Rugby Union: What are the Raeburn and Utrecht Shields?

Rugby fan Dave Algie is the creator of the Raeburn and Utrecht Shields and had the idea for the trophies in 2008.

“We were talking online, running through results and thinking, what if Test rugby worked like boxing? What if there was a title that passed from team to team?” he said.

He then devised the winner-stays-on Shields, which he describes as “two unofficial, fan-driven rugby titles that quietly stitch together every Test match ever played”.

Dave says the trophies provide an opportunity for underdog nations to obtain them and provide an extra competitive layer to matches when title holders are playing.

“The history already existed in the results. We did not invent anything. We just finally paid attention to it,” he says.

There is a physical version of the Utrecht Shield for the holders to retain, with a Raeburn Shield currently under construction.