A c.1910 ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL RUGBY UNION MATCH-WORN JERSEY VERSUS WALES All white jersey applied

A c.1910 ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL RUGBY UNION MATCH-WORN JERSEY VERSUS WALESAll white jersey applied with felt square bearing embroidered rose-stem, interior label for George Lewin, London, three buttonsPreserved with other important jerseys and caps by Charles Meyrick Pritchard (1882 – 1916) which form a collection entered to this auction by Charlie Pritchard’s great-grandson. In recent years the collection has been archived and exhibited at the World Rugby Museum at Twickenham Stadium. It is unknown, but perhaps likely that the jersey was swapped with Pritchard after his final cap for Wales against England in 1910 at the newly opened Twickenham ground. As Pritchard was by this time a collector of match souvenirs, he would surely have wanted something to take home from this match.The first decade of the twentieth century was a difficult period for English rugby. The professional Northern Union had drawn talent away from union as had military campaigns in South Africa and China. Scotland and Wales dominated the Home Nations Championship, while England lacked continuity and a distinctive playing style. Between 1899 and 1909, a hefty 71 new England caps were awarded and with as many as 16 different half-backs to face Wales being a clear indication of their instability. They were soundly beaten 15-0 by the touring All Blacks in 1905, they also underestimated the raw Australians in 1909 losing the match 9-3. They did however manage to scrape a draw against the Springboks on home-soil, in 1906.However, the 1910 England v Wales match, Charlie Pritchard’s final Wales appearance was to be the turning-point in England’s fortunes. The match was notable as the first international tie to be played at the Twickenham ground. Buoyed by the game’s founding nation finally having a home-ground of their own, England beat Wales 11-6 – Wales’s first loss in three years. England went on to claim the Championship in 1910 for the first time since 1895. The England team also had a new crop of talented players to grace their new Twickenham home such as Adrian Stoop, Cherry Pilman and Ronald Poulton Palmer to name but a few. It was a new confident dawn for England and the mark of a golden era for English rugby union.Their first title for eleven years coincided with the rise of Harlequin F.C., whose brand of attacking rugby led to a purple period in the years leading up to First World War. England did not retain the title in 1911, winning and losing two games. England only lost one game (to Scotland) in the 1912 Five Nations, and thus shared that championship with Ireland. A Grand Slam of the Five Nations was achieved by England in 1913 and England successfully defended the title at the 1914 Five Nations with another Grand Slam. There were no games between 1914 and 1920 owing to the War, but when the Five Nations resumed in 1921 England continued where they left off.