History
The Barbarian Club was formed by William Percy Carpmael, who had played rugby for Cambridge University, and had been part of the Cambridge team which had undertaken a tour of Yorkshire in 1884. Inspired by the culture behind short rugby tours he organised his first tour in 1889 with Clapham Rovers, which was followed by an 1890 tour with an invitational team calling themselves the Southern Nomads. At the time practically every club ceased playing in early March and there were no tours and players just 'packed up' until the following season. In 1890 he took the Southern Nomads – mainly composed of players from Blackheath – on a tour of some northern counties of England.
His idea – collecting a touring side from all sources to tackle a few leading clubs in the land – received strong support from leading players, particularly ex-university players. On 9 April 1890 in Leuchters Restaurant at the Alexandra hotel in Bradford, the concept of the Barbarians was agreed upon. The team toured later that year and beat Hartlepool Rovers 9 – 4 on 27 December in their first fixture.
The team was given the motto by Walter Julius Carey, former Bishop of Bloemfontein and a former member of the Barbarians:
- Rugby Football is a game for gentlemen in all classes, but for no bad sportsman in any class.
Read more about this topic: Barbarian F.C.
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