 | Rugby Union History |  |
Early history
The history of rugby union follows from various football games played long before the 19th century, but it was not until the middle of that century that rules were formulated and codified. The code of football later known as rugby union can be traced to three events: the first set of written rules in 1845; the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the The Football Association in 1863 and; the formation of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The code was originally known simply as "rugby football"; it was not until a schism in 1895, which resulted in the separate code of rugby league, that the name "rugby union" was used for the game itself. Rugby union stuck to its ideals of amateurism and it was not until 1995 that the game turned professional.
Playing football has been a long tradition in England and versions of football had probably been played at Rugby School for two hundred years before three boys published the first set of written rules in 1845. The rules had always been determined by the pupils and not the masters and they were frequently modified with each new intake. Rules changes, such as the legality of carrying or running with the ball, were often agreed shortly before the commencement of a game. There were thus no formal rules for football during the time William Webb Ellis was at the school (1816–25) and the story of the boy "who with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it" in 1823 is apocryphal. The story first appeared in 1876, some four years after the death of Webb Ellis, and is attributed to a local antiquarian and former Rugbeian Matthew Bloxam. Bloxam was not a contemporary of Webb Ellis and vaguely quoted an unnamed person as informing him of the incident that had supposedly happened 53 years earlier. The story has been dismissed as unlikely since an official investigation by the Old Rugbeian Society in 1895. However, the cup for the Rugby World Cup is named the Webb Ellis trophy in his honour, and a plaque at the school commemorates the "achievement".
Rugby football has strong claims to the world's first and oldest "football club": the Guy's Hospital Football Club, formed in London in 1843, by old boys from Rugby School. Around the anglosphere, a number of other clubs formed to play games based on the Rugby School rules. One of these, Dublin University Football Club, founded in 1854, has arguably become the world's oldest surviving football club in any code. The Blackheath Rugby Club, in London, founded in 1858 is the oldest surviving non-university/school rugby club. Cheltenham College 1844, Sherborne School 1846 and Durham School 1850 are the oldest documented school's clubs. Francis Crombie and Alexander Crombie introduced rugby into Scotland via Durham School in 1854.
Major international competitions
The most important tournament in rugby union is the Rugby World Cup, a men's tournament that takes place every four years between the elite national rugby union teams. South Africa are the current world champions, winning the 2007 tournament held in France. They beat England, who were attempting to become the first country to retain the title, having won it in 2003. The fact that four different countries have won the World Cup confirms the level of competition in the tournament, creating intense interest from supporters, the media and major sponsors. Major international competitions in the northern and southern hemisphere are the Six Nations Championship and the Tri Nations Series, respectively.
The Six Nations is an annual competition involving northern hemisphere teams England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Each country plays the other five once, the modern tournament traces its roots to the first ever international game, when England lost by one goal to Scotland at Inverleith Park, adjacent to Raeburn Place, Edinburgh in 1871. In the 1880s, Wales and Ireland joined to create the Home International Championships. France joined the tournament in the 1900s and in 1910 the term Five Nations first appeared. However, the Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) excluded France in 1931 amid a run of poor results, allegations of professionalism (rugby union was officially amateur until 1995) and concerns over on-field violence. France then rejoined in 1939-1940, though World War II halted proceedings for a further eight years. France has played in all the tournaments since WWII, the first one of which was played in 1947. In 2000, Italy became the sixth nation in the contest and their games, played at stadio Flaminio, is the smallest venue in the tournament. <Actinic:Variable Name = '5'/> Argentina have long been rumoured to be interested in joining the 6 Nations but their geographical location and various other factors combine to make it look extremely unlikely, in the near future anyway. Since their strong performances in the 2007 World Cup a number of commentators believe they should join the Tri-Nations with New Zealand, Australia and World Cup champions South Africa.
A postcard of the rugby event at the 1924 Olympics.The Tri Nations is an annual international rugby union series held between the southern hemisphere teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The series was initially played on a home and away basis with the three nations playing each other twice. In 2006 a new system was introduced where each nation plays the others three times rather than two. In 2007 the teams played each other only twice, as it was a World Cup year. The IRB had been brokering a deal which could have seen Argentina admitted to the competition in 2008,but it was later confirmed that the Tri Nations would not be expanded until at least 2010. Amidst all the rugby union competitions are also the autumn and summer Tests, which take place between September to December and June to August. These are played by the major rugby union nations on a home or away basis.
Rugby union was played at the Olympic Games in 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924. As per Olympic rules, the nations of Scotland, Wales and England were not allowed to play separately as they are not sovereign states. Rugby Sevens has been played at the Commonwealth Games since 1998.
Source: wikipedia http://en..org/wiki/History_of_rugby_union
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|  British and Irish Lions The British and Irish Lions (until 2001 known as the British Isles or British Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Lions selectors can pick uncapped players available to one of the four home unions, but in recent years this has rarely occurred.
Combined rugby union sides from the then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland toured in the Southern Hemisphere from 1888 onwards. The first tour took place as a commercial venture, made without official backing, but the six subsequent visits that took place prior to the 1910 South Africa tour (the first selected by a committee from the four Home Unions) enjoyed a growing degree of support from the authorities, although only one of these included representatives of all four nations.
Great Britain teams competed at the rugby union competitions in the Olympics in 1900 and in 1908, but this did not form part of the Lions tradition.
The 1950s proved a golden age for Lions rugby, although only in the 1970s did style begin to match the substance of victory in New Zealand and South Africa. Originally, poorly-organised Lions teams regularly suffered defeat at the hands of their hosts, but by 1955 the tourists took the matches seriously enough to obtain a 2-2 draw in South Africa. The 1970s saw a renaissance for the side. The last tour of the amateur age took place in 1993. Three tours have happened since.
History
1888 - 1909
Shaw & Shrewsbury Team, 1888, The first British or Irish touring rugby team, a private-enterprise trip to Australia and New Zealand
Despite its label as an England side, the team which toured South Africa in 1891 contained several Scots. (People often referred to pre-1930s Britain as "England".)
England v Cape Colony, 1891. The first match of the Bill MacLagan undefeated tour of South AfricaThe earliest Lions tours date back to 1888, when a 21-man squad visited Australia and New Zealand. The squad drew players from England, Scotland and Wales, though English players predominated. The 35-match tour of two host nations included no tests, but the side played provincial, city and academic sides, winning 27 matches. They played 21 games of Australian rules football, against prominent clubs in Victoria and South Australia, and won six of these.
The first tour, although unsanctioned by rugby bodies, had established the notion of touring Northern Hemisphere sporting sides to Southern Hemisphere locations. Three years after the first tour, the Western Province union invited rugby bodies in Britain to tour South Africa. Some saw the 1891 team — the first sanctioned by the Rugby Football Union — as the English rugby team, though others referred to it (and rightly so) as "the British Isles". The tourists played a total of twenty matches, three of them tests. The team also played the regional side of South Africa (South Africa did not exist as a political unit in 1891), winning all three matches. In a notable event of the tour, the touring side presented the Currie Cup to Griqualand West, the province they thought produced the best performance on the tour.
Five years later a British Isles side returned to South Africa. They played one extra match on this tour, making the total of 21 games, including four tests against South Africa, with the British Isles winning three of them. The squad had a notable Irish orientation, with the Irish national team contributing six players to the 21-man squad.
In 1899 the British Isles touring side returned to Australia for the first time since the unofficial tour of 1888. The squad of 23 for the first time ever had players from each of the home nations. The team again participated in 21 matches, playing state teams as well as northern Queensland sides and Victorian teams. A four-test series took place against Australia, the tourists winning three out of the four.
Four years later, in 1903, the British and Irish team returned to South Africa. The opening performance of the side proved disappointing from the tourists' point of view, with defeats in its opening three matches by Western Province sides in Cape Town. From then on the team experienced mixed results, though more wins than losses. The side lost the test series to South Africa, drawing twice, but with the South Africans winning the decider 8 to nil.
No more than twelve months passed before the British and Irish team ventured to Australia and New Zealand in 1904. The tourists devastated the Australian teams, winning every single game. Australia also lost all three tests to the visitors, even getting held to a stand-still in two of the three games. Though the New Zealand leg of the tour did not take long in comparison to the number of Australian games, the British and Irish experienced considerable difficulty across the Tasman after white-washing the Australians. The team managed two early wins before losing the test to New Zealand and only winning one more game as well as drawing once. Despite their difficulties in New Zealand the tour proved a raging success on-field for the British and Irish.
In 1908 another tour took place to Australia and New Zealand. In a reversal of previous practice, the planners allocated more matches in New Zealand rather than in Australia: perhaps the strength of the New Zealand teams and the heavy defeats of all Australian teams on the previous tour influenced this decision. Some commentators thought that this tour hoped to reach out to rugby communities in Australia, as rugby league (infamously) started in Australia in 1908. The Anglo-Welsh side (Irish and Scottish unions did not participate) performed well in all the non-test matches, but drew a test against New Zealand and lost the other two.
1910 - 1949
Visits that took place prior to the 1910 South Africa tour (the first selected by a committee from the four Home Unions) had enjoyed a growing degree of support from the authorities, although only one of these included representatives of all four nations. The 1910 tour to South Africa marked the official beginning of British and Irish rugby tours: the inaugural tour operating under all four unions. The team performed moderately against the non-test parties, claiming victories in just over half their matches. The test series, however, went to South Africa, who won two of the three games. A side managed by Oxford University (supposedly the England rugby team but actually including three Scottish players) toured Argentina at the time: the people of Argentina termed it the "Combined British".
A wait of fourteen years would ensue until another British Isles team tour took place, again in South Africa. The team struggled with injuries and lost all four tests (a game against the Western Province had test status). This tour may have marked the occasion when the team first became known as "the Lions".
In 1927 a short nine-game series took place in Argentina, with the Lions winning all nine encounters; the tour did however become a financial success for Argentinian rugby. After a seemingly long absence from New Zealand, the Lions returned in 1930 to some success. The Lions won all of their games that did not have test status except for the matches against Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury; they did however lose all of their test matches against the All Blacks. The side also visited Australia, losing a test but winning five out of the six non-test games.
In 1936 the Lions visited Argentina, winning all ten of their matches and only conceding nine points in the whole tour. Two years later the Lions toured in South Africa, winning more than half of their normal matches. Despite having lost the test series to South Africa by game three, the Lions won the final test.
1950 - 1969
The first post-war tour went to New Zealand and Australia in 1950. The Lions, sporting newly redesigned jerseys and displaying a fresh style of play, managed to win 22 and draw one of 29 matches over the two nations. The Lions won the opening four fixtures before losing to Otago and Southland, but succeeded in holding the All Blacks to a nine-all draw. The Lions performed well in the remaining All Black tests though they lost all three, the team did not lose another non-test in the New Zealand leg of the tour. The Lions won all their games in Australia except for their final fixture against a New South Wales XV in Newcastle. They won both of the two tests against Australia, in Brisbane and in Sydney.
The 1955 tour to South Africa proved arguably just as successful (or even more successful) than the previous tour that had taken place five years earlier. The Lions left with another imposing record, one draw and 19 wins from the 25 fixtures. The four-test series against South Africa, a thrilling affair, ended in a drawn series.
The 1959 tour to Australia and New Zealand marked once again a very successful tour for the Lions, who only lost six of their 35 fixtures. The Lions easily won both tests against Australia and lost the first three tests against the All Blacks, but did find victory in the final test.
After the glittering decade of the 1950s, the first tour of the 1960s proved not nearly as successful as previous ones. The 1962 tour to South Africa saw the Lions still win 16 of their 25 games, but did not fair well against the Springboks, losing three of the four tests. For the 1966 tour to Australia and New Zealand John Robins became the first Lions Coach, and the trip started off very well for the Lions, who stormed through Australia, winning five non-tests and drawing one; and most notably defeating Australia in two tests as well. The Lions however experienced mixed results during the New Zealand leg of the tour, as well as losing all of the tests against the All Blacks. The Lions also played a test against Canada on their way home, winning 19 to 8 in Toronto. The 1968 tour of South Africa saw the Lions win 15 of their 16 provincial matches, but the team actually lost three tests against the Springboks and drew one.
1970 - 1979
The 1970s saw a renaissance for the Lions. The 1971 team, centred around the skilled Welsh half-back pairing of Gareth Edwards and Barry John, secured a series win over the All Blacks. The tour started with a loss to Queensland but proceeded to storm through the next provincinal fixtures, winning 11 games in a row. The Lions then went on to defeat the All Blacks in Dunedin. The Lions would only lose a single match on the rest of the tour, and won the test series against New Zealand, winning and drawing the last two games, to take the series two wins to one.
Arguably the best-known and most successful Lions team toured South Africa in 1974 under the esteemed Irish forward Willie John McBride. It went through 22 games unbeaten, and triumphed 3-0 (with one drawn) in the test series. The test series featured a lot of violence. The management of the Lions concluded that the Springboks dominated their opponents with physical aggression. At that time test-match referees came from the home nation, substitutions took place only if a doctor found a player unable to continue and there were no video cameras or sideline officials to prevent violent play. The Lions decided "to get their retaliation in first" with the infamous "99 call" ("99" representing a shortening of "999", the phone number in Britain and Ireland for emergency services such as the police, ambulance or fire brigade). The Lions postulated that a South African referee would probably not send off all of the Lions if they all retaliated against "blatant thuggery". Famous video footage of the 'battle of Boet Erasmus Stadium' shows JPR Williams running over half of the pitch and launching himself at van Heerden after such a call.
The 1977 tour to New Zealand saw the Lions drop only one non-test out of 21 games, a loss to a Universities side. The team did not win the test series though, winning one game but losing the other three.
1980 - 2005
The British and Irish Lions against the All Blacks in 2005The Lions toured South Africa in 1980. The team completed a flawless non-test record, winning 14 out of 14 non-test matches on the tour. The Lions did however lose the first three tests to South Africa, winning the last one, though the series had already been won by the Springboks. The 1983 tour to New Zealand saw the team successful on the non-test front, winning all but two games, but getting white-washed in the test-series against the All Blacks.
The Lions tour to Australia in 1989 was a short affair, being only 12 matches in total. The tour was very successful for the Lions, who won all eight non-tests and won the test series against Australia, two to one. The Lions tour to New Zealand in 1993 was the last of the amateur era. The tourists won six and lost four non-test matches and losing the test series two games to one.
The 1997 tour to South Africa was a success for the Lions, who completed the tour only losing two games. The Lions won the test series two games to one. In 2001 a ten game tour took place in Australia, which saw the Wallabies win the test series two games to one. This series saw the first award of the Tom Richards Trophy.
The Lions' latest tour took place in New Zealand in 2005. New Zealand comprehensively won all three test games.
2009
The Lions will tour current world champions South Africa in 2009, with Ian McGeechan as their coach and HSBC as their shirt-sponsor
Source Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_and_Irish_Lions |  The Rugby BallRichard Lindon (1816 - 1887) and William Gilbert (1799-1877) started making balls for Rugby school out of hand stitched, four-panel, leather casings and pigs' bladders. Both men owned boot and shoe making businesses located close to Rugby school. Originally, Gilbert's business was located at 19 High Street and Lindon lived next door as a young man at number 20. The High street led directly to Rugby schools quad entrance which is where the boys played football (quad ball) before Rugby school gained its playing fields.
In 1842 William Gilbert moved his shop from 19 High Street in Rugby to 5 St. Matthews Street which was directly opposite Rugby Schools playing field, known as "The Close".
Lindon's shop was in 6 Lawrence Sheriff Street and was directly opposite the Quad Entrance.
They turned their skills to the making of balls for the boys of Rugby school and by the 1850's William Gilbert and Richard Lindon, were the two main suppliers of the pig's bladder & leather clad balls to the boys of Rugby School.
Shape and Size
In fact it is the shape of the pigs bladder which is reputed to have given the rugby ball it's distinctive oval shape although balls of those days were more plum shape than oval. The balls also varied in size in the beginning depending upon how large the pig's bladder was.
In those early days it was necessary to ask for volunteers to inflate the ball for it was not a job that was sought after. The pigs bladder would be blown up while still in its very smelly 'green state' solely by lung power down the snapped stem of a clay pipe which was inserted into the opening of the bladder.
There is no record as to when the ball became less round and more oval in shape but there is a reference in Tom Brown's school days by Thomas Hughes, an old boy from Rugby school, i.e. "the new ball you may see lie there, quite by itself, in the middle, pointing towards the school goal" which indicates that the ball had become more oval by 1835 when the game was supposed to have taken place.
The size and shape of the ball was not written into the rules until 1892:
- Length 11 to 11 1/4 inches
- Circumference (end on) 30 to 31 inches
- Circumference (in width) 25 1/2 to 26 inches
- Weight: 12 to 13 ounces
- Hand sewn with not less than 8 stitches to the inch
The weight was reduced to 13 to 14 1/2 ounces in 1893.
The width of the ball was reduced to 24 to 25 1/2 inches and the weight was increased to 13 1/2 to 15 ounces in 1931.
2004 IRB Law 2 states:
The ball must be oval and made of four panels.
Length in line 280 - 300 millimeters
Circumference (end to end) 740 - 770 millimeters
Circumference (in width) 580 - 620 millimeters
Material: Leather or suitable synthetic material. It may be treated to make it water resistant and easier to grip.
Weight: 410 - 460 grams
Air pressure at start of play: 65.71-68.75 kilopascals, or 0.67-0.70 kilograms per square centimeter, or 9.5-10.0 lbs per square inch
Richard Lindon's wife (who used to blow up the bladder based rugby balls for her husband) contracted a lung disease thought to have come from years of blowing up pig's bladders (some of which were most probably diseased) and died.
In the 1850s vulcanised rubber was invented by an American, Charles Goodyear and separately by Thomas Hancock in the UK in 1843/4.
Around 1862 Richard Lindon introduced Indian rubber bladder inner-tubes and because of the pliability of rubber the shape of the balls gradually changed from a sphere to the shape we know today. Richard Lindon, having observed the ordinary ear syringe also invented the Brass Hand Pump as rubber bladders were far too difficult to inflate by mouth, which he demonstrated, and won medals, at an exhibition in London. Richard Lindon also claimed to invent the rugby ball and its distinctive oval shape but sadly, for him, didn't patent either the ball, the bladder or the pump. By the 1880s there were several manufacturers of 'footballs' in England all using the same process
Charles Macintosh & Co.
Messrs. Charles Macintosh & Co. were the first manufacturer to supply rubber bladders in sufficient quantities to make standardization possible. Charles Macintosh (1766-1843) is known internationally as the inventor of the (almost) eponymous mackintosh raincoat which he developed between 1823 and his death in 1843. Chas. Macintosh & Co. was formed by the merger of Charles Macintosh and Thomas Hancock's businesses in 1831. Chas. Mackintosh & Co. (with its name unchanged) continued until 1923 when it was taken over by Dunlop. Production on the Manchester site only ceased in 2000 although the original factory was destroyed in 1940. The present factory is now the centre of a regeneration programme for the 'Southern Gateway' to Manchester.
Gilbert
Gilbert became one of the most popular makers of rugby balls and has been making rugby balls since the game's conception. William Gilbert had a boot and shoe makers shop next to Rugby school in the high street and started making balls for the school out of hand stitched, four panel, leather casings and real pigs
William was responsible for the leather stand made for the London Exhibition in 1851 which can be seen in the present Gilbert museum. The ball is hanging from the cross bar of a Rugby goal in a stand designed by Mr M H Bloxham.
When William died, his nephew James Gilbert (1831-1906) succeeded him. James was reputed to be "..a wonder of lung strength and blew even the big match balls up tight". This was achieved by inserting a clay pipe into the neck of the bladder once it was encased in leather and blowing until the fully inflated.
In 1906 on the death of James, his son James John Gilbert (1856-1917) took over the family business. As well as his involvement in manufacturing the balls, James John was also an enthusiastic player for the Rugby Club and a keen follower of the game in general.
The last Gilbert involved in the company, James, was serving in the army in France when his father died in 1917. After the war he returned to run the firm being the fourth generation of his family to be involved in the business. James Gilbert was meticulous in everything he did, from keeping accounts, to ensuring that every Gilbert ball retained the company's reputation for excellence. He wrote countless letters to keep the Gilbert name at the forefront of the game and it was largely through his efforts that the Gilbert ball was exported to the major Rugby playing countries of the world particularly New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. He checked and stamped every Match ball personally to make sure it was of the highest quality.
By now, each nation had its own preferences with Australia and New Zealand favouring the pointed (Torpedo) shape and South Africa the 8-panel which offered better grip. In Britain, Ireland and France, most balls were now of 4-panel construction but 6 panels were still in use. Player pressure resulted in the balls being reduced in size by one inch by GILBERT, which subsequently lead to a change in rules in 1932.
In 1946 GILBERT formed a joint venture with the Glasgow based soccer ball brand Tomlinson's who were responsible for much of the distribution and the marketing of the brand until the 1970s. The GILBERT Match remained the ball of choice for the majority of major matches during this time, but with the advent of new materials and brands challenging GILBERT's traditional leather business, the brand experienced difficult times and the Gilbert family decided to sell the business in 1978.
The items James Gilbert collected from his contacts in the game form the basis for the Gilbert museum established in 1987. Since those early days the Gilbert ball has been used by almost every rugby nation and at all levels of the game.
GILBERT passed through the control of 3 different owners through the 1980s and 1990s, during which time they embraced and perfected the use of new synthetic technologies in its new Barbarian match ball.
GILBERT have developed a new ball for each Rugby World Cup since 1995 when it was adopted as the Official Ball in South Africa (also in 1999), however, more financial difficulties in 2002 led to the acquisition of GILBERT by Grays of Cambridge, another family business of long standing (founded by Harry Gray 1855) and, by a quirk of fate, the brand returned to its birthplace at 19, High Street in Rugby, where Grays were operating a sports shop. Although Gilbert is no longer an independent company, the name is being maintained by Grays as a strong 'traditional' brand, under Grays stewardship GILBERT's technical heritage can continue.
The Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2003 once again showcased the latest in GILBERT's ball development programme, the Xact match ball. As a result of the ball's performance in the lead up to this tournament both New Zealand All Blacks and The British and Irish Lions switched their allegiance to GILBERT's balls joining South Africa, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France and a host of other nations, clubs and tournaments around the world.
The Xact technology was enhanced further for the 2005 World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong with a patented star-shaped grip pattern - the first ever departure from round pimples and the 2007 edition is to be used at the RWC in France. The patented surface technology on the new synergie match ball is unique to GILBERT and has arisen by combining the existing pimple patterns of the Xact and Xact-7 match balls and the application of basic aerodynamic principles.
The GILBERT synergie ball was usde at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and received the thumbs up from players and administrators alike
The ball was specifically designed to deliver the same kicking performance as the Xact ball used in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, while offering improved handling. Data commissioned from a leading independent sports statistics provider proves that this objective has been achieved in the tournament to date, with kicking success on a par with 2003 and superb handling and improved offloading from the tackle much in evidence.
Although no official complaint had been made by any of the participating teams, RWC Limited requested that GILBERT investigate some comments received from New Zealand questioning the quality of the balls used in practice.
Extensive research, comprising laboratory and on-field tests, discussion with players and administrators and a thorough analysis of logistics has enabled the ball manufacturer to prove without reservation that there is no difference between any of the balls used throughout the tournament nor with the GILBERT synergie balls widely used in international matches since October 2006. It has been concluded that any perceived differences reported can be explained by incorrect inflation and natural wear and tear, and this has been explained to the teams.
Chairman of Rugby World Cup, Dr Syd Miller, stated "I commend GILBERT on their rapid response to our questions and the thoroughness of their research, which has left no stone unturned. This proves conclusively that the decision to select GILBERT, and more particularly the synergie ball, for RWC 2007 was the correct one.
"GILBERT have been making balls since the game was first invented and have now supplied balls for four successive World Cups. They know what they are doing".
GILBERT Sales & Marketing Director, Richard Gray, commented, "We were taken aback by the comments made and the subsequent damaging media coverage - which had no basis whatsoever. Of course it is sometimes more difficult to adapt to a ball if you have been used to a different product and this perhaps explains the contrast between a few comments from some quarters and the actual kicking performances overall throughout the tournament.
"We are delighted but not surprised that RWC Limited have accepted our findings without reservation and have once again given their stamp of approval to our products."
Credits:
Gilbert information modified from original text provided by Gilbert over the years.
Lindon information sourced from http://www.richardlindon.com
Press article for rugby world cup 2007 re. Gilbert ball
The information on this website comes from books, historical documents, magazines, websites across the world, etc. but special mention goes to:
Rugby school (this is where it all started, need I say more)
The Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum (A really enjoyable experience)
The Museum of Rugby, Twickenham (A must-see exhibition)
Virtual library of sport The Amateur Athletic Foundation (where you can find Olympic reports)
Midwest Rugby Links
(where you can find links to hundreds of rugby sites around the world). rugbyrelics (good source for old rugby books)
...and not forgetting the game of Rugby and the Rugby community...that should cover it!
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