Rugby Memorabilia Society

Rogers Jones Auction: Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection

Rogers Jones Auction:
Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection - 24-02-2023


Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection

Gareth Edwards photographed with 3x Jerseys that were sold today Wales, The 1973 Barbarians & 1974 British & Irish Lions Jerseys

Rogers Jones Auctioneers ‘The Greatest’ sale was held today ‘Friday 24th February 2023’. The worlds media, the lucky people in the room, plus those viewing the auction online watched in great anticipation wondering if the World Record for a Rugby Jersey would be broken ‘The 1973 Barbarians Jersey worn by Gareth Edwards against New Zealand’ yes that match was put under the hammer with an auctioneers estimate of £150,000-£200,000. Would it beat the previous World record of £180,000 for the 1905 Originals ‘All Black’ Jersey worn by the teams Captain Dave Gallaher sold by the same auction house back in 2015.
Ben Rogers Jones added ‘This jersey represents, The greatest try, the greatest commentary, possibly the greatest match, certainly the greatest player’ bidding on the Barbarians Jersey commenced at £85,000 but this quickly rose, when two phone bidders battled it out before the hammer came down for a new world record for a rugby jersey at £240,000 purchased by the Priory Collection . .

This was the sale of all sales, with collectors from around the globe leaving bids with the auction house keeping their fingers crossed that they win the particular Jersey that they want in their collection, most of the talk of the sale has centred around the Barbarians Jersey, but the catalogue of consisting of 39 LOTs was jam packed with quality, consisting of Lions, Wales, Combined England/Wales, Ireland, France, Scotland, New Zealand to name but a few, the opening 14 LOTs were all items worn by Gareth Edwards with the remaining Jerseys ones that he swapped or obtained at a later date.

The Rugby Memorabilia Society would like to thank Ben Jones of Rogers Jones Auctioneers for giving all RMS members a complimentary catalogue ‘which I expect will become a collector’s item in its own right’

For this sale the buyer’s premium was set at 20% (inc VAT), For those who used the saleroom to bid live there was an additional fee of 5.94% (inc VAT) = Making it a Total of 25.94% on the hammer price to be added on top of the hammer price.

Below is a summary of the sale: To include the highlight LOTs worn by Sir Gareth Edwards:

LOT 1 - 1973 Barbairans Jersey worn by Gareth Edwards Vs New Zealand ‘The Game’ Sold for £240,000 hammer (£288,000 inclusive of RJ Buyers Premium)

Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection
LOT 2 – 1974 British Lions Jersey no:9 worn by Gareth Edwards during the tour of South Africa Sold for £10,000 hammer (£12,000 inclusive of RJ Buyers Premium)

Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection
LOT 3 – 1967 East Wales Jersey no:9 Worn in the match against New Zealand Sold for £1500 hammer (£1800 inclusive of RJ Buyers Premium)

Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection
LOT 4 – 1970 Combined England/Wales Jersey no:9 Worn in the match against a combined Scotland/Ireland team at Twickenham Sold for £2400 hammer (£2880 inclusive of RJ Buyers Premium)

Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection
LOT 7 – Circa 1973-76 Wales Jersey no:9 Sold for £5000 hammer (£6000 inclusive of RJ Buyers Premium)

Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection
LOT 9 – 1974 Combined England/Wales Jersey no:9 Worn in the match against a combined Scotland/Ireland team played at Lansdowne Rd Sold for £2400 hammer (£2880 inclusive of RJ Buyers Premium)

Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection
LOT 10 – 1974 Presidents XV Jersey no:9 Worn in the match against Ireland to commemorate the centenary of the Irish Rugby Union Sold for £2000 hammer (£2400 inclusive of RJ Buyers Premium)

Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection
LOT 11 – 1976/77 Cardiff RFC Jersey no:9 Worn in the Cardiff RFC Centenary season Sold for £1500 hammer (£1800 inclusive of RJ Buyers Premium)

Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection Sir Gareth Edwards Rugby Jersey Collection

The Sale results are as follows (hammer prices):
WORN BY Sir Gareth Edwards:
LOT 1: 1973 Barbarians Jersey – £240,000
LOT 2: 1974 Lions Jersey – £10,000
LOT 3: 1967 East Wales Jersey – £1500
LOT 4: 1970 Combined England/Wales Jersey – £2400
LOT 5: 1971 Lions tracksuit top – £7500
LOT 6: 1973 Wales XV Jersey (Canadian Tour) – £1800
LOT 7: Wales Jersey – £5000
LOT 8: 1974 Lions tracksuit top – £5500
LOT 9: 1974 Combined England/Wales Jersey –£2400
LOT 10: 1974 Presidents XV Jersey – £2000
LOT 11: Cardiff Jersey – £1500
LOT 12: 1977 WRU Presidents XV – £1000
LOT 13: 1977/78 Wales Jersey – £12000
LOT 14: 1976/77 Superstars collection – £700


The following are Jerseys Gareth Edwards swapped/obtained during his career:
LOT 15: 1967 France (Christian Darrouy) – £3000
LOT 16: 1967 NZ (Chris Laidlaw) – £3200
LOT 17: 1968-71 England – £1200
LOT 18: 1968 Scotland (Alex Hastie) – £800
LOT 19: 1968 South Africa (Dawie De Villiers) – £3000
LOT 20: 1968/69 Ireland (Ken Kennedy) – £2000
LOT 21: 1969 Fiji (Sikivou) – £600
LOT 22: 1969 Australia (John Hipwell) – £2000
LOT 23: 1969 Scotland (Ian McCrae) – £800
LOT 24: 1969 NZ (Sid Going) – £6000
LOT 25: 1970 France (Marcel Puget) – £1100
LOT 26: 1971 Lions (Gerald Davies) – £10,500
LOT 27: 1973 Scotland (Andy Irvine) – £950
LOT 28: 1973 Canada (Frank Deacy) – £700
LOT 29: 1973: NZ Barbarians (Sir Colin Meads) – £3000
LOT 30: 1973-76 England (Jan Webster) – £2000
LOT 31: 1974 SA – £1500
LOT 32: 1975-78 Scotland (Doug Morgan) – £400
LOT 33: 1975 Carwyn James XV – £700
LOT 34: 1975-78 Wales (Bobby Windsor) - £3000
LOT 35: 1975 Australia (John Hipwell) – £1200
LOT 36: 1975 Japan Squad Jersey – £650
LOT 37: 1976 Argentina (Adolfo Etchegary) – £1000
LOT 38: Noord Transvaal collection – £1300
LOT 39: 1978 France (Jerome Gallion) - £2600


References:
Rogers Jones Auctioneers
The saleroom
Peter Douglas-Davies
Rugby Memorabilia Society
02/04/2023