1. Origin
• No formal rules for football until 1845
• William Webb Ellis – Rugby School
• Cambridge rules (1848)
• Blackheath withdrawal from FA (1863)
• Formation of the Rugby Football Union (1871)
• Separation between Rugby Union and Rugby
League (1895)

2. Commercialization
• 1995, IRB (International Rugby Board)
removes restrictions on payments to players.
• Is played in over 100 countries in 6
continents.
• Many countries have their own major Rugby
tournaments – Top 14 (France), English
Premiership (England), Currie Cup (South
Africa)

3. Governance Structure
• International Rugby Board (IRB) since 1886.
Controls world cups and other large scale
international competitions.
• 6 regional organizations, part of the IRB, control
competition in their region.
Confederation of African Rugby (CAR)
Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU)
North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA)[
Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur – Association Européenne de
Rugby (FIRA-AER)
Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU)
Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby (South American Rugby
Confederation) (CONSUR)

4. Current issues
• Injuries are very common and players wear
out.