Rugby tours the world but at home there is North v South open revolt

Brendan Gallagher contiues his expert and authorative look at the history of Rugby Union

- Brendan Gallagher

FOLLOWING the first international between England and Scotland in 1871, events moved quickly as Rugby Football forged its own identity separate to that of Association Football.

Organised sport was in its infancy, there was no road map on how to proceed and occasionally it was a rocky path. Just think of the upheaval and chaos throughout the last 25 years as Rugby Union has reorganised itself under the professional banner to get a feel of what was going on.

Clubs would be formed one year, become powers in the game and then disappear a couple of years later. Laws, regulations and scoring systems were constantly changing.

A Scottish Union was formed in 1873, Ireland followed in 1879 and Wales in 1881. England played an Ireland XV for the first time in 1875 and Wales in 1881 and just two years later the four teams came up with the idea of an annual quadrangular competition named the Home Unions Championship.

An Australian law student, Charles Wade – a future Prime Minister of New South Wales – scored a hat-trick for England in the first ever Championship match when England convincingly beat Wales in Swansea scoring six tries to nil. As only two tries were converted – by Arthur Evanson – the score line was officially just 2-0 to England. England won the first two Championships, claiming the Triple Crown on both occasions.

The game spread steadily in the Home Counties and in the North, but although broadly based on the rugby game as outlined by the laws written in 1846 at Rugby School, there were a number of local variations. In 1877, therefore, the RFU redrafted the Laws and among other things the number of players per side – hitherto a moveable feast – was settled on. Rugby would be 15-a-side.