History 1875

In 1875, England played their first game against the Irish at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil; the match was Ireland's first ever Test. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup. Their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardson's Field in Blackheath. England recorded their largest victory, defeating the Welsh by seven goals, six tries, and one drop goal to nil and scoring 13 tries in the process. The subsequent meeting the following year at St Helens in Swansea was a closer contest; with England winning by two goals and four tries to nil Two years later, the first Home Nations championship was held and England emerged as the inaugural winners. In 1889, England played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives by one goal and four tries to nil at Rectory Field in Blackheath. In 1890 England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland.England first played New Zealand (the All Blacks) in 1905. The All Blacks scored five tries, worth three points at this time, to win 15–0. The following year, they played France for the first time, and later that year they first faced South Africa (known as the Springboks); James Peters was withdrawn from the England squad after the South Africans objected to playing against a black player. The match was drawn 3–3. England first played France in 1907, and Australia (known as the Wallabies) in 1909 when they were defeated 3–9.