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Rugby football

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The Close at Rugby School where, according to legend, the game was invented.

Rugby football is a style of football that developed at Rugby School and was one of several versions of football played atEnglish public schools during the 19th century.[1] The two main types of rugby are rugby league and rugby union. Although these two forms share the same objective of getting the ball over the line to score a try, the specific rules are different.

 

 

Forms[edit]

Rugby union: A scrum between theCrusaders and Brumbies (May 2006)
Rugby league: Australia's Paul Gallenlooks to offload the ball from a tackle. (2008 World Cup)

History[edit]

In 1871, English clubs met to form the Rugby Football Union (RFU). In 1892, after charges of professionalism (compensation of team members) were made against some clubs for paying players for missing work, the Northern Rugby Football Union, usually called the Northern Union (NU), was formed.[2]The existing rugby union authorities responded by issuing sanctions against the clubs, players and officials involved in the new organization. After the schism, the separate clubs were named "rugby league" and "rugby union".[3]