History
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The Origin |
The Legend |
The Development |
Today
- The Origin:
-
There is controversy about how rugby originated but most people hold to the belief that it was
invented by William Web Ellis in 1823. The story of how rugby came to be is as follows....
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- The Legend...
-
William Web Ellis was born at Manchester, England in 1806. His family then moved to the town of Rugby so that the children
could attend the school there. He was at the school from 1816 to 1825 and it was 1823 when a now famous event occured, that
marks the origin of our game. During a soccer game, William caught the ball on the full. Instead of placing the ball on the
ground, he took off running towards the opposition. It was this simple act that is believed to have started the worldwide
phenomenon of rugby.
Webb Ellis died in 1872. His grave, recently discovered, is in a cemetry at Menton, Southern France.
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- The Development..
-
There were no written rules in rugby for another 20 years. The first record of written rules dates back to 1845. From then
on rugby continued to develop in a number of countries. In the late 19th century England toured New Zealand and Australia.
The next big step for rugby was when it was introduced into the Olympic games in 1900. Rugby continued to be played in the
Olympic games for the next 3 events, the results are as follows.
Olympic Results
| |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
| USA |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| France |
1 |
2 |
0 |
| Australasia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Germany |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| United Kingdom |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Great Britain |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Romania |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Rugby ceased to be played in the Olympics after 1924. For a great reference site on Rugby in the Olympics click
here.
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- Today..
-
The legend of William Web Ellis now lives on in the International Rugby World Cup. The picture above is of the William Web
Ellis trophy. This is contested every 4 years by the top teams in the World.
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- Rugby History Websites
-
This page has given you a very basic overview of the history of rugby union. If you would like to know more then have a
look at some of the following web pages.
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