Which game started first, Rugby League or Rugby Union?

Question

Which game started first, Rugby League or Rugby Union?

Answer 1

rl

Answer 2

Hello Gail,

Rugby Union was originally codified in the mid 19th century in England and started out as a private schoolboy game but rapidly spread around the country and working class areas of england wales and scotland rapidly developed good teams that often gave the more middle and upper class southern teams a run for thier money. However the northern teams players often had to take time off work to participate on saturday afternoons and the strict amature code (in place until 1995) didnt allow them to be compensated for thier loss. The southern teams were of course keen to benefit from this as they were often embarassed by being beaten by mill-working or mining northern chaps who now couldnt afford to play them. The Northern clubs, needed to reduce the amature nature of the game and therefore set up a seperate Northern Football League in 1895. Since then the two sports groups have diverged and evolved seperately; the Northern Code eventually became the Rugby Football League and spread into Australia with the working class northern english settlers.

Answer 3

Rugby union is the original game that was brought out from england but this game back then and maybe even today was for the private school boys and the elite,so rugby leauge was formed by Australia, a variation if you will that appealed to the working class and other sections of Australian society.