Rare, sweat-soaked articles of rugby history have gone on display as part of an exhibition of the sport devised by a De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) expert.
A fascinating collection of iconic items from rugby matches past has been assembled at Newarke Houses museum, in a display now open to the public.
The exhibition, which coincides with the start of the Rugby World Cup, has been advised by Professor Tony Collins of the International Centre for Sports History and Culture.
Taking over one whole room of the museum, the display includes Martin Johnson's boot-stamped England jersey from the close-fought defeat to Wales in the 1999 Five Nations Championship.
There are souvenirs from 19th century Midlands Cup games, programmes from Leicester Football Club matches and newspaper clippings from the 1930s, beer mats, blazer badges and cigarette cards.
The collection includes a number of boots made locally by J.J. Law of Leicester around the start of the 20th century and memorabilia from the modern Leicester Tigers era.
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Around the walls, creative displays pay equal attention to high profile international games and smaller, grass roots club rugby, with a big emphasis in the local teams and leagues.
The idea for the exhibition emerged from discussions between Professor Collins and Leicester City Council and was funded after a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. It has been curated by Philip French, Curator Leicester History at Leicester City Council.
Professor Collins said: "This exhibition has been two years in the planning and really gives people a good overview of the development of rugby within Leicestershire. There's a great mix of local, smaller club development - the roots of the game - and the bigger, historical and international matches.
"At the International Centre for Sports History and Culture we have provided a lot of historical input into the collection and this is a great example of the kind of depth of knowledge we have here at DMU."
Professor Collins has recently published The Oval World: A Global History of Rugby, the first history which encompasses the whole sport, both Rugby League and Rugby Union. It has been released by Bloomsbury books and has already received rave reviews in the Independent and The Times.
Professor Collins said: "It's been brilliant. I'm travelling up and down the country doing book signing. The response so far has been really positive."
Posted on Tuesday 22 September 2015