1922

You might have thought that London Irish were the first team to play at the home of Reading FC. It was not the norm that rugby matches were played at the former home of Reading FC but it did happen almost a hundred years ago.

Elm Park was venue for a charity match between Berkshire Wanderers and Richmond with Percy Chapman star of the Wanderers side.

In an 8-3 win for Wanderers, future England cricket captain Chapman set up a first-half try then converted another score five minutes from time. 

CRICKET CAREER

Chapman played minor counties cricket for Berkshire and first class cricket for Cambridge University Kent. A left-handed batsman, he went on to play 26 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 17 of those games. He also worked for local Berkshire brewery Symonds.

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