The 1908 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-sixth series of the rugby unionHome Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 18 January and 21 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Although not officially part of the tournament until 1910, matches were arranged with the French national team which were played during the Championship. During the 1908 Championship, two Home Nations faced France, England and Wales. As Wales beat all three Home Nation opponents and France, they not only took the Triple Crown but were the winners of the Championship's first Grand Slam.
Table
Scoring system
The matches for this season were decided on points scored. A try was worth three points, while converting a kicked goal from the try gave an additional two points. A dropped goal was worth four points, while a goal from mark and penalty goals were worth three points.
England: AE Wood, WN Lapage, JGG Birkett, Henry Vassall, A Hudson, GV Portus, RH Williamson, R Gilbert, F Boylen, TS Kelly, CEL Hammond capt., LAN Slocock, John Hopley, H Havelock, Robert Dibble Ireland: WP Hinton, GGP Beckett, C Thompson, James Cecil Parke, HB Thrift capt., Herbert Aston, FNB Smartt, Bethel Solomons, Tommy Smyth, C Adams, A Tedford, HG Wilson, E McG Morphy, TG Harpur, GT Hamlet ----
Ireland vs. Scotland
Ireland: WP Hinton, GGP Beckett, C Thompson, James Cecil Parke capt., HB Thrift, ED Caddell, FNB Smartt, Bethel Solomons, Tommy Smyth, F Gardiner, A Tedford, HG Wilson, EHJ Knox, TG Harpur, GT Hamlet Scotland: DG Schulze, KG McLeod, H Martin, MW Walter, ABHL Purves, LL Greig capt., George Cunningham, JS Wilson, JA Brown, GM Frew, JC MacCallum, LM Speirs, GA Sanderson, Bedell-Sivright, JMB Scott ----
Ireland vs. Wales
Ireland: WP Hinton, GGP Beckett, C Thompson, James Cecil Parke capt., HB Thrift, ED Caddell, Herbert Aston, Bethel Solomons, Tommy Smyth, F Gardiner, A Tedford, HG Wilson, JJ Coffey, TG Harpur, GT Hamlet Wales: Bert Winfield capt., Johnnie Williams, Billy Trew, Rhys Gabe, Reggie Gibbs, Dick Jones, Dicky Owen, James Watts, George Travers, George Hayward, Tom Evans, Billy O'Neill, Jim Webb, William Dowell, Dick Thomas ----
Scotland vs. England
Scotland: DG Schulze, KG McLeod, H Martin, CM Gilray, ABHL Purves, AL Wade, J Robertson, IC Geddes capt., AL Robertson, GM Frew, JC MacCallum, LM Speirs, HG Monteith, WE Kyle, JMB Scott England: GH D'O Lyon, D Lambert, JGG Birkett, WN Lapage, A Hudson, J Davey, RH Williamson, R Gilbert, F Boylen, TS Kelly, Tommy Woods, LAN Slocock capt., WL Oldham, FB Watson, Robert Dibble
French matches
France vs. England
France: H Issac, C Varseilles, R Sagot, E Lesieur, Gaston Lane, A Hubert, A Mayssonnie, G Borchard, P Mauriat, H Moure, R de Malmann, Marcel Communeaucapt., C Beaurin, R Duval England: AE Wood, WN Lapage, JGG Birkett, D Lambert, A Hudson, GV Portus, HJH Sibree, EL Chambers, F Boylen, GD Roberts, TS Kelly capt., LAN Slocock, WA Mills, H Havelock, Robert Dibble ----
Wales vs. France
Wales: Bert Winfield, Teddy Morgancapt., Billy Trew, Rhys Gabe, Reggie Gibbs, Dick Jones, Dicky Owen, James Watts, George Travers, George Hayward, John Alf Brown, Billy O'Neill, Jim Webb, William Dowell, Dick Thomas France: H Martin, C Varseilles, Maurice Leuvielle, E Lesieur, Gaston Lane, A Hubert, A Mayssonnie, A Masse, P Guillemin, P Mauriat, A Branlat, R de Malmann, Marcel Communeau capt., J Dufourcq, R Duval
