When was the first rugby union international match televised live in its entirety?
A. The first live televised international was the England-Scotland match at Twickenham in 1938. A pulsating match played in ideal conditions resulted in a 21-16 Triple Crown win for Scotland. The BBC continued its coverage of Twickenham internationals post-war, but it wasn’t until the Coronation Year of 1953, with television gaining in popularity and accessibility, that regular live sporting broadcasts really captured the public’s attention. Cricket’s Ashes series of that summer had proved popular and when Wales beat New Zealand 13-8 in December the live telecast of the whole rugby international from Cardiff was shown. The first Murrayfield international televised in its entirety was the Scotland-New Zealand game in February 1954. There was lively debate in the Home Unions about the screening of internationals. Clubs argued that televised rugby detracted from their gates. Although the RFU were generally in favour of live television broadcasting, the other Home Unions had reservations.
