A Brief History of Rugby

Fun Facts, Stats, Quotes and Trivia

1970s-1990s The 1970's was described as the 'Decade of the Dragon', a period when Wales fielded teams with some of the greatest players who ever played the game. This rich vein of players filtered through to the British and Irish Lions who proved to be formidable opponents when touring New Zealand [1971] and South Africa [1974]. As amateur players these teams were often a combination of hard working coal miners and well-educated city professionals.

Maybe the greatest advance during this period was the evolution of the Rugby World Cup. Concepts and formats had been touted for many years and in 1987 the first edition of this global sporting event took place in New Zealand. This inevitably transitioned to professional rugby, a major development of the modern game which has provided such rich pickings for A Brief History of Rugby.