Extract from Chapter 3: ‘The codes come of age’ | Rugby in the mid-1860s
While the FA’s game was making its early, unsteady progress, rugby also continued its evolution from public-school curiosity to adult pastime. By the mid-1860s, there were around 20 rugby clubs in the London area alone. Most games in and around the capital were played on public parks, and were often disrupted by spectators wandering onto the playing area. Clubs eventually began to use enclosed playing fields, with barriers to keep onlookers at bay.
Rugby was also continuing to catch on in parts of northern England. After a few years of informal rucking, a group of young men in Bradford, mostly former students at Brabham College, founded Bradford FC in 1866, adopting the Rugby School rules. A rugby club was formed in Rochdale in November 1867; a few years later, its junior sections merged to create Rochdale Hornets. Near Manchester, clubs were set up in Swinton in 1866 and in Broughton three years later. Ex-pupils of St Peter’s School formed the York Amateurs club in 1868, and clubs following some sort of rugby code were also established in Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds and Preston during this period. Darlington Cricket Club began playing rugby in 1863, with some rules that would later become standard: hacking was banned and the teams were 15-a-side, five fewer than the usual number.
When a Blackheath vs Richmond match in November 1866 was cancelled because of fog, the two teams held a meeting to discuss potential rule changes. Both clubs had been badly hit by injuries, many of them blamed on hacking. They agreed that unnecessary hacking should be eliminated; the same decision was also reached at Rugby School soon afterwards.
Rugby was starting to resemble its modern forms, but still had no standard rules. Blackheath and Richmond were seen as the game’s standard-bearers in the London area, and Rugby School still had some clout. Some northern clubs, though, paid little attention to anyone else’s ideas about how the game should be played. Many of their members had not played it at school, and either did not know, or chose to ignore, the intricacies of its traditional rules and customs. Local rules sprang up all over the region; Hull FC even had a law against standing on the crossbar to block an attempt on goal.
Rugby was also continuing to catch on in parts of northern England. After a few years of informal rucking, a group of young men in Bradford, mostly former students at Brabham College, founded Bradford FC in 1866, adopting the Rugby School rules. A rugby club was formed in Rochdale in November 1867; a few years later, its junior sections merged to create Rochdale Hornets. Near Manchester, clubs were set up in Swinton in 1866 and in Broughton three years later. Ex-pupils of St Peter’s School formed the York Amateurs club in 1868, and clubs following some sort of rugby code were also established in Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds and Preston during this period. Darlington Cricket Club began playing rugby in 1863, with some rules that would later become standard: hacking was banned and the teams were 15-a-side, five fewer than the usual number.
When a Blackheath vs Richmond match in November 1866 was cancelled because of fog, the two teams held a meeting to discuss potential rule changes. Both clubs had been badly hit by injuries, many of them blamed on hacking. They agreed that unnecessary hacking should be eliminated; the same decision was also reached at Rugby School soon afterwards.
Rugby was starting to resemble its modern forms, but still had no standard rules. Blackheath and Richmond were seen as the game’s standard-bearers in the London area, and Rugby School still had some clout. Some northern clubs, though, paid little attention to anyone else’s ideas about how the game should be played. Many of their members had not played it at school, and either did not know, or chose to ignore, the intricacies of its traditional rules and customs. Local rules sprang up all over the region; Hull FC even had a law against standing on the crossbar to block an attempt on goal.