If you are a bettor who likes to bet on rugby, we advise you to do two things. The first is to use a bonus to increase your bankroll: you can use australia-bonusesfinder.com for this. The second is to learn about the history of this sport so you can make more consistent predictions about leagues.
“Rugby is very popular, especially with Australian sportsbooks,” says Tony Sloterman, product owner of Casino Bonuses Finder company. “Considering that the sport originated in England, that’s surprising.” So, when did rugby start being played and why did it become more popular in the colonies instead of England? Below, we answer these questions.
We owe rugby to William Webb Ellis
In 1823, during a football game in Warwickshire, England, one of the players had an interesting idea: grab the ball with his hands and start running. The name of this player was William Webb Ellis, and his idea became so popular that a new sport emerged. Ellis is even featured in the Rugby World Cup Trophy today. Over the next forty years, rugby became a new sport played almost everywhere in England, but there was no standard in rules. In 1863, a group of local clubs came together to agree on what the ground rules would be, and in 1871 they formed their own association: the Rugby Football Union.
Rugby back then was quite different from what it is today. It used a leather ball made from a pig’s bladder and was hardly any different from a soccer ball. In 1892, the cannon design, which is still used today, emerged and became a standard.
In 1900, rugby became a part of the Summer Olympics, and over the next decade, it gained incredible popularity in Southern Hemisphere countries. New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa became the countries that loved rugby the most. They established their own local leagues and started sending their teams all over the world.
According to the National Museum of Australia, this was because rugby originated as a “rebel sport”. In all three countries, local football associations ignored rugby and promoted football instead. In fact, they promoted football as a “gentleman’s sport”. Rugby didn’t appeal to “gentlemen” because of its harsh rules, but locals loved it for the same reason. Playing rugby was seen as a rebellion against “aristocrat athletes”.
The first world cup
The first World Cup for rugby was held in 1987, and unsurprisingly, the semi-finals were played in Australia and the final in New Zealand. It was in this cup that the “All Blacks” (New Zealand’s official rugby team) made its name for the first time and won most of the cups held in the following years. In general, we can say that over the years, the Rugby World Cup title has swung back and forth between Australia and New Zealand. England has managed to win at times, but this has always been an exceptional case.
Today, this sport is governed globally by the World Rugby (International Rugby Football Board) and interestingly, this organization is headquartered in Scotland. In other words, although the majority of governing bodies are based in the UK and Europe, this sport is still most popular in Australia and New Zealand. In general, we can say that these are also the countries where rugby has achieved an undisputed victory over football.
