Like how the invention of the wheel was the catalyst for technology, so was the invention of the ball to human leisure. In almost every part of the world, people’s joy in catching, throwing, and kicking balls meant that some form of Rugby has been there since centuries.
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Who set the ball in motion?
The Rugby sports as we know it today, can be traced back to a romantic story that is widely believed now to be the origin - legend has it that in 1823 in the pre-industrial Britain in the town of Rugby during a football match, a young man named William Webb Ellis picked up the ball, and ran towards the opposition's goal post. Like with any folklore, this story is not backed by any substantial evidence. However, it is so prominent in the game that the world cup trophy is actually named after the young lad who set the game in motion.
The young man’s healthy disregard for convention gradually transformed the rough and tumble game of ball into a formal game with rules, regulations and morals with the first official rules of the game being written by three boys from Rugby school in 1845. Soon through word of mouth the game began to be adopted by schools, and universities far, and near.
In no time the thrill of the catch, and the tumble escaped the humble town of rugby into the wide population, and Rugby became a passion for the industrial workers.
Rugby’s Race to the World
In 1871, the Rugby Football Union was formed. The first international game was played between England and Scotland. With two tries, and a conversion to the English sides one try, Scotland emerged victorious. Fun fact - England wore all white in that match, which is their Rugby uniform to date.
It was only in 1900 that Ruby went international in the truest sense with its inclusion in the Summer Olympics. However, in 1924 after the World Cup Final, the crowd violence, and the pitch invasion afterwards became one of the key reasons for Rugby to be dropped from the Olympics.
The game did not go off the grid though. Tens of thousands of Rugby clubs started mushrooming all over the world owing to huge rise in participation, and supporters. Club sides started to compete on a serious level, leading to the creation of domestic leagues. Europe became the epicentre of the competition with people thinking at the time that rugby was a sport to play in winter while the more popular cricket could not be played.
In 1987 Rugby’s inaugural world cup competition was held in New Zealand, and was attended by 478,000 fans. Fast forward to 2019, the World cup in Japan attracted a whopping 1.698,528 supporters, showing how fast the game of Ruby is spreading among the masses.
On top of the game...
Since the introduction of the World Cup, southern hemisphere nations have dominated the games, with New Zealand leading the way with three world cups, Australia and South Africa winning two World Cups each. Only once a northern hemisphere has managed to lay claim to the World Cup, England in 2003.
Bibliography
J.T. (2022) The brief history of rugby union, Rugbypass. Available at: https://www.rugbypass.com/articles/the-brief-history-of-rugby-union/ (Accessed: December 6, 2022).
Collins, T. (2015) in The Oval World: A Global History of Rugby. Bloomsbury.
Worldrugby.org. Rugby's history and Ethos, World Rugby. Available at: https://www.world.rugby/the-game/beginners-guide/history (Accessed: December 6, 2022).
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