The aim of the tour is to encourage more people into the sport and inspire children to emulate players like Scotland captain Jason White and perhaps lift the famous silver trophy themselves one day.

Speaking about the tour, Frank Hadden said: "We have a very special opportunity here to offer some young Scots a day they will always remember. The cup is going to visit many schools and rugby clubs in communities throughout Scotland and quite often, a full-time Scottish player from our professional teams will be there too.

"If an eight-or-nine-year-old 'junior Jason' in say Ellon or Aberdeen ever has the chance to meet Jason White in person and touch the Calcutta Cup, you know you've won that lad to the sport for life. That's the power sport can have sometimes. We want to encourage more people to play rugby and get involved with sport."

Since the tour began, the cup has already travelled to events the length and breadth of the country, including the Ayr International Youth Festival where around 1500 children played around 200 rugby matches, the Dundee citywide Touch Rugby Tournament for boys and girls from Primaries six and seven, and the launch of Sportscotland's Active Schools programme in Aberdeen, which gives children the opportunity to try different activities.

The cup also crossed the sea to the Islay beach rugby tournament where children from the island's high school were among the hundreds of people who had the chance to have their picture taken with rugby's oldest trophy.

In June, it made a guest appearance at the new Sporting Scotland gallery at the Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, Edinburgh, which celebrates sport in Scotland and the outstanding contributions Scots have made in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Calcutta Cup 2006 tour moved into its second phase in August. Scottish Rugby's Regional Development managers will, over the next few months, take the cup even deeper into the Scottish communities, going to Lerwick in the north, Castle Douglas in the south, Ellon in the east and Stornoway in the west.

Children taking part in one of Edinburgh Leisure's Activator Camps at Ainslie Park in the capital were the first to see the Calcutta Cup on the second part of the tour. City of Edinburgh Rugby Development Officer Ben Fisher took the trophy to the camp where children were given the chance to try the sport.

He said: "It was fantastic to have the opportunity to offer a fun Rugby session to the children of the activator camp with the support of the local rugby club–BATS rugby. The kids enjoyed the session, with the added excitement of having the prestigious Calcutta Cup on display."

The Cup made daily appearances in the Edinburgh, West and Mid Lothian regions, going to, among other events, a summer camp for children in the Drumbrae area of the city and family fun days at Currie and Linlithgow rugby clubs, before heading to a rugby promotion day at Lasswade High School.

And last month (18 August) the action moved to the Borders and East Lothian regions. One of the first stops was Selkirk Rugby Club which is celebrating its centenary season. On Sunday 20 August, around 1500 people had the chance to be photographed alongside the trophy at the Selkirk Centenary Season Sevens tournament.

The club's secretary, John Smail, said: "We had a sponsored lunch for 200 guests and everyone was really impressed with the Cup as they had never seen it close-up before. Afterwards, we took it outside and so many people came to see it, learn about its history and have their picture taken so it really added to our centenary season celebrations.

On 27th August, the Cup featured at a charity rugby festival, at the Gytes Sport Centre, Peebles in aid of Maggie's Cancer centres and Macmillan Cancer Support. The main event was a match between Scottish Legends and the Peebles Allstars, which featured several former Scotland players, such as Gary Armstrong and Alan Tait.

Event Organiser David Romprey said: "The whole day was about bringing the community together and having fun to raise money for a good cause. The fact that we have the Calcutta Cup alongside some of the great names who've battled for the trophy and won it over the years hopefully attracted more people to come along and enjoy the day."

The Cup will also visit children in the mini sections of Dunbar and Langholm rugby clubs and several primary schools throughout the region to help enthuse the youngest members of the community and encourage them to take up rugby.

By the end of the tour, the Calcutta Cup will have travelled the length and breadth of the whole nation so Scots everywhere will have had their chance to be a part of their national team's achievement.

Did you know?

The Calcutta Cup is the legacy of the Calcutta Football Club which was forced to close down due to a lack of teams to play against and the growing popularity of other sports.

Suggestions of what to do with the club's remaining funds included funding a gymkhana, a ball or a dinner, but instead they decided to melt down the remaining silver rupees to make a lasting reminder, a trophy of the highest Indian workmanship.

The Calcutta Cup was made in 1878 as an international challenge cup to be played for annually by England and Scotland, although fixtures between the two nations had taken place since 1871.

The first Cup match was in 1879 at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh and it ended in a three all draw. Since then, only 15 Calcutta Cup matches have been cancelled because of a dispute in the 1880s and the two World Wars.

It is approximately 18 inches high, has three handles in the form of king cobras and has a handsome domed lid surmounted by an elephant.

Further Information:

Courtesy of Scottish Government - Scotland.org .

Comments

Add New Search

freddibnah - Diasppointing Exit from Rugby   | Author | 2007-10-09 13:09:26 It's a real shame that we went out of the World Cup against Argentina. I though we were in with a chance, especially after New Zealand and Australia were both knocked out. Will just have to wait another four years now...

Only registered users can write comments!

Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.12

Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

---

Recommend this article...