The "Wooden Spoon"

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

The 'awarding' of the 'wooden spoon' to the last place team in football competitions originated back in the 19th century.

First place winners were given a gold/silver cup/trophy - the last placed team 'received' the opposite, which was nothing more in value than a wooden spoon.

The first known use of 'wooden spoon' in competitions of any sort - not just sport - seems to have been at Cambridge University in the mid-1800s.

In maths competitions, the winners were awarded cups or trophies. It became a custom to hand the last-placed competitor a wooden spoon.

Over the years, the spoon became larger and larger, instilling itself as a tradition and a source of good fun and humour.

Cambridge was one of the major institutions playing rugby in 1800s, and it was no surprise that the "wooden spoon" tradition transferred to rugby union and rugby league.