Alan Rotherham and Harry Vassall were pioneers of the passing game that swept through the sport in the 1880s.

As Oxford University captain, Vassall instigated the shift from two three-quarters to three and advocated a style of rugby that could exploit the extra space left on the field following the reduction in a team’s playing numbers from 20 to 15. His scrum-half was Rotherham, the first half-back to primarily serve as a link between forwards and backs. 

Attractive rugby was also winning rugby, and with these two reformers dictating matters on the field, Oxford went on an unbeaten 58-match run between November 1881 and February 1885.

Both played for England, Rotherham winning 12 caps (three as captain) to Vassall’s four. Vassall became international rugby’s first hat-trick scorer on debut against Wales in 1881. He also served as RFU treasurer for a decade and is credited with writing the first book specifically about rugby, in 1889.