Richmond

On 2 January 1864, Richmond took the field against Blackheath in a match that settled nothing on the scoreboard — but stood as the first inter-club rugby fixture ever played. That instinct for being first ran through the club's early decades: it hosted an experimental floodlit match in 1878, faced the touring All Blacks in 1905, and took part in the opening fixture at Twickenham in 1909.

Founded in 1861, Richmond ranks as one of the oldest rugby clubs anywhere and the second-oldest in England, behind only Blackheath. It was among the eight clubs that formed the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The Blues, as they're known, play in blue and white hoops.

The club's boldest gamble came in 1996, when owner Ashley Levett made Richmond the first fully professional club in England and pushed it into the Premiership. Administration in 1999 sent the club to the bottom of the league pyramid. The Middlesex Sevens tell a different story of dominance — nine titles between 1951 and 1983, a run no other period at the club has matched.

Among those who wore the shirt, Agustín Pichot went on to captain Argentina, while Alan Rotherham's playing days earned him a place in the IRB Hall of Fame.

Blackheath remains the fixture that matters most.