What is Rugby?
The team sports of rugby union and rugby league are referred to as rugby football.
Once regarded as variations of rugby football, Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football are now rarely referred to as such. It is one of the hardest sport in the world.
More than fifty years after the sport broke away from rugby regulations, Football Canada, the organisation in charge of organising Canadian football, was still known as the Canadian Rugby Union in 1967.
How did Rugby develop?
While versions of football in which the ball was carried and tossed date to the Medieval Ages, rugby football began around 1845 at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, UK (see mediaeval football).
Since former students continued to play it, rugby football spread to other English public schools in the 19th century and throughout the British Empire.
Twenty-one clubs from the North of England broke away from the Rugby Football Union in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union (later renamed the Rugby Football League), which was the first rugby league to become professional and pay players. This split occurred over payments made to players who took time off work to play (“broken-time payments”) at the George Hotel in Huddersfield.
One hundred years later, with the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, rugby union became a professional sport.
World Rugby (rugby union) and the Rugby League International Federation are the respective world governing organisations (rugby league).
What is Rugby union?
The top unions, which include New Zealand, Ireland, Wales, England, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Scotland, Italy, France, and Japan, dominate rugby union, which is played both professionally and recreationally.
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Kenya, Namibia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Spain, Tonga, the United States, and Uruguay are among the second- and third-tier unions.
What is Rugby League?
Rugby League is another sport that is played by both professionals and amateurs and is governed internationally by the Rugby League International Federation. There are two significant professional leagues: the Super League and the Australian National Rugby League, in addition to amateur and semi-professional events in the United States, Russia, Lebanon, Serbia, Europe, and Australasia.
Australia, England, and New Zealand now hold the majority of the international rugby league, however Tonga and Samoa have regularly challenged this monopoly since 2017. It serves as the country’s official sport. It makes Rugby one of the highest paid sport.
The Pacific Cup and European Cup both include teams from the South Pacific and Europe.
The Rugby League World Cup, which is played every four years, is the top international competition. The World Club Challenge, which is held in February, is the top international club competition.
