Rugby is a well-loved sport around the world, but not a lot of people know about its unique origins. This great British treasure has a long and rich history and has been evolving ever since.
Image source: wikimedia.org
Many say that the game has been famous for over 2,000 years. According to folklore, the Romans used to call the game “harpastum,” which is a Greek word for “seize.” In Medieval England, young men leave work early to compete in their village or town’s football games.
Image source: gilbertrugbyblog.com
However, a popular belief is that in 1823, a rugby school student named William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it during a soccer match. The person who made the story viral was local author and antiquarian Matthew Bloxam. Although a lot of people dismiss his account, historians from the rugby school think that this is accurate.
Before the Ellis “incident,” a local shoemaker named William Gilbert has been supplying balls to rugby school. The first balls were bigger and rounder than today’s standard. Gilbert established his company and worked with Lindon. They replaced the bladder inner tubes with rubber and did more modifications with the ball. Many years later, Gilbert is known around the world for producing quality rugby sporting materials.
A significant moment in the game’s evolution was the writing and printing of the rules. The rules of football were recorded for the first time at Rugby School. It was initiated by Isaac Gregory Smith, Walter Waddington Shirley, Frederick Leigh Hutchins, and William Delafield Arnold. Charles Harcourt Chambers illustrated the rules with images of rugby football.
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