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The Rugby Club was formed in 1875 after a meeting was held in Mr Pine's rooms on 25 October.
The Captain of the Boat Club took the chair at the first meeting and was elected to the Presidency of the new club. Mr Whitehead was chosen as the first captain.
The first rugby match was played on the Corpus ground on 29 October and ended in a draw in favour of Corpus by 5 tries to nothing. The next game against Clare was played on Parker's Piece (the scene of University rugby matches until the municipal authorities objected tot he damage done). The result was a draw in favour of Magdalene by one try and a touchdown to nothing. The final game of the first season was against a joint team from St Peter's and St Catherine's and the score was Magdalene 5 touchdowns, Combined Colleges 3 tries and 2 touchdowns. Under the old rules no match could be won unless a goal was kicked. New rules came into force in November.
The game was then very different to the modern game with most international and club sides having 13 forwards and 7 outsides.
For further information see: College Magazine, No. 80, May 1949, pp. 15-17