Rugby doesn't just have one international governing body and one world cup as many other sports do --- it has two. The reasons for this are rooted in what is commonly called "the great split" or "the great schism" in rugby circles. This was an event that occurred in the late 1800s. Following this split, the sport had two branches: rugby league play and rugby union play.
Origins
Rugby's origins actually go farther back than the 1800s, though the popular belief is that rugby was born in 1823, according to RugbyFootballHistory.com. That's when William Webb Ellis "with fine disregard for the rules of football" picked up ball and ran with it, supposedly originating this distinctive feature of the game. Despite lacking evidence to substantiate it, this view is so popular that the Rugby World Cup is called "William Webb Ellis Trophy." However, you need to look farther into the past to find rugby's original history. In fact, a number of early ball games were played in the 5th to 16th centuries. These are often called "mob football" or "folk football." Games were played between neighboring villages and involved an unlimited number of players. The teams would move inflated pig's bladders to markers at the edges of a town using any means possible. The first documented game of ball in London was in 1175 and occurred during the annual Shrove Tuesday festival. The first clear reference to "football," however, wasn't recorded until 1409. That's when King Henry IV put forth an edict forbidding people from levying money for "foteball."
The Split
Rugby clubs began forming in England in the mid 1800s. By the late 1800s, there were numerous clubs throughout England competing under the official rules of the Rugby Football Union, which formed in 1871. In 1895, the union adopted rules to ban professionalism, or payment to rugby players, which had been growing quickly in the rugby clubs of North England. Union clubs were forbidden to play the North Union clubs, splitting rugby into two rival camps and increasing acrimony between these camps that continued for almost a century. The split came largely along class lines. Workers who played rugby were given "broken time" payments to make up for lost income caused by playing the game. The lack of provisions that would allow working class players to participate at the same level as the upper and middle classes is the crux of the split of rugby into league play and union play, notes Tony Collins, author of "Rugby's Great Split." The freeze on professionalism in the Rugby Union lasted 100 years.
International Play
The Northern Rugby Football Union formed in 1895 after the Rugby Football Union banned professionalism. It was renamed the Rugby Football League in 1922. At first, the league followed union rules. However, by 1907 the rules deviated from the original set significantly. It became a full-contact game that had each team field 13 players instead of the 15 players that Rugby Union rules allowed, for example. In the United States, USA Rugby is the governing body for the sport. USA Rugby was founded in 1975. It is a member of the International Rugby Board, which was founded in 1886 as the governing body for rugby union play. The IRB's top tournament is the Rugby World Cup. The world cup was initially held in 1987 and has grown since then to attract a television audience of more than 3 billion. The Rugby League International Federation is the governing body for worldwide league play. The Imperial Rugby League Board was formed in 1927 by representatives from England, New Zealand and Australia. This was followed by the International Rugby League Board formed in France in 1948, which launched the Rugby League World Cup in 1954. Today's federation was formed in 1998.
Rugby Today
Rugby League remains popular in the northern heartland of England. This version of rugby is best for suited to young players due to the elevated injury risk. League rugby is the national sport of Papua New Guinea and also is played at both professional and amateur levels in England, Australia, New Zealand and France. Rugby Union also is played at professional and amateur levels. It's played nationwide in France, Ireland, New Zealand, England, Wales, South Africa and Scotland. While still sometimes regarded as a "toffish southerners' sport," the union in England attracts many ex-league players. It also has a large following among women, both as spectators and players, according to Chris Moss' June 28, 2008, article "Rugby League Versus Rugby Union" in "The Guardian" newspaper.
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