Origin of Rugby Everyone knows that rugby was created when William Webb Ellis picked up the football and ran with it at Rugby School. Or did he...?
"So there was this game of football in
Rugby School in 1823 and William Webb Ellis - good old boy, he was - picked up the bloody thing and ran under the posts! What a shock he gave them, good old Ellis! And so he gave the game to
Rugby School and they gave it to the world..."
So the story goes... but history is never that simple!
The origin of Rugby in England goes back long into the 19th century and even earlier. In 1800’s formalities were introduced to football rules in the seven major public schools of England. Six of the seven schools were largely playing the same game (including Eton, Harrow and Winchester) - while the seventh,
Rugby School (founded in 1567) at Warwickshire, was playing a markedly different version of football.
It is at
Rugby School where rugby origins became codified into a sport.
The other schools moved ahead refining their rules and eventually their game became known as "association football" - soccer.
Handling the ball was permitted in football in the early 1800’s when players were allowed to take a mark and then a free kick, long before Ellis arrived at Rugby. In fact, most of the public schools allowed forms of handling the ball right up until the formation of the Football Association in the 1860’s. The Association even considered whether to allow its continuation, before eventually deciding to outlaw it. The reverse picture that the rugby game was born from soccer the moment Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it is now known to be unfounded.
What is known is that at
Rugby School by the 1830’s running with the ball was in common use, the goal posts had been extended to 18 feet high (with a cross-bar at 10 feet above the ground) and there were forms of scrummaging and line-outs. The inclusion of the cross-bar was accompanied by a rule that a goal could only be scored by the ball passing over the bar from a place kick or drop kick. Apparently this was done to make scoring easier from further out and also to avoid the horde of defenders standing in the goal mouth.
Players who were able to "touch-down" the ball behind the opponents goal line were awarded a "try-at-goal" - the player would make a mark on the goal line and then walk back onto the field of play to a point where a place kick at the goal was possible (a conversion). There was also an "off-your-side" rule used to keep the teams apart and passing the ball forward was not allowed. The rules were first seriously agreed upon and documented when former Rugby students and clubs wanted to commence formal competitions outside of the
Rugby School in 1862.
From 1875 when games finished without any goals being scored, the team which had the most "tries-at-goal" was awarded the win. From 1886 three "tries" equalled one goal in points, before the balance finally moved to giving more value to the scoring of tries. By 1893 the scoring was much closer to what we know today - a try was worth three points, a converted try five points, three for a penalty goal and four for a field goal.
The Rugby Football Union had been formed in 1871 by representatives of 21 clubs. By the early 1890’s rugby was widespread and well over half the RFU’s clubs were in northern England.
All photos by Stuart Hill of Rugby School. Further images of the match can be seen if you follow the right hand link to
Rugby School’s website.
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