The history of rugby started quite awhile before 19th century from various football games however not till later in the middle of the century that the rules were codified and formulated. This is how later that the code of football later became known as the rugby union.
The game can be traced to three events, in 1845, was the first set of written rules, later in 1863 it was the Black heath Club who decided to leave the Football Association and in 1871 the Rugby Football Union was formed. This originally became known as rugby football, however because of a schism in 1895, the result was a separate code of rugby league. It was because of this that the game became known as rugby union.
In the beginning it officially stuck to the ideals of amateurism even though there was indirect and unofficial payment to the rugby union players. It was a long time later in 1995, when the game finally was professional.
England has a long tradition for playing football and probably different versions were played at rugby school for over two hundred years. It was three boys in 1845, who were the first to publish a set of written rules. It was the pupils not the masters who determined these rules which were frequently modified because of each new intake.
It was not uncommon that before a game got started that there were rule changes, these could be running with the ball or legality of carrying. Whilst William Webb Ellis was at this school “between” 1816 to 1825, there were no formal rules for football. This is how the story of the boy started who had a fine disregard for rules of football that was played in his time. In 1823, he picked up the ball, had it in his arms and then he ran with it is apocryphal.
It was not until several years after William Webb Ellis died, when in 1876, that the story first appeared, this is attributed to a former Rugby player by the name of Matthew Bloxam a local antiquarian. He was not a contemporary of William Ellis, and was known to have quoted someone unnamed of informing the incident to him. This however was supposed to have happened 53 years earlier.
There was an official investigation regarding the story that was dismissed by the (Old Rugbeian Society) later in 1895. There is however a plaque at the school to William Ellis that commemorates the “achievement” and the cup for the Rugby World Cup in his honor is named the Webb Ellis trophy.
There are strong claims that rugby football is associated to the worlds first as well as the oldest football club which is Guy’s Hospital Football Club, this was formed in 1843, in London by the old boys from rugby school. There were many other clubs formed round about the anglosphere to play games that were based on Rugby School rules.