If you were a regular follower of the England rugby union team during the 1980s, then the decade was not particularly kind to you. After the 1980 Grand Slam success, it was very much a case of disappointing rugby matches almost ruining great weekends away in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Dublin, and Paris.
Between 1981 and 1987, England won just two away matches in the championship - the last coming in Paris in 1982 - and the start of the 1988 competition did not improve matters. A narrow loss in Paris extended the poor run, and when Wales won 11-3 at Twickenham, it was evident that the new manager/coach partnership of Geoff Cooke and Roger Uttley had a big job on their hands.
England may have lost twice and have failed to score a try in the championship, but in retrospect it was at this point that the foundations for the next few years of success were put in place. Slowly the team was falling into place; ten of the team that started the Calcutta Cup match in Edinburgh on March 5 would go on to play in the 1991 World Cup final.
Undoubtedly their strength was an impressive pack, with England making three changes in the backs department after the Wales defeat, along with handing the captaincy back to scrum half Nigel Melville (taking over the role from Mike Harrison). In came Simon Halliday at centre, with a return for fly half Rob Andrew. Winger Chris Oti would make his debut, as England went in search of their first win at Murrayfield since 1980.
Opponents Scotland were finding tries easier to come by, although the team coached by Derrick Grant had lost two of their three matches in the championship. Scoring 18 and 20 points in away defeats in Dublin and Cardiff respectively, the team defeated France 23-12 in Edinburgh, and were seen as favourites for the forthcoming Calcutta Cup match.
Peter Winterbottom was one of six survivors of the last match England played in Scotland, the embarrassing 33-6 defeat still fresh in the memory. But there was more pain to come for the flanker, as a cracked rib forced him to be replaced by Gary Rees early on in a contest that developed into a scrappy encounter.
Indeed England would win very few friends as they again failed to cross the try-line. But the 9-6 win, courtesy of an Andrew drop goal and two Jon Webb penalties, justified the means. Dominating scrums and line outs, England simply suffocated their opponents and the match, aided by the fact that Gavin Hastings was only successful from two of his seven kicks.
"The truth is that the Scots blundered gamely towards a dour defeat, allowing England to take the game by a process of attrition, rather than imposing a match-winning range of technical skills," wrote Robert Armstrong in the Guardian. England fans, desperate for anything to cling on to, were happy. But Grant was one of many dissenting Scottish voices after the defeat.
"England may have been the birthplace of rugby but today they effectively killed the game stone dead," Grant said, before announcing his retirement at the end of the season. Cooke was quick to respond. "It's very sad to see a side that cannot take a defeat too well."
It could have developed into a war of words. But soon the dull match had been forgotten due to an incident involving the Calcutta Cup, drunk players, and an impromptu game of football on Princes Street. Grant may have described England as street wise after the loss, yet the actions of some players on the evening of the match was far from clever.
The fun and games started at midnight. During the post-match reception, the Calcutta Cup was smuggled out of the hotel by some inebriated players, before being thrown and kicked about in the street. Two hours later, the cup returned, matching the slightly worse for wear condition of those involved.
Donated as a gift from the Calcutta Rugby Football Club to the RFU in 1877 after the club disbanded, the trophy was made by Indian craftsmen from 270 melted silver rupees. Since 1879 the cup was given to the winners of the England-Scotland rugby union fixture, and it was insured for £10,000.
"It is traditional that the cup is filled with Champagne after the dinner and passed around," SRU Secretary Bill Hogg informed the press after news leaked that the cup had been damaged. "Obviously some people have completely abused the privilege and freedom they are allowed with the cup and we will have to discuss whether we can continue with the tradition."
RFU counterpart Dudley Wood was less than diplomatic when asked about the incident. "In England we appoint someone whose duty is not to let it out of their sight. That person virtually guards it with his life." Wood also questioned the condition of the Calcutta Cup. "I'm quite sure it can be restored. Silver is a relatively soft metal and can be pushed out again."
Others were less certain. The cost of the repairs was estimated at £1,000, with a huge dent in the side, splits in the three snake handles, and the hollow edge on the base of the cup crushed. With the cup in the hands of an Edinburgh jewellers, now the search started for culprits.
The first guilty party was revealed to be John Jeffrey, the 28-year-old Scottish and British Lions flanker who had spent the duration of the dreary match on the replacements bench. The Kelso player was asked to appear before SRU officials a week after the match; the press were circling around the 'White Shark'.
Banned until August 31 for his part in the tomfoolery, Jeffrey responded defiantly. "I think the ban is rather harsh but I accept that I will be banned until the end of August without complaint. However, I still deny damaging the Calcutta Cup and I hope now that the Union has given its decision the matter will die."
Jeffrey would miss Australia's Bicentenary Sevens tournament in Sydney and Scotland's tour of Zimbabwe, but soon attention would turn to the RFU, who were under pressure to react accordingly and punish any English players who had played their part in the affair.
It soon emerged that Dean Richards was Jeffrey's accomplice. That he was a police officer at the time only added to the furore - you can hazard a guess how that would have gone down had Twitter been around in 1988 - and Leicestershire's Chief Constable Michael Hirst was not impressed.
"It indicates a degree of irresponsibility which I would not have expected from a serving police officer or for that matter from a member of the England XV," Hirst complained, before the RFU met to consider their actions. England's No8 would receive a one match international ban.
"I accept the punishment I have been given," Richards declared. "I deeply regret my involvement in the damage to the cup, for which I have apologised to both rugby unions." Most felt Richards had been lucky, especially as the Five Nations had finished and he would be free to tour Australia later in the year. The only match he would miss was a fixture at Lansdowne Road to celebrate Dublin's millennium.
An SRU statement reflected the discontent, indicating that they were "extremely disappointed at the nominal action taken by the RFU." Wood defended the stance of the RFU. "We consider the action we took against Dean Richards was entirely appropriate."
So what really happened that night? Jeffreys and Richards later owned up to their crime. "It got horribly damaged," Richards admitted. "I remember JJ saying: 'Look, it's not in a very good state'." Jeffrey revealed what many suspected. This was an act of drunken foolishness that immediately gave way to regret.
"I think I had sobered up a bit by the time I got back to the hotel," Jeffrey said. "I remember looking at the cup and thinking, 'hmmm, we could be in a spot of bother here'." At one point the cup was in the hands of a doorman at the Buster Browns nightclub, who wedged a broom handle inside the trophy to try and force it back into shape. The players even joked that they would have to rename it the Calcutta Plate.
However, not many were laughing the morning after the night before. As the dust settled it was obvious that heads would roll. For some, even the bans were not enough, as Jeffrey and Richards would not miss any significant club or international matches. Many felt the players should pay for the repair of the trophy.
The incident did have one benefit though, namely that it took attention away from an abysmal international. Not many were focussing on England regaining the Calcutta Cup at the time. The poor quality of the rugby on show was overshadowed by the events in Princes Street as the reputations of Jeffrey and Richards took a bashing, as did the cup itself.
But the win was an important moment for Cooke and Uttley and the development of their England team. Two weeks later, the handbrake was released in a 35-3 win over Ireland, and at the end of the year, Australia were defeated at Twickenham. From small acorns.
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