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Team Photograph titled:
British Rugby Football Team vs All Ceylon
1-10-1930
It is truly amazing what can turn up at auction from one day to the next, we all wait for the next gem to appear. On a personal note, it was this team photograph of the 1930 British Rugby team photographed prior to their match with the Ceylon side on 1-10-1930. The only known example of this ‘was a very grainy, cropped picture in the history of Sri Lankan rugby book’ So it was a joy to see a clear image of the teams.
The British team arrived in Colombo Harbour on ‘The Otranto’ at approximately 7 in the morning, after breakfast the team visited a number of sites in Colombo suchas Buddhist Temples, Botanical Gardens before going round the shops buying souvenirs. The match kicked off at 5pm, due to the extreme heat, the match proved to be a one sided affair with the British team winning 45-0. After the match the team had dinner at the G.O.M Hotel and were back in the boat at 11.30pm and the ship left Ceylon at Midnight.
References:
Peter Douglas-Davies Collection
Rugby Memorabilia Society
Peter Douglas-Davies
17/05/2021