How did rugby go worldwide?

Answer 1

When the game was first developed in Rugby School many of its students went to university in particular Cambridge and Oxford. Here the game was starting to develop as more people became involved in this new version of football. The games concept spread quickly to other establishments and even to the forces as again many "gentlemen" became officers. Then the game was taken firstly to New Zealand by former Rugby Students who had been to University. The game took hold there and in Australia. The game developed throughout the early 1900 with the main and now famous splitting of Football and Rugby occurring. Formal rules developed and implemented but the game was still being played by those that were classed as well to do. Northern clubs wanted to pay its players and those leading the Union code fought against this. The concept of payment by the northern clubs was desperately needed as many young men were going to the southern clubs which were still armature and finding work as well as playing. This drained the norther clubs of fresh new stars. The northern teams split, removed the wing forwards adapted some of its rules to increase speed of play and went it alone. These became the first rugby league teams.

As teams development in the union code an informal international teams set up was created . The first international was played under the en union code between Scotland and England. Scotland won. Armature teams traveled to the UK from the Southern Hemisphere - The all blacks who were then known as the Originals. Following a tour the game really became international and more teams came to play at international level. The game was a forces favourite which meant as the war came along more European students who joined the forces was involved in the game, they took the games to their respective countries. In the 1970s the game became accessible through television. Internationals were now transmitted in real time so that Southern Hemisphere teams were playing teams like The British Lions, England Wales Scotland and Ireland. More and more people were now seeing the great game in both codes. Ex-patriots were developing clubs in an attempt to bring people like themselves together in a community format.

International teams like Wales travelled to the USA and played matches there. This was certainly a minority sport then - Now the game is increasing in its viewing every year.