The smallest event can spawn a chain reaction of unimaginable magnitude. One disobeyed rule in a game in the 1800s led to the creation of the sport of rugby. Though it took a while to become an official, recognized game, rugby rapidly grew from one school to a worldwide phenomenon.
Background
Rugby is named after the Rugby School, which is a boarding school in Warwickshire in the United Kingdom. Originally a boys' school, it is has been co-ed since 1975. The Rugby School was founded in 1567. The school is known for its playing ground called the Close, which still serves as a rugby training ground for teams and as a tourist attraction.
Origin
Rugby football itself was invented in 1823 by a student, William Webb Ellis. How exactly he invented the game isn't completely known, but "Rugby" magazine says writings from a former classmate who had been told about the event -- so this is all hearsay -- say Ellis broke the rules while playing another ball game similar to Australian Rules Football, running toward the goal instead of staying where he was. It wasn't until the 1830s that Ellis' move became more common, and it took until 1895 for the hearsay version to become the accepted history. Ellis himself died in 1872. "Rugby" Magazine notes that Tom Wills, who invented Australian Rules Football in the 1850s, attended the Rugby School himself.
Women's Rugby
Rugby was originally all-male, but women began to play the game, too, at least at the university level. The origins aren't well-recorded, but by the 1970s, American collegiate women's rugby had spread from three schools in the early '70s to nationwide by 1975, when the United States Rugby Football Union formed, with a separate board of directors for women's games.
Spread
Rugby rules spread to other schools in England as house masters and students moved around, eventually spreading to universities and internationally. Charles Monro picked up the game while at school in England, eventually bringing it back to New Zealand in 1870, while Australia's first club had already formed in 1864. By the 1880s, the game had become widespread in Australia and New Zealand. Leagues and championships were formed, some when other countries joined up, such as the Five Nations formed by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France, or when internal disputes divided teams. This was how the Rugby League formed; northern players split from southern players in England over compensatory pay for time lost from working and formed the Northern League, which then became the Rugby League.
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