The Calcutta Cup is the trophy presented to the winner of the England versus Scotland rugby union match which takes place during the annual Six Nations Championship – also currently known as the RBS 6 Nations – between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy.
Following the popular introduction of rugby to India in 1872, the Calcutta (Rugby) Football Club was established by former students of Rugby School in January 1873, joining the Rugby Football Union in 1874. However, with the departure of a local British army regiment (and perhaps more crucially the cancellation of the free bar at the club!), interest in rugby diminished in the area and sports such as tennis and polo began to thrive as they were better suited to the Indian climate.
Whilst the Calcutta (Rugby) Football Club was disbanded in 1878, members decided to keep the memory of the club alive by having the remaining 270 silver rupees in their bank account melted down to be made into a trophy. The trophy was then presented to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to be used as “the best means of doing some lasting good for the cause of Rugby Football.”
The trophy, which stands at approximately 18 inches (45 cm) high, sits on a wooden base whose plates hold the date of each match played; the winning country and the names of both team captains. The silver cup is delicately etched and decorated with three king cobras who form the handles of the cup and sitting atop the circular lid is an Indian elephant.
The original trophy is still in existence but years of mistreatment (including a drunken kick about in 1988 on Princes Street in Edinburgh by the England player Dean Richards and the Scottish player John Jeffry in which the trophy was used as the ball) have left it too fragile to be moved from it’s permanent home in the museum of Rugby at Twickenham.
Instead both England and Scotland have full size models of the cup to be displayed by the winning team and when England are victors the original Trophy is displayed by the museum of Rugby in purpose built trophy cabinet with a revolving stand.
With Thanks To: http://www.Historic-uk.com
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