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 | Warwickshire and Rugby Football |
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Rugby football, known simply as Rugby, is a full contact sport descended from an early type of common football. The modern Rugby football rules and practice, although developed by a number of institutions across Great Britain, first originated in Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire. The two most prominent types of Rugby football are Rugby League and Rugby Union.
An old saying goes that "Football is a gentleman's game played by ruffians and Rugby is a ruffian's game played by gentlemen". Whatever the case, Rugby football is a free flowing game that is great to play and enjoyed by men, women and families everywhere. Over three million people across 116 countries participate in Rugby worldwide, and its unique blend of explosive action, world-class players and highly-competitive format adds to it's entertainment and appeal.
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Museums and other locations
There are several museums in Warwickshire that all celebrate the history of the game, as well as many other locations associated with the game that are a must for any Rugby enthusiast. For full details please see below;
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|  | | The Webb Ellis Museum in the centre of Rugby opposite Rugby School is the site of the first rugby football workshop, and houses a fabulous collection of international rugby memorabilia built up over the last hundred years. The museum is the original building where James Gilbert, boot and shoemaker, made the first rugby footballs in 1842. Visitors can even see a traditional rugby ball being hand stitched by master craftsmen within the historical atmosphere of the famous workshop. |
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Rugby School in Rugby is the birthplace of rugby football and famed for the story of William Webb Ellis picking up a ball during a game of football and running with it. Today, Rugby School has weekly tours of it's historic corridors as well as a museum. Rugby fans can come here to see the various buildings and locations which represent the rich and varied history of the school, and where it all began for rugby football. |
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The William Webb Ellis statue, unveiled by Jeremy Guscott on 26th September 1997 stands at the junction of Lawrence Sheriff Street and Dunchurch Road, beside Rugby School and opposite the Webb Ellis Museum.
Sculptured by Graham Ibbeson and modeled after his own son, the statue of a boy running with a Rugby ball was cast in bronze using the lost wax technique, and cost £40,000 which was raised by a public appeal. |
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The town of Rugby. Rugby is the historic market town from which all of these names stem. The town has an attractive town centre with a good range of shops and a number of quality restaurants and bars. Featuring the second largest population in the county after Nuneaton, there are plenty or places to visit and see throughout the town centre such as the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. |
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The Rugby Pathway of Fame - As part of the celebrations for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, the Rugby Pathway of Fame was set into the pavements of Rugby to take visitors on a tour of the town. Each bronze plaque within the Pathway is dedicated to a legend of the sport or an historic moment in its development. See www.visitrugby.com for further details. There is also a podcast which can be downloaded to accompany a walk of the pathway. See www.shakespeare-country.co.uk for details and to download the podcast. |
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Coventry Rugby Football Club, or Coventry RFC, is Coventry and Warwickshire's biggest rugby team and currently play in The Championship, part of the national Rugby Union league tables. In the 1960’s Coventry RFC was one of the leading clubs in the Premiership and has dreams of one day of competing at that level again. Based at the Butts Park Arena, Coventry RFC supporters can come and watch top quality rugby throughout the playing season. |
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Origins and history of Rugby and it's Links with Warwickshire |
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The origin of Rugby is reputed to be from an incident at Rugby School in 1823, when during a game of English School Football, William Webb-Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it. Although this tale is fictional, the trophy at the 4-yearly Rugby World Cup is named after him in his honour.
Modern historians agree that Rugby School developed rugby football from football. These rules were ratified as 'Rugby School Rules'. Old pupils then carried this to other institutions and to football clubs such as Blackheath where it became popular, more so than other variants at the time in Victorian England.
Later in 1863 after a meeting held at Cambridge there was the official split between association football (soccer) and rugby football (rugby).
The invention of 'rugby' was therefore not the act of playing early forms of the game at Rugby School or elsewhere but rather the events which led up to its codification.
For full details of the history and origins of the game, please see www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/originsofrugby |
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Rugby Union vs. Rugby League |
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The difference in the two main types of rugby stems from 1895 when disputes amongst members of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) led to a breakaway faction creating its own rules and competitions. Over time this has developed into a distinct code of football known as Rugby League.
Ever since Rugby League came into being there have been debates about the differences between Rugby Union and Rugby League, not to mention which one is best. |
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Often Rugby League was seen as the game of the north and Rugby Union that of the south, as well as a perception that rugby was divided by class, Rugby League was only played and watched by the 'working classes' whereas Rugby Union was the game of the middle and upper classes. These perceptions, although not true, persist to this day.
Features common to both rugby league and union, include the oval ball and the ban on passing the ball forward, so that players can gain ground only by running with the ball or by kicking it.
As the sport of Rugby League moved further away from its union counterpart, rule changes were implemented with the aim of making a faster-paced, more try-orientated game with less of an aspect on time contested for possession of the ball.
For further details please see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Rugby League_and_Rugby Union
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Rules of the Game |
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Often wondered why and when a scrum is awarded? Or how the offside rule works in rugby football? Then see the links below for full details of the rules and laws for both Rugby League and Rugby Union.
Modern rugby has developed into a fast paced game of skill and determination, where mind and body are exerted to the maximum. Each side has players (13 players for league and 15 for union) with specific duties to perform. Team formations vary but are broken into two, sometimes three lines.
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England to host the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup and 2013 Rugby League World Cup |
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The next decade is looking to be a golden one for British sport. London is hosting the 2012 Olympics, Glasgow is hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games and England is hosting the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On top of that, England is also bidding to host the 2018 Football World Cup.
Impressively, England also won their bids to host both the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup! |
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The RFU says England, in 2015, will lay on the biggest World Cup to date. Between the event's running dates from 4 September to 17 October 2015 it says three million people will watch the games live at stadiums across the country.
The stadia selected are Twickenham, Wembley and the Emirates Stadium in London, Old Trafford in Manchester, Newcastle's St James' Park, Anfield in Liverpool, Elland Road in Leeds, the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, Welford Road in Leicester, Kingsholm in Gloucester and St Mary's Stadium in Southampton. The only stadium outside England to host matches will be Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, which will stage two quarter-finals and some pool matches.
The earlier 2013 Rugby League World Cup (which was moved to not coincide with the 2012 Olympics) is likely to be expanded from 10 teams to 12. New Zealand were the winners in 2008 and will be looking again to regain their crown. Australia has come out as the most successful World Cup team: it has won the Rugby League Worldcup no less than nine times!
Visit www.worldticketshop.com/rugby_league for buying tickets for the Rugby League world Cup in 2013.
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Current results and fixtures |
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For all current results and fixtures, please see the up to date Sports pages from the BBC for both Rugby Union and Rugby League. |
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Further Links |
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Union
www.guinnesspremiership.com - The official site of the GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP with news, fixtures, live match commentary, player profiles, mobile content, wallpapers and ticket information
www.planetrugby.com - Planet Rugby has the latest Rugby Union news, fixtures and results. All major tournaments included from Guinness Premiership to Super 14.
www.rfu.com - Latest rugby news and information from the Rugby Football Union: the National Governing Body for Rugby Union in England, supporting participants and fans from the grassroots to the national team.
League
www.superleague.co.uk - Official site. News, match reports, standings and statistics from Rugby League in the UK.
www.therfl.co.uk - Governing body for Rugby League in the UK. Information about the game, news and information about the Great Britain team and the Tri-Nations tournament |
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