On December 4, 1815, 750 ba- players came together in a mighty contest on the field of Carterhaugh, near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, for what was advertised as -a Great Foot-Ball Match-. On December 4, 2015, two bands of dedicated ba- players descended on Carterhaugh to celebrate the bicentenary of the match by joining battle in another no-holds-barred contest.
For anyone interested the true origins of the game of rugby in the centuries-old mass ba- games of the Scottish Borders and the North of England - still alive and kicking to this day - here are tales wonderfully told by historians of the game.
Cracked crowns, furious duckings, acts of never-to-be-forgotten heroism and unforgivable betrayal - Ian Landles relives the dramas of the original 1815 Carterhaugh Ba- match, recalls Walter Scott-s pivotal role in organising it, and in the process rewrites the early history of rugby. The late Hugh Hornby describes the enduring appeal of mass football games today.
