 Their play in March 1872 was described as "speed, pluck and science of no mean order"

Sir Frederick Wall (who was the secretary of the Football Association from 1895–1934) states in his biography that the combination game was first used by the Royal Engineers A.F.C.in the early 1870s, in particular prior to their 1873 tour of Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield .Wall states that the "Sappers moved in unison" and showed the "advantages of combination over the old style of individualism".