Herbert George Fuller (4 October 1856 – 2 January 1896) was an English born rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 forward who played club rugby for Cambridge University

Cambridge University R.U.F.C.

The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest...

 and won four international caps for the England national rugby union team

England national rugby union team

The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

 between 1882 and 1884.

Early life

Fuller was born in Bath in 1856, and was educated at Christ's College, Finchley

Finchley

Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...

 before graduating to Peterhouse, Cambridge

Peterhouse, Cambridge

Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...

 in 1876. He received his BA in 1880 and his MA

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in 1883.

Rugby career

Fuller first came to note as a rugby player while representing Cambridge University, and represented the university club in six Varsity matches between 1878 and 1883. His six Sporting Blues won was a record for rugby union at Cambridge. In 1882

1881-82 Home Nations rugby union matches

The 1881-82 Home Nations rugby union matches are a series of international friendlies held between the England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales national rugby union teams. This was the last season before the introduction of the Home Nations Championship and was the last time the teams involved faced...

 Fuller was selected to represent England in a friendly match against Ireland

Ireland national rugby union team

The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...

 played at Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...

. The game ended in a disappointing draw for England but the selectors kept their faith in Fuller, reselecting him for the next game that season, at home to Scotland. Scotland beat England by two tries to nil, taking the Calcutta Cup

Calcutta Cup

The Calcutta Cup is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between England and Scotland. It is currently England's since the 2009 Six Nations Championship....

 for the first time in four attempts.

The next year saw the introduction of the Home Nations Championship

Six Nations Championship

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

; Fuller played in all three matches, which England won. This made England the first holders of the Championship title, and furthermore the first Triple Crown

Triple Crown (Rugby Union)

In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...

 winning team. Fuller played just one more international when he was selected to face Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 as part of the 1884 Championship

1884 Home Nations Championship

The 1884 Home Nations Championship was the second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 12 April 1884...

, a home win played at Leeds.