Does New Zealand want too claim Rugby?

Question

Is it true that New Zealanders / south sea islanders now claim that they invented Rugby?

And is there any evidence for this?

Answer 1

Pro-tour,

Love your answer.

Forget the biggest tournament as you lost 6 in a row and can only win at home 20 years ago.

Yes, you must be the greatest sporting team in the history of sport particularly if you only judge it on the winning games.

In fact you have a 100% record on that basis!!

Answer 2

ha ha ha  silly silly little boys who want some sort of recognition for something...puleeze maybe they are good players , but SO?!   get on with life ,that kid who picked up the soccer ball the first time is the one who invented rugby.

Answer 3

I seriously doubt that nonenzedder surely your more intelligent than to know that a large percent of what ever is pushed over the net is total bullsh!t? I havent heard anything, would be blown away if one of my fellow natives were to claim that one (can you provide a link??). I havent found a link to any claim but have researched the game and it looks nothing like or resembles even early days rugby so sorry I think someones pulling your leg.......

Answer 4

China!!! Who cares the Kiwi's are the best at it. Forget the world cup, look at the track record!!!

Answer 5

The rugby had been invented in England, in the city of.........Rugby (of course), which is located between Birmingham and Manchester

The guy who invented the rugby is Mr Webb Ellis.

So kiwis did not invent the rugby.

Answer 6

I love this weird to the point of almost phycotic fixation you guy's have with New Zealand rugby.

It's amusing.

Answer 7

I've noticed this over the last month also.  Someone or soemones unknown appears to be making a bit of a concerted internet push recently to fabricate (?) a background for the game being invented by the Maori.  Articles are popping up here and there stating that the game is taken from a traditional Maori sport "Ki-O-Rahi."  I'm a Kiwi so i'd love this to be true BUT at the moment it looks like some pretty ham fisted engineering of history by a Maori cultural revivalist with a grudge against Europeans to me.  He seems to be pretty down on Maori playing for the big bucks of "White culture" Rugby and seems to want them go back to playing Ki O Rahi instead, to help revive Maori community and culture.  This comes across as a bit reverse-racist and xenophobic funnily enough.  He's basically saying don't play the corrupt Pakeha game for money - come back and play the original Maori cultural game. Whoever is putting it out there is deliberately writing articles purporting to be drawn from authoritative sources but providing zero supporting evidence or references.  Lots of quotes from historical figures and purported written accounts etc but NO proof of these given.  I think pseudoarchaeology is the term that springs to mind.  I've already seen this person/persons in a bit of a flame war over his sources for the historical claims with some kiwi uni academics and when pressed on sources he seems to be dodging answers and falling back on excuses that there is no verifiable written evidence or accounts of his claims as Maori tradition is oral and Pakeha's and the NZRU are conspiring to squash the truth.  IMHO - New Zealanders obviously also brought down the 2 towers because they thought the French Rugby team were in them at the time ;>)

So at this stage until I see something to back up this nice story, thats all it will remain to me.  Whoever you are writing this stuff mate you are doing Maori culture a discredit if you are just trying to engineer a story to grow interest in Ki-O-Rahi, you'll just get caught up in flame wars and laughed at all over the net.  Don't rave on about Rugby conspiracies or race either because you'll never win any converts that way. Other than that - it really sounds a great game and I truly wish you luck with reviving it in Maori communities.

Answer 8

No we don't want to claim that because that's not true, and if other Kiwis on here are claiming that we did, its out of ignorance or there just taking the p!ss.

Answer 9

Rugby was NOT invented at Rugby school by some fat kid who picked up the ball and ran with it.

It's been about for ever.

As a sport, the game we now have as rugby is much closer to what was originally known as football.

People have always been playing that way.

It was formalised at Rugby school and the rules started be a bit more like the ones we have now, but that's all.