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1823 - During a game of soccer, William Webb Ellis, then a 16 year old
boy at
Rugby
School in England, caught the ball and ran with it towards the
opponent's goal line. Thus the game of Rugby was born.
1829 - "The Sydney Monitor" of 25th July reports a game of
football at the soldiers Barracks (modern day
Barrack St in Sydney).
1841 - Running with the ball was officially allowed in
Rugby
School's rules, providing the ball was taken on the bound; passing
was specifically forbidden.
1864 - The first Australian rugby football club was established at
Sydney
University.
1871 - The first international match, between
England and Scotland was played. Twenty players a side, 13 forwards,
3 half backs, 1 three quarter and three fullbacks.
1874 - The
Southern Rugby Union - later changed to New South Wales Rugby Union
- is formed at a meeting at the Oxford Hotel in Sydney.
1875 - Tries received major recognition in the
game. If both teams scored the same number of goals or if no goals
were kicked, they match was decided on the majority of tries.
1877 - Player numbers in international matches reduced from 20 to 15.
1882 - The first inter Colonial match is played between
New
South Wales and Queensland. New South Wales won 28-4.
1883 - The
Northern Rugby
Union (NRU) was formed to administer the game in
Queensland.
The Southern Rugby Union (NSW) tours New Zealand becoming the first
team in the world to tour overseas.
An
English Game?
Football is not an English invention, since there is evidence that
it has been played for centuries in various nations. It came to
England in the 11th century and was hugely enjoyed by the
population. In the 15th and 16th centuries it was banned because of
the damage caused by the participants and also because it interfered
with the practice of archery - vital to the defence of the country
before the development of gunpowder.
Public School's Influence
Football became popular in public schools as recreation for the boys
when not studying. The various schools played to their own rules -
developed by the pupils themselves. The boys of Rugby School, which
situated in the middle of
England,
played their 'football' on grass using a pig's bladder encased in
leather for a ball.
Early Rules at Rugby School
The rules at Rugby School initially forbade handling the ball on the
field of play unless the ball was airborne in which case it could be
caught. The catcher stood still as did all other players. The
catcher could then retreat from where he had caught the ball and
either kick it wherever he wished or place it on the ground and try
to kick it over the crossbar and between the posts which counted as
a goal. Until he had passed the spot where he had originally caught
the ball no one could move.
Running with the Ball
The above was the situation in the mid 1820s when boys started to
catch the ball and, instead of standing still, run with the ball in
the arms towards the opponent's goal line. By the 1840s this had
become the norm.
The Spread of Rugby
When the boys of
Rugby
School left they took the game with them and clubs sprang up all
over England and in the colonies where they worked either as service
personnel or administrators. By 1870 it became clear that the game
was being played to a variety of rules.
The Birth of the first Union
In December 1870 Edwin Ash, Secretary of Richmond Club, and B. H.
Burns, the Honorary Secretary of Blackheath, put a letter in the
papers which said, "Those who play the rugby-type game should meet
to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which
differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play". On 26th
January 1871 a meeting was held in London attended by over 30 people
from 22 clubs and schools. As a result of this meeting the Rugby
Football Union (RFU) was founded. A committee was formed and three
ex-Rugby School pupils invited to write a set of laws. The writers
were all lawyers and the task was completed and approved by June of
that year.
Formation of the other Home Unions
At the same time the Scottish members of the new Union challenged
the English members to a match and the first international match
between Scotland and England was played at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh
on
27 March 1871 –
Scotland won by 1 goal, 1 try to 1 goal.
The Scots formed their own Rugby Union in 1873; the Irish Rugby
Football Union was formed in 1879 and the Welsh Rugby Union in 1880.
Trouble and Strife
Up until 1885
England,
as the founder Union, had made the Laws of the Game. In 1884
England
had a dispute with Scotland over a try - England said it was a try
and Scotland maintained it was not. In the exchange of letters which
followed, England claimed that as they made the Law, if they said it
was a try then it was. This heavy-handed approach did not go down
well, and Scotland refused to play England in 1885.
The International Board Enters the Scene
In 1886 an International Board was formed by Scotland, Ireland and
Wales but England refused to take part - as a result of which the
other Home Unions refused to play them. England changed its stance
with regard to representations on the Board and in 1890 relations
were resumed. The International Board gradually took over more and
more responsibilities and now, at the present time, they make the
Laws and run the game.
The 'Great Schism' - Professional or Amateur?
In 1893 the Committee of the RFU began to hear reports that some
players in the north of
England
were being paid for playing. This was contrary to the strict amateur
code and efforts were made to collect hard evidence. The evidence
arrived with a complaint by Cumberland County Union that a leading
Yorkshire
club had induced one of their players to leave for a monetary
consideration. The Union set up an inquiry but were warned privately
and through letters to the press that if the club was punished all
the chief clubs in
Lancashire
and Yorkshire would secede from the Union - a serious threat because
a large proportion of international players were drawn from these
counties. The inquiry was held at
Preston
and the club concerned was suspended.
Broken Time Payments
There followed two large general meetings at which efforts were made
by the northern clubs to carry a resolution that men should be paid
for "broken time" - that is to say when playing football instead of
working. The motion was defeated.
The Northern Union Breaks Away
In August 1895 twenty two clubs seceded from the Rugby Football
Union and formed the
Northern Union (which in the 1920s became the ‘Rugby
League’). The loss of these northern clubs, and the many others that
followed them, to the
Northern Union had a serious impact on the English
international side and it was several years before the loss could be
made up.
The Professional Game In 1995 the International Rugby Board
announced that the game would become "open" – that is, players could
be paid for playing. So, exactly 100 years after the
Northern Union had broken away, the ethos of the game had completely
changed.
Rugby for the Young
The first schoolboy International was played between England and
Wales in 1905 and mini rugby really took off after the Rugby World
Cup of 1991.
Women's
Rugby
Women's rugby, which really started in the late 1970s, is one of the
fastest growing women's sports. |
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