Little by little, rugby is gaining more weight in the international scene, obtaining more hours of television, or also occupying more space in the sports press. In countries such as New Zealand, Australia, France, South Africa, Argentina, Georgia, England, and Scotland, among others, rugby is revered. This sport has a very loyal audience that is usually knowledgeable about its entire history but, despite this, it is not a sport with a widespread worldwide, so many people do not know the history of rugby.
Many and varied are the stories that tell the origins of rugby. Traditionally, of all these, he has highlighted the story of William Webb Ellis, a student who during a football match (we should not imagine a football match like the current ones), tired of watching his team lose, decided to take the ball with his hands and take it to the goal of his rivals. This occurred in 1823 at the Rugby School, where the sport gets its name. The truth is that this has a more legendary and mythical character than real. It is not known that this situation was right since the only written data on the event was written in 1880, almost 60 years later. Despite this, the trophy of the World Cup is called in honor of this student: Cup William Webb Ellis.
Several studies suggest that Rugby already existed before the event above. The exact origins are uncertain, and there are many and varied options. Countries such as Georgia, England, and Italy raise their voices by attributing the past of this sport. It is very complex to determine where it came from because, if it is simplified, competition is nothing more than carrying a ball from one point to another while an opposing team tries to prevent it. It is at this moment that the Florentine calcium comes out, a sport in which two teams of 27 players face each other for taking the ball to the opposite field. The Soule also appears, which consisted of a confrontation between two teams of indeterminate players trying to bring a ball to a certain point, and is of medieval origin. Many examples could be found that would be perfectly valid.
Throughout the NINETEENTH century, were proliferating clubs, mainly in the Universities, because traditionally, rugby is a sport purely university. Little by little,e there were also teams not linked to the university, we must point out here that all these clubs had a strictly amateur character. It will not be until the late 1990s that rugby becomes fully professionalized, and not in all countries. The enormous weight of rugby in college has come to this day. In 1871 England and Scotland played the first international match. Throughout the 19th were making different regulations and were emerging with various agencies and federations.
At this point,t we must stop to name the most representative Tournament of this sport, the currently known as the 6 Nations, formerly 5 Nations, and initially the Tournament of Nations. In 1883 this tournament was born, which confronts the nations of the British Isles England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. As a curious fact, we must bear in mind that despite the great clash between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, following the separation of these in 1922, they compete as a single selection. Due to the geographical proximity between the islands and France, rugby soon spread through the Gaul country, which joined the tournament in 1910. With the arrival of the new millennium, the Italian national team was incorporated, thus forming the current competition.
Thanks to the birth of the great empires and the migratory movements of the 19th century, rugby had a high impulse. New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, the Pacific countries, Argentina or Uruguay will be recipients of rugby. Today it is said that the colonies have overcome rugby speaking to the metropolises. Today the Rugby Championship is played between New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and Argentina, formerly known as the three nations since Argentina did not participate. Although these selections have a long time, this tournament has only existed since 1996.
Unlike other sports whose worlds are ancient, the Rugby World has been contested since 1987, with an apparent hegemony of the southern hemisphere with the two-time champions of South Africa and Australia and the three-time champion of New Zealand. For their part, the Northerners Only count on the World Cup of England.
Many are the clichés and clichés about rugby and the world around them. Every rugby player or lover has heard the phrase “football is a gentlemen’s sport played by hooligans, rugby is a hooligans’ sport played by gentlemen.” Little by little old beliefs and prejudices about this sport are abandoned, giving way to more critical issues such as the fact that it is an integrative sport, the distinction between men and women, respect for peers, the rival, and the Lord (referee). Throughout its history, rugby has managed to keep and instill these values in its players.