Friday 22 November 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of England's big win at Rugby World Cup 2003. A decade on from this momentous moment, sports fans are now looking forward to 2015, when Rugby World Cup comes to English shores.

The national tourist board, VisitEngland, is proud to present The Real History of Rugby (attached video), from its invention by William Webb Ellis at Rugby School in 1823 to the first ever streaker, at Twickenham in 1974. After all, everything else is a load of old balls!

 

Read on for more facts:

 

Origins of rugby in England

This glorious, if rather muddy, sport all came about thanks to one unruly schoolboy, or so legend has it. In 1823, William Webb Ellis snatched up the football, "with a fine disregard for the rules of football", and ran with it during a match at Rugby School. Legend or not, Rugby School in Warwickshire thought enough of the story to place a stone plaque in its grounds:

 

"This stone commemorates the exploit of William Webb Ellis who with a 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."

 

And that is why Rugby World Cup's coveted prize is known as the Webb Ellis Cup.

 

In 1997, the town of Rugby unveiled a bronze statue of a boy running with a rugby ball, claiming the sport for itself once and for all. It stands at the corner of Lawrence Sheriff Street and Dunchurch Road, beside the school and opposite the Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum, both of them well worth a visit.

 

The birth of rugby as we know it today

By the 1840s, running with the ball was common but the game was played to different rules by different teams. It wasn't until January 1871 that the disagreements and consequent black eyes became too numerous and representatives of various teams got together in a London restaurant to establish the Rugby Football Union (RFU). An official committee was formed and three lawyers, all ex-pupils of Rugby School, were invited to write the rulebook.

 

The sport took off rapidly and the first international rugby match was played in March 1981, between England and Scotland. Scotland won, so let's move on...

 

A history of amateurism

We're not talking an amateur level of playing here. Simply that until August 1995 RFU players were not paid for their efforts. Or not officially, as David Campese hinted in 1991: "I'm still an amateur, of course, but I became rugby's first millionaire five years ago."

 

Incidentally, it was a disagreement over paying players that led to 22 northern clubs leaving the RFU in 1895 to form the Northern Union, which later became Rugby League.

 

It wasn't until as recently as 1995 that a new era of professionalism was ushered in and RFU players could afford to dedicate their working days to the sport, and raise standards to those we enjoy today. And although nowadays bleeding players are retired to the blood-bin and head gear protects against cauliflower ears, the sport is still as deliciously rambunctious as it ever was!

 

The future... Rugby returns home

Rugby World Cup 2015 is to be hosted in twelve venues across England and the Millennium Stadium in Wales.

 

Wherever you are, you can join in the journey to Rugby World Cup 2015 by signing up to The Front Row for all the latest tournament news, including updates on tickets and volunteering, at www.rugbyworldcup.com/frontrow.

 

For more information, visit www.visitengland.com.  

 

Ends.

 

For further press information please contact:

Mark Anthony McCulloch / Laura Dewar / Rebecca Holloway

VisitEngland Press Office

Tel: 020 7578 1446 / 020 7578 1437 / 020 7578 1429

Email: Mark.McCulloch@visitengland.org / Laura.Smith@visitengland.org / Rebecca.Holloway@visitengland.org

 

Notes to Editors:

About Rugby World Cup 2015:

Rugby World Cup 2015 will be the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament will be hosted in England from 18 September to 31 October 2015. The host cities will be spread all over England - the North, Midlands, South, West and London, making this a genuinely pan-England event.  Thirteen venues have been confirmed, twelve of which are based in England. Below is the full list of the confirmed venues:

 

• Twickenham Stadium, London

 

• Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton

 

• Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester

 

• Elland Road, Leeds

 

• Leicester City Stadium, Leicester

 

• St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

 

• Stadium MK, Milton Keynes

 

• Wembley Stadium, London

 

• Olympic Stadium, London

 

• Villa Park, Birmingham

 

• Sandy Park, Exeter

 

• Manchester City Stadium, Manchester

 

• Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

 

For more information on Rugby World Cup 2015, please contact England 2015, Organising Committee for RWC 2015, Communications Manager, Laura Brown (laurabrown@er2015.com / 07545602718). To register with the England 2015 Press Office, visit http://www.sotic.co.uk/england_2015.php.

 

About VisitEngland

• VisitEngland is the country's national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors.

 

About England

• Historic yet contemporary, traditional yet cutting-edge, metropolitan yet wild: England is truly a unique destination and a real powerhouse in global tourism.

• With ancient Hadrian's Wall straddling the wild north and the world's biggest indoor tropical rainforest nestled in the far south, England really is the ultimate mix of old and new as well as being home to some of the most iconic sites in the world, including Stonehenge, the honey-hued Georgian terraces of Bath and the towering peaks and glistening meres of the Lake District.

• Did you know that in 2010 there were 96.4 million domestic overnight trips in England, 25.5 million inbound visits and 872 million tourism day trips?

 

More information can be found on www.visitengland.com and www.visitengland.org.

 

TM © Rugby World Cup Limited 1986.