# The oldest international rivalry in sports **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 15, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020 "2011-05-15T19:50:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/1 "2011-05-15T19:50:25Z")
It won’t surprise too many people here that it’s between the US and Canada. I wonder how many people will be able to guess the sport. Please write your answers before peeking. It’s cricket which was the most popular sport in the US before the Civil War. In fact it continued to be a major sport in Philadelphia till the early 20th century. The Wiki [article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_United_States_cricket) discusses the history of US cricket and here is an [article](http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/141170.html)about the first US-Canada game. I find the story of US cricket: its decline and almost complete disappearance rather fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/2 "2011-05-15T20:52:21Z")
I would have guessed the sport right, but got the countries wrong. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/3 "2011-05-15T21:00:19Z")
In 1871, the first rugby international was played between England and Scotland. > **[Guinness Six Nations Rugby News - Six Nations Rugby](https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/en/history.php)** > > All the latest news for the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship covering England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/4 "2011-05-16T15:35:27Z")
Ah, _modern_ sports… ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/5 "2011-05-16T15:40:18Z")
Before looking at answer: I’m thinking the first game was played in 1844. After: Yep. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/6 "2011-05-16T16:10:07Z")
I would have guessed the America’s Cup, which began in 1851. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/7 "2011-05-17T00:58:15Z")
Army-Royal Military College hockey game? Edit: Nope ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/8 "2011-05-17T01:57:06Z")
I’m not sure this ‘rivalry’ really counts. The last paragraph of the ESPN article says “The USA-Canada contest continued intermittently. They last met in 2004 in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in Florida, the only occasion that the two have faced off in a first-class match.” I’m not sure that two teams playing each other ‘intermittently’, and in a sport which barely registers as a ‘sport’ in one of the countries concerned, really constitutes an ‘international rivalry’. This coming from an American who quite enjoys cricket, for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/9 "2011-05-17T05:42:28Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I’m not sure this ‘rivalry’ really counts. The last paragraph of the ESPN article says “The USA-Canada contest continued intermittently. They last met in 2004 in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in Florida, the only occasion that the two have faced off in a first-class match.” > > I’m not sure that two teams playing each other ‘intermittently’, and in a sport which barely registers as a ‘sport’ in one of the countries concerned, really constitutes an ‘international rivalry’. > > This coming from an American who quite enjoys cricket, for what it’s worth. Well it’s not the oldest continuous rivalry or the oldest major rivalry between nations but I don’t think oldest international rivalry is inaccurate. By the standards of the mid-19th century, it was a genuine sporting rivalry and cricket was a major sport in North America at the time. Today it’s a very minor rivalry but it still exists. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/10 "2011-05-17T05:47:06Z")
Note to OP: Your spoiler text appears on mouseover. I think you can prevent that by adding blank “spoiler space” for several lines prior to posting the spoiler-tagged stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/11 "2011-05-17T05:53:57Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Note to OP: Your spoiler text appears on mouseover. I think you can prevent that by adding blank “spoiler space” for several lines prior to posting the spoiler-tagged stuff. Thanks for the tip. ---
**Author:** ![wintertime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c68b51/32.png) [@wintertime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wintertime)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oldest-international-rivalry-in-sports/582020/12 "2011-05-17T09:50:07Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Ah, _modern_ sports… Yup, 776 BC was a bit earlier.