The legend of the creation of rugby was that in 1823 William Webb Ellis, a student at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England picked up the ball with his hands during a football (soccer) match and ran with it. Whether that's true or not, the rules of the sport were first formally codified by the students at the school in 1845. Which of those details were you aware of?

In 1871 the Rugby Football Union was created to standardize the rules of the sport which by that point was played throughout the British Isles. The first international match, England vs Scotland, was played in that year. Since 1879 an annual game is played between the two countries for the Calcutta Cup, the oldest trophy in world rugby. If you had to pick, which team would you support in that match?

In 1895 came the great split. Matches were played on Saturdays and in the more affluent south of England where workers had a five day work week this wasn't a problem. But in northern England many workers and miners still had a six day work week. To play they would have to take an unpaid day off of work, which they couldn't afford. Clubs in the north would pay their players to make up for the lost wages. The Rugby Football Union refused to allow this, declaring that those players were now "professional", and demanding the practice immediately stop. 22 northern clubs broke away to form their own structure, and this version of the sport is now called Rugby League. Which group would you have sided with?

The women's rugby union team of England, the Red Roses, had a 41 game unbeaten streak, dating back to 2023. But on October 16th and 23rd they played in Toronto, and then Ottawa, losing both games to the Canadian women's team. What do you prefer in sports?

One modern version of rugby league is called Masters Rugby League, and it's for men age 35 and up. Tackling is age based, and age is indicated by short colours. Ages 35-39 wear white shorts and 40-49 wear black, with those players engaging in full contact tackles. Players ages 50-59 are in red, with tackles involving them being a firm two handed grab stopping forward motion. Older players (60-69 in gold, 70-79 in blue, 80-89 in green) have velcro tags on their shorts which is how they are tackled, and they stop younger players by simply tagging them. The idea is that everybody can play, and nobody should get hurt. The very short video attached shows some of the basics. (Full disclosure - that's me scoring for Canada against Wales at 1:08). Have you ever played any version of rugby?

From October 15th to November 15th the Rugby League World Cup is being held in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. The RLWC incorporates a men's tourney, a women's tourney, and ... a wheelchair tourney! Were you aware that wheelchair rugby exists?