Where Did Rugby Originate?
Rugby Union is a contact sport, which broke away from Association Football in 1863 after a dispute over the laws of the game. But where did rugby originate? Find out here!
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Rugby union is one of the most-watched, most popular sports in the world. Rugby originated in England in the mid-nineteenth century. The Rugby World Cup (RWC) and SVNS Series (sevens rugby tournaments) have turned the sport from a British colonial sport, played by few countries, into a global game. Such is the popularity of the shorter version of the sport, sevens has become an Olympic sport since 2016. SportsBoom delved into the history books to determine where rugby union originated.
William Webb Ellis and the Birth of Rugby Union
The beginning of rugby union, like most things, is shrouded in myth and legends. Nobody truly knows how the sport began, but the most official view of how rugby originated comes from Rugby School in Warwickshire, England. William Webb Ellis is widely accepted by historians as having invented the rugby union while a pupil at a rugby school.
The legend tells of Webb Ellis picking up the football and running with it before scoring in the goals in 1823. This created a new form of football known as “rugby.” The story is cloaked in myth, with no substantial evidence corroborating the folktale. Many historians refute the folklore; however, many believe the tale to be true. Anyway, it is impossible to know.
Webb Ellis left Rugby School to attend Brasenose College in Oxford. He played a first-class cricket match for the college against Cambridge in 1827. He graduated with a B.A. in 1829 before completing his M.A. in 1931. Webb Ellis went into the clergy, becoming a chaplain at St George’s Chapel.
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The legend of William Webb Ellis continues to this day. The Rugby World Cup honoured the schoolboy by naming the RWC trophy after him. The first RWC took place in New Zealand in 1987. The tournament is played every four years in a different country. There have been ten editions of the competition. There is a bronze statue of Webb Ellis running with a ball outside Rugby School, immortalising his legend.
New Zealand won the inaugural tournament in 1987. South Africa the last one in 2023. The All Blacks are regarded as the best rugby nation in history. The Kiwis have won the most Rugby Championship titles. However, the Springboks have won four World Cup titles, one more than New Zealand despite not participating in the first two tournaments because of apartheid isolation.
The History of Rugby Union
Rugby union is a contact sport made up of fifteen players per team. The sport is played with an oval ball because players can use their hands and feet, unlike association football, where handling the ball is illegal. The first laws of the game were drawn up by students at the illustrious Rugby School in England in 1845.
Rugby was an amalgamation of association football. There were no defined rules for the sport. Private schools and universities played by their own rules. In 1848, Cambridge University followed Rugby School and wrote a set of laws called Cambridge Rules. The Football Association (FA) codified football’s laws in 1863, which led to a breakaway of several football clubs, and a new code of football played using “Rugby” rules.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) was formed in 1871. Following the codification of rugby football, the first-ever international rugby union Test match was played. England travelled to Edinburgh to play Scotland at Raeburn Place. Within ten years, Wales and Ireland had formed national teams. In 1883, the first Home Nations Championship took place between the four countries that made up Great Britain.
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This team is now called the British & Irish Lions because Ireland is now two separate countries. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland play national and international tournaments as one country – Ireland. However, in Association Football, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland compete as separate nations in world football tournaments. International rugby is now played across the globe.
World Rugby (WR) govern the sport. There are three major international tournaments. In the Northern Hemisphere, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy compete in the annual Six Nations competition. In the Southern Hemisphere, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina compete in The Rugby Championship. Each country has their own domestic tournaments, and each hemisphere has an international club and franchise competition.
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.