Calcutta Cup History

A rivalry that pre-dates any sporting event, Scotland and England has been at odds with each other for generations. While any genuine conflict has long since passed, the two nations have still been locked in an ever-growing feud on whatever sporting field they can contest each other on.

For over 142-years one of their main places of battle has been the rugby field, with the first ever international rugby match taking place in March 1871 between the two sides, years before Calcutta Cup was created. Which begs the question, how did the Calcutta Cup, one of the world’s oldest sporting trophies, come into existence?

Origin of the Cup (1872-1878)

To understand the origin of the cup we need to go back to Christmas day 1872 in Calcutta, British India. Two sides of 20 players, one Englishmen, the other Scots. A rugby game was played, kickstarting the growth of British sport in the region, with rugby growing in popularity. This culminated in a group of expats —former pupils of Rugby School and soldiers of the Royal East Kent Regiment— coming together to form the Calcutta Rugby Football club in India.

The club only last 6 years before it folded due a lack of members, but before it closed down in 1898 the remaining members took 270 rupees of the club’s money and melted it down to create a trophy.  Having officially joined the The Rugby Football Union (RFU) in 1874, the members went to the governing body to present the trophy claiming it was “the best means of doing some lasting good for the cause of Rugby Football.”

Establishing the Calcutta Cup

Once they had the trophy, the RFU were left with the decision of what to do with it. Initially, it was suggested the trophy should be used as a rugby competitor for the FA Cup. The RFU rejected this idea as they strongly believed that competitiveness was against the ethos of the amateur game.

It was eventually decided that there would be a yearly game between England and Scotland to decide who would get to hold the trophy, with the first ever Calcutta Cup match being held at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, on 10 March 1879. That first game ended with a 0-0 draw. A year later there was finally an outright winner of the cup, as England beat Scotland in February 1880 in Manchester, officially starting the 140-year history that we have today.

In 2004, there were talks held around the idea of making the match a two-legged contest, with one game in the 6 Nations and the other being held later in the year by the away side. Ultimately, the plans were ditched due to the negative response the idea received from the fans and wider rugby community.

Calcutta Cup through the years

Overall, 131 Calcutta Cup matches have taken place, and it has stayed as an annual game between the two sides since its inception, with even years held in Scotland and the odd in England. The Calcutta Cup game has only been missed on a few, exceptional, occasions; World War I and World War II, and a few other instances in the early days of the Home Nations and 5 Nations tournaments. The match was eventually established as part of the Home Nations Championship schedule, right through to the 6 Nations Championship we have today. Globally, it’s seen as one of the biggest annual matches in the rugby calendar.

The early matches where held in different stadiums in either country, but for the majority of its history the Calcutta Cup has been contest at Murrayfield in Edinburgh and Twickenham Stadium in London.

While the first Calcutta Cup match was held in 1879, the plinth the trophy is sat upon records the results from the matches right back to England and Scotland’s first international in 1871.

Sadly, the trophy hasn’t gone unharmed over the years, as Scotland’s John Jeffery and England’s Dean Richards damaged the Calcutta Cup as they drunkenly played football with it on Princess Street, Edinburgh in 1988. The two players got punished, but to different degrees, with Richards only receiving a one game ban from the RFU, while Jeffery was suspended by the SRU for six months.

Overall, the Calcutta Cup has stood its ground as one of the key events in rugby. The ferocious match-ups and dramatic endings have always entertained the rugby masses, with some the best games happening in recent years.  As the quality of players continues to develop so will the intensity of this historic rivalry, giving supporters a match to look forward to every year.

-Results as of February 2025.