How Rugby Helped To Change The World As We Know It

That rugby is one of the most popular and well-loved sports around is a known fact. Where rugby is at its most competitive, people swarm stadiums to see their favourite players and to be part of the exhilarating atmosphere created by the teams and fans alike. However, what many fail to realise, is the fact that rugby has contributed to much more than a couple of hours’ worth of entertainment and a hoarse voice after the game. At face value, rugby would not be no different from so many other sports; two teams, a scoring system, tournaments, leagues and fan bases. Peel back the outer layer however, and you will find a rich history and monumental landmarks over the years that shaped the course of this world.

The Modern Olympics

Few people know of a slightly obscure contribution that rugby has given the world for example: it was inspiration for the Modern Olympics. A little background may be needed here for those who are not familiar with the origins of rugby. Legend has it (for there is no factual evidence that the following has really occurred) that a boy named William Webb Ellis once picked up the ball and ran with it during a game of football, doing something that no one else had ever done. The school was called the Rugby School for the town it was situated in and the sport eventually took its name as well, putting it on the radar for the world.

Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympics and founder of the Olympic Committee was a frequent visitor at this school. Being an educational reformer in his native France, de Coubertin was an admirer of Dr Thomas Arnold, headmaster of the Rugby School between 1828 and 1842. It is said that it was during one of his stays at the school, when he actually slept in the Chapel that inspiration struck for the Modern Olympics. Later de Coubertin wrote, “It was to Arnold we turned … for inspiration.” Naturally, the school and its values were not the only catalysts in this Olympic reform but the part the sport and the school played in its inception is undeniable.

A way of life

Like many other sports, it goes without saying that rugby teaches us all a lesson in determination and passion. That very often, it will get worse before it gets better. It teaches us discipline, respect and sportsmanship: no matter how rough the game may get, you shake your opponents’ hands. Off the pitch, you are all equal. For people who play rugby regularly, it becomes a way of life. When you’re not playing on the pitch, you’re playing rugby-themed games online or on your console. You wear your favourite player’s gear day in, day out until it frays and even then you’ll use it as your pyjama. Your desktop wallpaper, calendar, mug for coffees in the morning – heck, even the cake topper when you got married consisted of goal posts and a groom throwing his wife over (that didn’t go down too well with the bride). At a deeper level, the values the sport teaches you are passed on from one generation to the next and the rugby code is the code you live by.

A Country United

To carry on with the subject of values, rugby has perhaps also given the world one of the most beautiful contributions: it helped heal and unite the divided country of South Africa. For almost half a century, South Africa operated under apartheid, a set of laws meant to segregate black and white South Africans. These laws made it abundantly clear that racial discrimination was a must, making it illegal to disregard them. Mixing was strongly discouraged and this festered to a point where there were brawls in the street and people were sent to prison. When Nelson Mandela, became president from freedom fighter, he sought to reconcile the nation but this came as no easy feat. He found that despite having one national rugby team, the black population booed the all-white Springboks. However there was one small grain of hope – both sides had a passion for the sport and Mandela used this shared love to unite the nation. In 1995, for the first time in history, both white and black attendees cheered their teams collectively and watched as South Africa won the game against New Zealand. The photograph of Nelson Mandela captured shaking hands with the then captain Francois Pienaar holds perhaps the same sentimental value of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the celebrations at the end of both world wars.

While rugby has it origins from hundreds of years ago, it was such a different game then that it would not be fair to say that rugby gave birth to other kinds of sports. In a way, it would be more correct to say that rugby evolved differently in different parts of the world, adapting to the audience and what they enjoy playing and viewing most. There are obvious similarities of course between American Football and Rugby, for example, and it is not unheard of that NFL players try their hand at rugby too, but one must not forget that even rugby is split in Rugby Union and Rugby League. To each his own.

The lessons we have learnt, both individually and as nations from rugby are innumerable and hard to quantify. In its own way, it has shaped us particularly because we love the sport but it has also given something to those who don’t. It is indeed a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen, where players for the most part do not have over-inflated egos like so many players in other popular sports. It is a hard game, which is why it only attracts the people who truly have a passion for it. It is why, in my humble opinion, there is no other sport in the world which exhibits as much candour, determination and love for the game as much as rugby (whatever version you prefer) does.