The Virtual Terrace • History of Rugby League
5. Rugby
While something resembling rugby can be traced back to Ancient Greek and Roman times, the game which developed into what we now recognise as rugby union first became popular at England's Rugby School. The story (possibly untrue, but widely accepted) goes that in 1823 a student called William Webb Ellis picked the ball up during a football match and ran with it, thus inventing the basic premise of the sport.
The first official international rugby match took place in 1871, played between England and Scotland. Rugby league, a variation on the sport, was created in France in 1934.
While something resembling rugby can be traced back to Ancient Greek and Roman times, the game which developed into what we now recognise as rugby union first became popular at England's Rugby School. The story (possibly untrue, but widely accepted) goes that in 1823 a student called William Webb Ellis picked the ball up during a football match and ran with it, thus inventing the basic premise of the sport.
The first official international rugby match took place in 1871, played between England and Scotland. Rugby league, a variation on the sport, was created in France in 1934.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/article ... -in-the-uk
Statistics: Posted by Hopie — Sun Feb 25, 2018 7:42 pm — Replies 0 — Views 36