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Rugby Union
UK Governing Bodies
International Governing Body
Rugby Union Overview
In 1823, during a game of soccer at Rugby School in England, 16 year old William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it towards his opponents' goal line. The reaction of his fellow players or any officials is not recorded; but the advantages of playing the game in this natural fashion were obvious to Ellis's schoolmates who followed his example. And so the game of rugby was born.
By the 1840s running with the ball had become the norm, and by the 1870s rugby clubs had sprung up all over England and in the colonies. But different rules were being used by different clubs, and a meeting was held in January 1871, attended by representatives of 22 clubs, to resolve the situation. It was at this meeting that the Rugby Football Union was founded.
Along with the founding of the Rugby Football Union a committee was formed, and three ex-Rugby School pupils, all lawyers, were invited to formulate a set of rules. This task was completed and approved by June 1871. And about the same time the Scottish members of the Union challenged the English to a match. This, the first international match between England and Scotland, took place at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh on 27 March 1871, resulting in a win to Scotland by one goal and one try to one goal.
The sport became professional in 1995 after years of debate. Having previously appeared in 4 of the first 7 Olympiads, Rugby is no longer an Olympic sport.