England's opening international game of the season took place in Birmingham on 25 February against Ireland, with the selectors choosing a team consisting mainly of players with connections to the Corinthians, of which seven were making their England débuts. Chris Charsley of Small Heath, who later went on to be Chief Constable of Coventry, made his solitary England appearance in goal. Alban Harrison (Old Westminsters) and Fred Pelly (Old Foresters) made their débuts as the two full-backs and Norman Cooper (Cambridge University) made his solitary appearance at centre-half. Robert Topham, an amateur player with Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had previously declined an invitation to play for Wales following his selection in 1885, made the first of his two appearances at outside right, with Walter Gilliat of Old Carthusians making his solitary appearance at inside right. Gilliat, an excellent dribbler of the ball, would probably have made more England appearances but for his religious beliefs, and went on to become the vicar of Iver and the rector of Sevenoaks.
The most notable débutante was Gilbert Oswald Smith of Oxford University, who went on to represent his country on 20 occasions in a career spanning 8 years (scoring 11 goals) and was captain 16 times. He was considered by many to be the world's best player of the 19th Century.
England totally dominated the match itself with Walter Gilliat scoring three times in the first 30 minutes, although Ireland had levelled the scores shortly after England's first goal. Further goals from G.O. Smith, William Winckworth and Rupert Sandilands enabled England to run out convincing 6–1 victors.[2] Gilliat thus became one of only five players to have scored a hat-trick in his only appearance in an England shirt.
Wales
For the match against Wales at Stoke-on-Trent two weeks later, the selectors chose a team consisting entirely of professional players, of which four were making their début. In goal they selected John Willie Sutcliffe of Bolton Wanderers, for the first of his 5 appearances; Sutcliffe had previously made an appearance for the English rugby union side. Jimmy Turner (Bolton Wanderers) and Jimmy Whitehead (Blackburn Rovers) made their débuts at left half and inside right respectively. The fourth débutante was Fred Spiksley of The Wednesday who made the first of seven England appearances at outside left, from where he scored seven goals during his England career, including a hat-trick on his debut.[3]
England's final international match of the season came at Richmond Athletic Ground on 1 April against Scotland who were hoping to avenge their defeat in each of the two previous seasons. England selected a strong eleven, with only Leslie Gay of Old Brightonians making his début in goal. Gay later played Test cricket for England.
England ultimately enjoyed another comfortable victory; Gosling scored after 15 minutes, but Scotland went ahead with goals after 30 and 55 minutes. A goal from captainGeorge Cotterill brought England level after 65 minutes. Fred Spiksley then scored twice in two minutes before completing his hat-trick after 84 minutes, thus enabling England to continue their fine run against the Scots.[5]
As a result, England were the winners of the British Home Championship for the third consecutive season.
