The History of Rugby:
From Origins to Modern
Day
STUDENT NAME - VRAJ
STUDENT ID- 2023011144
APRIL 26 2025
General Overview of Rugby
Key Aspects of Rugby's
Evolution
William Webb Ellis (The Birth of
Rugby, 1823)
1845 Rugby Rules
Rugby Football Union (RFU)
Foundation (1871)
Location: London, England.
Date: 1871.
Explanation: Creating the Rugby Football
Union (RFU), the governing organisation of
rugby located in England.
Significance: Marked the formalization and
global spread of rugby as a regulated sport.
Rugby in the 1900 Olympics
Location: Paris, France.
Date: 1900.
Explanation: Rugby was included in the
1900 Summer Olympics, increasing the
sport’s visibility on the global stage.
Significance: Rugby’s first step towards
becoming a globally recognized Olympic
sport.
1987 Rugby World Cup
Location: New Zealand & Australia.
Date: 1987.
Explanation: New Zealand won the first Rugby World Cup.
Significance: This tournament became a major event in the
sport and increased international interest in rugby (Tavadze,
2023).
Rugby Sevens at Rio 2016
Olympics
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Date: 2016.
Explanation: Rugby Sevens was
included in the Rio 2016 Olympics as
an official event.
Significance: This was the first time in
92 years that rugby was played in the
Olympics, and it showed how popular
rugby Sevens is today.
Birth of Rugby (1823)
Formation of Rugby Football
Union (1871)
Rugby Sevens in the Olympics
(2016)
Event: Rugby Sevens' inclusion in the Olympics.
Explanation: Rugby Sevens, a faster-paced
variant of the traditional game, was included in
the Summer Olympics in Rio 2016.
Impact: This brought rugby into the spotlight for
a new generation of fans and broadened the
sport's global reach (Kahiya et al., 2022).
Evolution of Rugby Rules
Change: From informal schoolyard rules to formalized game
regulations.
Explanation: In 1845, Rugby School codified the first official set
of rules, leading to the sport’s widespread adoption.
Impact: This formalization helped rugby grow from a local
school game into an internationally recognized sport.
Split into Rugby Union and
Rugby League
Introduction of Rugby Sevens
Change: The emergence of Rugby Sevens as a
separate format.
Explanation: Rugby Sevens, a version of rugby
played with seven players on each side, was
developed in the 1880s but gained significant
recognition in the 20th century (Lopez et al.,
2020).
Impact: It became a key tournament format and
was added to the Olympic Games in 2016.
What Your Sport Looks Like Now
References
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Kahiya, E., Ashill, N., & Perkinson, O. (2022). Branding governance in international recurring sports events: the World Rugby “Sevens” Series.
European Sport Management Quarterly, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2022.2030383
Lopez, V., Ma, R., Weinstein, M. G., Hume, P. A., Cantu, R. C., Victoria, C., Queler, S. C., Webb, K. J. A., & Allen, A. A. (2020). United States Under-
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Tierney, P., Blake, C., & Delahunt, E. (2021). Physical characteristics of different professional rugby union competition levels. Journal of Science and
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