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In the 1990s, the organisation recognised the IRB as the governing body of rugby union worldwide and later changed its name twice—in 1999 to FIRA—Association of European Rugby, and in 2014 to Rugby Europe. Today, Rugby Europe promotes and rules over rugby union in the European area. [citation needed]
The claim that Webb Ellis invented the game did not surface until four years after his death, and doubts have been raised about the story since 1895 when the Old Rugbeian Society first investigated it. The sub-committee conducting the investigation was "unable to procure any first-hand evidence of the occurrence". [13]
The spread of rugby union as a global sport has its roots in the exporting of the game by British expatriates, military personnel, and overseas university students. The first rugby club in France was formed by British residents in Le Havre in 1872, while the next year Argentina recorded its first game: 'Banks' v 'City' in Buenos Aires. [110]
Rugby Europe is not responsible for the organisation of the Six Nations Championship, which is run by the national unions of its participating nations. [1] The next level of international rugby, played by tier-2 and tier-3 European countries, is the Rugby Europe International Championships. It is made up of five levels or divisions ...
World Rugby was founded as the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) in 1886 by Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with England joining in 1890. [7] Australia, New Zealand and South Africa became full members in 1949. [7] France became a member in 1978 and a further 80 members joined from 1987 to 1999. [7]
In 1995, rugby union went professional, and those who had long derided rugby league as merely a professional version of that game were soon predicting the demise of the sport. The Super League war, the financial problems of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup and the signing of several high-profile rugby league stars by the union game gave ...
The first international rugby football game resulted from a challenge issued in the sporting weekly Bell's Weekly on 8 December 1870 and signed by the captains of five Scottish clubs, inviting any team "selected from the whole of England" to a 20-a-side game to be played under the Rugby rules. The notice itself was inconspicuous, being slotted ...
Through its history, it was viewed by some as the top prize in European rugby for club teams. In April 2014, after two years of negotiations, it was confirmed that the Heineken Cup would be replaced by the new European Rugby Champions Cup beginning in the 2014–15 season. The Champions Cup includes the top eight teams from the previous season ...