Brothers On Both Fields - Remembering Rugby Through The World Wars

The brand new World Rugby Museum at Twickenham Stadium is now open for visitors.

Bigger and better, it tells the story of rugby around the world, following the game's history from its origins to the modern-day.

It also features a wartime exhibition, remembering the significant military characters that played the game and how the two worlds continue to co-exist. 

Inside Twickenham Stadium's south stand sits the museum, an international and colourful tribute to hundreds of years of this most beloved sport

27 English rugby players lost their lives in the First World War and they're all remembered.

Men like Edgar Mobbs - the lieutenant colonel who died at the Battle of Passchendaele, who is now remembered in an annual Army rugby fixture.

Then there was Arthur Harrison, a naval man who played for England in their Grand Slam-winning season of 1914. He died at the port of Zeebrugge and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. 

But there were also those who survived, like William Wavell Wakefield, an RAF pilot who captained England in the 1920s.

To this day, we see servicemen representing the English game - from the Premiership to donning the red rose.

Semesa Rokodoguni, with a tour of Afghanistan under his belt, also has a number of England caps and tries under his belt.

A section of the wartime exhibit is dedicated to the Army-Navy, with last year marking the 100th match between the two sides.

It brings history through to the present, again underlining the special relationship that rugby and the Armed Forces seem to share.

May 5 sees the return of the Army-Navy at Twickenham, a special date in the calendar.

Not just for the players and fans - but also for the sport of rugby and its place in history.

More: Pilot Remembers Battle Of Britain By Drawing Spitfire In England's Skies