Rugby is a sport with a rich history that has captured the minds and passions of many countries around the world. The Rugby World Cup is one of the finest sporting spectacles available to watch today due to the rich history and fierce competition. If you are a huge fan of the sport or know nothing about it, read on to find out some fun facts.
Origins
It is suggested that rugby was born in 1823 when William Webb Ellis was playing football and caught the ball in the air. Instead of dropping the ball he caught it and ran the length of the field. While this story has been put under some doubt by historians it has been widely embraced as the origin. So much so that the trophy for the Rugby World Cup is called the Webb Ellis trophy.
Modern Day
Today rugby has grown to be a popular sport with 101 countries registered as participants in the wider association and over 3 million active registered players. While the sport was started in the British Isles it has now reached all corners of the world with at least 7 countries now declaring it their national sport; New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Georgia, Samoa, Wales, and Madagascar.
New Zealand and South Africa are the dominant nations at present. The New Zealand team, nicknamed the All Blacks, were the cohosts and winners of the first-ever World Cup in 1987 and again in 2011. The All Blacks have won three world cups overall, tied with South Africa for the most of any nation. The All Blacks are currently ranked second in the world behind the most recent winners, the Springboks (South Africa).
National Anthem
Rugby was the first sport in the world to feature a national anthem before kick-off. In 1905 Wales played New Zealand. New Zealand performed a Haka, a traditional war dance to intimate the opposition. Wales responded by singing their national anthem. Ireland plays rugby as a collective of both countries the Republic and Northern Ireland. As such they have no national anthem that represents the team and so wrote a new song, Ireland’s call to be sung before games.
