Inside the spiritual home of rugby

[Blackleaf]

It's the hallowed turf where the modern day game of rugby was born when one of its pupils picked up a football during a game and ran with it in the early 19th century.

Rugby School is known as the spiritual home of the game, with the World Cup trophy named the Webb Ellis Cup in honour of the schoolboy called William who made the daring decision to disregard the rules of football in 1823.

Here is a modern-day portrait of a historic British institution, by photographer Neil Hall.

(Although they should never have allowed girls to attend).

Inside the spiritual home of rugby where sport was born when William Webb Ellis first decided to pick up a football and run

Rugby School in Warwickshire known as the birthplace of modern rugby after celebrated incident
Pupil Webb Ellis ran with a football during a match in 1823, with the new game codified by pupils within decades
School is steeped in tradition and maintains its historic link with sport of rugby on its playing fields and in museum

By James White for MailOnline
April 2015
Daily Mail

The sport of rugby was born at Rugby School in 1823 when William Webb Ellis "with fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the Rugby game." Today, the winner of the Rugby (Union) World Cup is awarded the Webb Ellis Cup

Birthplace of rugby: A rugby pitch in the grounds of Rugby School

It's the hallowed turf where the modern day game of rugby was born when one of its pupils picked up a football and ran with it in the early 19th century.

Rugby School is known as the spiritual home of the game, with the World Cup trophy named the Webb Ellis Cup in honour of the schoolboy called William who made the daring decision to disregard the rules of football in 1823.

Today the school is still steeped in the traditions of the sport, alongside its own rich history of 'muscular Christianity' led by its most famous headmaster, Dr Thomas Arnold, who is credited with transforming Rugby School's values in an effort to build pupils' characters.

Here is a modern-day portrait of a historic British institution, by photographer Neil Hall.

The inspiration: A statue at Rugby School depicting the moment pupil William Webb Ellis picked up a football and ran with it during a match in 1823, in an action said to be the beginning of the modern game of rugby after pupils wrote their own set of rules. Webb Ellis ended up becoming an Anglican clergyman

In the shadow of history: A school plaque marks Webb Ellis' run, calling his decision to pick up the ball 'a fine disregard for the rules'

Service: Pupils attend chapel at the historic independent school, where team sport has been played for hundreds of years

Still thriving: A pupil catches a line-out throw supported by fellow players on the fields of Rugby School where the sport is still played

Practice makes perfect: A young player shapes to pass during a training session at the Warwickshire institution

Proud history: Older pupils share a meal in a boarding house, in sight of the achievements of their predecessors including cups and caps

Artefacts: An early rugby ball dating from 1850, top, and a cap worn by a pupil on his presentation to Queen Adelaide (the widow of King William IV, who died in 1837) in 1839

Historic: A printed book of rules for the game of rugby, top, which was carried on the pitch by players and a cap embroidered with names of opponents and dates of matches. Both items are displayed at the school, which is a tourist attraction for rugby fans

Making their mark: Desktops containing the names of hundreds of former pupils are also exhibited at Rugby School

Order among the chaos: The first handwritten rules of the game of rugby, dated August 28, 1845, are viewable at the school's museum

Father of Rugby School: The chapel grave of Dr Thomas Arnold, the headmaster who transformed the school's values and is credited with the 'muscular Christianity' ideal of the Victorian era

Former pupil: Britain's first prime minister of WWII, Neville Chamberlain, attended Rugby. He was succeeded in office by Winston Churchill

Rich tradition: Pupils at the school walk to lessons. It can cost families of those who board there more than £31,000 a year

Inside the spiritual home of rugby where sport was born when William Webb Ellis first decided to pick up a football and run* | Daily Mail Online

 

[tay]

The story begins, like many good stories do, in a pub. As early as the Middle Ages, Szymanski explains, the rough outlines of soccer—a game, a ball, feet—appear to have been present in England. But it wasn't until the sport became popular among aristocratic boys at schools like Eton and Rugby in the nineteenth century that these young men tried to standardize play. On a Monday evening in October 1863, the leaders of a dozen clubs met at the Freemasons' Tavern in London to establish "a definite code of rules for the regulation of the game.” They did just that, forming the Football Association. The most divisive issue was whether to permit "hacking," or kicking an opponent in the leg (the answer, ultimately, was 'no').






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[coldstream]

Rugby World Cup is coming in September.. looking forward to it. And it's in none other than jolly old England (disputed) home of the game. (Similar games were played all through Europe in the early 19th C.)

Canada actually fields a team in Rugby Union.. but we're minnows in a sea of whales (ranked 17th in world). Almost all of Canadian rugby draws from small (but passionate) regional hotspots (all of the 'union' variety) for the sport.. in the Maritimes and BC.

These are the pools and fixtures for the opening round.

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/pools

 

[Blackleaf]

England will win it for the second time with home advantage.

By the way, don't the girls look scruffy in that picture?

Come on, girls, sort yourselves out. The feminists and PC Brigade have wrongly allowed you to attend a boys' school even though girls' schools aren't forced to admit boys (just like how the Girl Guides remain solely the Girl Guides, discluding boys, whilst the more inclusive and less sexist Boy Scouts now admit girls). The education system is now deliberately rigged in your favour to the disadvantage of boys. The least you can do, therefore, is look smart in your school uniform.