
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