This film is part of Free

Rugby Football Match

A hard-fought early filmed match

Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins

Overview

Leicester Tigers face Plymouth in this early filmed rugby match, which took place 26 October 1901, at Leicester's Welford Road home. As is customary in early sporting films, only a small proportion of the match is captured, due to the technical limitations of the time. The match ended in a 3-3 draw.

James Bamforth was a pioneer British filmmaker, based in Holmfirth, Yorkshire. Having worked as a as a studio photographer and producer of magic lantern slides, he was well-placed to move into the film industry in 1898., His ever-entrepreneurial company, Bamforth & Co., later diversified into the production of saucy seaside postcards, which sustained it long after it lost its place in the film industry, proving a successful line of business into the 1990s.

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