David Dow, a Welsh rugby photographer who manages Dragon Tales Rugby in Swansea, is kindly sharing with us this picture of 1894-95 Swansea RFC 1st XV carefully restored and coloured from a damaged original photography.
As David explains: "Swansea RFC 1st XV 1894-95 [stands] in front of the old, old grandstand. The blue caps are Swansea caps and the red ones are Glamorgan caps for playing for the county side. Billy Bancroft's cap is probably an international one but the three feathers insignia has fallen off. Well, he had plenty of them! The hard part is not to over embellish the image and to get the white shirts the right 'off white' colour."
The picture belongs to Swansea RFC Archives (check their website to find tons of pictures...), as part of a remarkable initiative to collate, save and digitize the "All Whites" memorabilia (pictures, oral records, photographies of jerseys and caps) to ensure that all these treasures from the past will remain available for future generations. Let's hope (errr ???) that all major rugby clubs or unions do share the same philosophy...
I understand that St Helens clubhouse is a true rugby museum...
This picture is available to download here (1024 pix) or there (A3 king size pic)
Warm thanks to David and Swansea RFC !
And not to mention... all contributions are welcome here !
