One of my favourite items of rugby memorabilia is the committee ribbon. It's an unusual item to collect, they weren't produced by every nation and even nations that issued them did so intermittently. But they do look good. I've a feeling that they may have been the predecessor to the enamel badge/pin. Certainly they were the forerunners of the NZ button badges with ribbon attached that were produced from the 1930s to 1970s. The earliest committee ribbon I've seen is one for the Wales v NZ Maoris 1888 match, a very delicate affair that resembles the modern rosette. Unfortunately I do not have a picture to illustrate it here. The reason for their existence I believe was to allow committee members access to all parts of a stadium. Rather than have stewards requiring the officials to produce a pass, the committee could parade their importance and strut the length and breadth of the stadium brandishing their ribbon like a peacock it's feathers.
The earliest ribbons we have available amongst our collection and Rugby Relics stock are from the 1904 British team's tour of New Zealand, the test ribbon being a typical all black dour affair with a silver fern but the Taranaki ribbon is a nicely illustrated colourful creation with the flags of the competing teams. A recent addition to our website is a collection of ribbons from a Scottish committeeman. This official travelled extensively with the Scottish teams in the 1920s & 1930s retaining his ribbons. From the collection we can deduct that Scotland, Ireland and France were issuing ribbon during this period but England and Wales were not. At least this is what the inspector Clousseau in me has decided. The next time we come across a committee issue badge/ribbon is the 1970s when small round card badges were cheaply produced by the home nations with a safety pin back. These I'm afraid don't have anywhere near the same attractiveness of the earlier ribbons. My favourite is a nicely embroidered Monmouthshire v Springboks 1906 ribbon from the collection of Jack Jones who played in this match. If anyone has any information relating to committee ribbons I'd be delighted to hear from them..... CLICK HERE TO EMAIL THE WORLD RUGBY MUSEUM
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