Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
There is evidence that football games have been played in England since the 11th century. During the early 19th century, football games became a popular recreation in English public schools. Various schools developed their own rules for the game. The rules of the game developed by Rugby School were gradually taken all over Britain and the rest of the world.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) was founded 1871 for the purpose of standardising the rules of the game worldwide, to facilitate inter-club competitions. A committee was formed and three former Rugby School pupils were invited to write a set of laws, which were approved in Jun 1871. The first international match was played between Scottish and English members of the Union in March 1871, and ended in a Scottish victory.
National Rugby Unions were gradually formed with the Scottish Rugby Union being the first in 1873, the Irish Rugby Union in 1879 and the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881.
The English RFU continued to be the law making body for the game. In 1886, an International Rugby Board was formed by Scotland, Ireland and Wales, which challenged English rulemaking pre-eminence. It was not until 1890 that England agreed to send representatives to this Board. The International Board gradually took over more responsibility for making the laws and running the game.
In 1893, the strict amateur code of the game was challenged by reports of some players in the North of England were being paid for playing. The Union set up an enquiry, and the club concerned was suspended. The dispute was not entirely settled however and in 1895, twenty-two clubs seceded from the RFU and formed the Northern Union (later known as the Rugby League).
RFU was responsible for the management of the England side, whose games were played on various club grounds. In 1906, the RFU Committee asked the Finance Sub-Committee to investigate the feasibility of purchasing land and building a stadium for the exclusive use of playing Rugby. A site at Twickenham was purchased in 1907, and in 1909 the first match was held there, between the Richmond and Harlequin clubs, with the first international match taking place there in 1910 (England v Wales).
There are a number of trophies for which matches are played, including the Calcutta Cup - a trophy donated by the Calcutta Rugby Football Club, 1878, and given to the winner for an annual England Scotland match, first played in 1879; the Millennium Trophy, presented by the City of Dublin on its millennium year - 1988, for the winner of an annual Ireland England game; the Six Nations' Trophy (formerly the Five Nations Trophy) involving teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and Italy, inaugurated in 1993. One of the oldest annual fixtures is however the Oxford University versus Cambridge University match first played in 1872.
In 1995, the International Rugby Board agreed that the amateur game become open, despite the opposition of the RFU. The RFU itself has since revised its management structure, and now consists of a Council, a Chief Executive Officer and a Management Board.
English Schools Rugby Union (ESRU) was formed in 1904 to coordinate the game played by those under the school leaving age (at that time 14 years at the beginning of the Autumn term). From 1948 to 1970, the age limit was set at 15 years.
The English Public and Grammar Schools Union (EPGSRFU) formed in 1948, to coordinate the game played by pupils older that the statutory school leaving age. In 1949, the EPGSRFU and RSRU amalgamated to form the English Schools Rugby Football Unions (ESRFU) with two groups - the ESRFU (Under 15 group) and the ERFU (over 15 Group). By 1960, the groups had changed to become the ESRFU (15 Group) and the ESRFU (19 Group). After a slow start, cooperation between the two groups was improved by the production of a handbook, an England Tie, the coordination of trials and International Match fixtures and the sending of minutes of both groups to all County Secretaries.
In 1984, the Rugby Football Union for Women was formed as the official governing body. Run by an executive committee of volunteers, it is recognised by the RFU and holds associate status. Matches are played from club to international level, and the England women's side compete in a Six Nations Championship, as well as a Rugby World Cup.