The oldest and probably most famous rugby football trophy in the world is the Calcutta Cup. Hotly fought over by the national rugby teams of England and Scotland during the Six Nations Championships, the trophy is currently held at the Museum of Rugby at Twickenham.
Both England and Scotland have replica trophies, as the original silver is in a very fragile condition after several drunk players, English and Scottish, used it as a football in 1988. As a result, the Calcutta Cup is now only put on public display at the museum if England win the title.
The trophy was first played for back in 1879, after it had been donated to the Rugby Football Union by The Calcutta Football Club. Unfortunately, the club had to disband in 1878 due to reasons cited such as a lack of new members, the rise in popularity of the game of polo, and the British army’s reduction of troops in Calcutta. The club withdrew all of its funds from the bank in silver rupees (270 of them) and had them melted down and remade into The Calcutta Cup, which is decorated with engraved cobras and an elephant. The total value of the coins at the time was £60.
Initially, the intention was for the trophy to be the rugby equivalent of the FA Cup, but it was decided an annual competition between England and Scotland should have the honour of playing for the engraved trophy as a prize.
Here at H Cooper Glass Engravers we can offer a range of trophies for all sorts of purposes, from silver to crystal and engraved glass trophies, perfect for a local sporting tournament or competition.