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Forever England: A Podcast on English Rugby and War

Forever England by Artist Shane Record

Centered around a painting named ‘Forever England’ (by artist Shane Record), this podcast tells the story of the men who went from representing their country on the rugby pitch to defending it in the trenches.

The painting recaptures a picture of England’s 1914 Grand Slam winning team in Paris on the eve of their final game. Shortly after their win, every man pictured would be fighting in World War One.

The most notable character, is England’s captain Ronnie Poulton (sitting middle row, centre). Not only was Poulton one of rugby’s greatest players at the time, he had also recently inherited the Huntley and Palmer biscuit company.

With input from World Rugby Museum curator Phil McGowan, the podcast retells the tale of Poulton, his teammates, and the many other English rugby players who put their lives at risk to go and fight for their country.

Listen here to find out more:

Author

  • Hal Fish

    Hal, 24, is currently studying a Sports Journalism Masters at St Mary’s University. English by birth, Hal emigrated to New Zealand with his family aged eleven and now speaks fluent Kiwi (not entirely dissimilar to English). Inevitably, his time spent in New Zealand left him a fan of both Rugby and Cricket; however, his outright love for football stands unrivalled. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in English at Otago University, Hal moved back to England in 2017. Since then, Hal has interned for 90min.com – where his articles amassed over two million reads – as well as writing for the Immigration Advisory Service as a freelancer. Hal mostly just wants to talk and write about football; hence his enrollment at St Mary’s.