England and Australia begin a famous rivalry
Wales centre Arthur Gould played his final Test on this day in 1897
© PA Photos
1909
Australia beat a spirited England side 9-3 in the last rugby international staged at Blackheath. In the first Test between the two countries, Boxer Russell scored a brace for the Wallabies, with hooker Norm Row adding a third. On the wing for England was Edgar Mobbs, the legendary Northampton skipper whose death in World War 1 was commemorated with the annual Mobbs' Memorial Match between the
Barbarians and East Midlands.
1886
Wales lead the way by fielding a four-man threequarter line in an international match for the first time. Defeat by Scotland puts their new tactical plan on hold for another two years. Skipper Frank Hancock led Wales, alongside Arthur Gould, who had a week earlier employed the accepted formation of two halfbacks, three threequarters and nine forwards.
1897
Arthur Gould, leading Wales for the last time, steered them to an 11-0 victory over England at Newport's Rodney Parade. He retired with 27 Welsh caps and having led his country 18 times - national records at the time, under a cloud of controversy. A testimonial organised by fans raised hundreds of pounds for the player, apparently contravening IFRB rules on professionalism. After a protracted row, Wales withdrew from international fixtures in the Spring of 1897, returning in England fixture the following season minus Gould.
1954
Ireland were unable to emulate Ulster's feat of holding the All Blacks. The New Zealanders ran out 14-3 winners of the Test at Lansdowne Road with tour skipper Bob Stuart scoring one of their tries and his back-row colleague Bill Clark crossing for another.
1965
Ken Scotland made his 27th and final Test appearance for Scotland on the same ground where he had made his debut eight years earlier. Scotland, with Lions legend Jim Telfer at No.8, lost 16-8 at Stade Colombes, Paris thanks in part to a brace from French wing. Christian Darrouy
1982
The Barbarians-Australians tour finale in Cardiff was cancelled owing to heavy overnight snow. The stranded tourists had to be air-lifted from their Porthcawl hotel to London Airport by helicopter to catch their flight home.
2008
Shaun Edwards' appointment to the Wales management team moved a step closer after Newcastle boss Steve Bates was confirmed as head coach of the England Saxons. Edwards received an approach from the Rugby Football Union to take charge of the second-string Saxons but turned it down in favour of a potential move to coach Wales in conjunction with his job as head coach of Wasps.
2009
Former All Black scrum-half Justin Marshall was suspended by his club, Top 14 side Montpellier, after refusing to take to the field as a late replacement. Marshall refused to enter the fray in the latter stages of Montpellier's 34-0 loss to Toulouse at the Stade Ernest Wallon.
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