the first player to achieve the feat was charles wade, who was an australian student at oxford university when he was called up as a travelling reserve for england's match against wales. when philip newton got lost on his way to the match, wade was instated in his place. he scored three tries in england's 2–0 victory, which was the first match of the championship. at that time, a try by itself was not worth any points but allowed the team to "try" and kick a goal. george lindsay scored five tries in scotland's 4–0 win over wales in 1887, the most tries scored by a single player in a championship match.