1920 - United States (8) beat France (0) in Olympic Games to take gold (only two teams compete).
Fédération Française de Rugby formed.
Annual North vs. South Rugby game
1921 - The International Rugby Board introduced numbering on jerseys.
1922 - The Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU) became the Rugby Football League.
1924 - USA successfully defend the Olympic title (USA 17 - France 3), this is a great story! Romania take the bronze. Rugby has since been discontinued in the Olympic programme.
A touring team consisting of the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales became known as the "British Lions" while playing in South Africa because they wore ties with the British Lion emblem on them.
1925 - Cyril Brownlie the first man sent off in an international (England vs. New Zealand at Twickenham). The 1924/25 New Zealand team gained the nickname "The Invincible's", after winning all 32 matches on tour.
Credit: LordPrice collection
1926 - British Police Rugby founded, when a semi-official body known as the Police Rugby Union arranged a few matches during the course of several seasons. This picked up very quickly with Police Union Rugby sides playing against English Counties like Devon and Cornwall. Records show that a British Police team toured the West Country and Cornwall as early as 1932. This led on to fixtures with such famous clubs as Pontypool in 1934 and Llanelli in 1937.
First important 7-a-side tournament organized at Twickenham (in aid of Middlesex hospital). Won by Harlequins.
1927 - Captain H.B.T. Wakelam was the first to broadcast a commentary on a Rugby International, the match in question being England v. Wales in 1927. He became one of the team of all-round commentators, covering not just rugby, boxing, cricket and tennis, but also other things entirely, such as Tidworth Tattoo. His speciality was always rugby, however.
1929 - The original Rugby Union of Canada was founded in September, 1929, and lasted until the outbreak of the War in 1939. It was not revived until 1965 as the Canadian Rugby Union.
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Say goodbye to the old Lansdowne Road.
