1. Home
  2. Sports
  3. Rugby
  4. Facts & Trivia

Rugby Trivia

Rugby has long been played in the shadow of other international sports, although not in the eyes of its millions of global fans.

General Rugby Trivia

Rugby has long been played in the shadow of other international sports, although not in the eyes of its millions of global fans. Like any other sport, Rugby has accumulated a rich lore of its own over the years, ranging from the mildly interesting, to the downright odd.

Up first in our report of rugby facts trivia is where the game name originated. Rugby School, an exclusive prep school in England is a likely source.

Rugby Facts

  1. A widely believed story is that the game was invented by a student at Rugby School who had a habit of picking up the ball and running it to the goal.
  2. The highest scoring international rugby union player in history is Johnny Wilkinson from England with 1152 career points.
  3. The origin of the distinctive shape of the rugby ball is easier to establish. All the original balls were fashioned by a shoemaker named William Gilbert who lived near Rugby School. The first balls were simply inflated pigs bladders, which take on a distinctive oblong oval shape when fully inflated.
  4. This report of rugby facts trivia would not be complete without the longest game in history.It took place on October 7, 2011 and lasted for 24 hours and 30 minutes and 6 seconds. The contest was between the Mali Lions and Congleton Bears clubs. The Lions won 894-715.

Rugby Facts Trivia Report

  1. Somewhat surprisingly, considering the game's indisputably English origins, the first official rugby club was actually at the University of Dublin in Ireland.
  2. While much of rugby facts trivia is history and figures, some are self-explanatory. For example, a try is so called because in the early days of the sport, getting the ball over the line did not win points, it only gave the team who made one the chance to try a kick on goal.
  3. The International Rugby Union game with the Highest Rugby Score in history was played in October 1994, with Hong Kong beating Singapore 164-13.
  4. The biggest lead in the history of the International Rugby Union was taken by Argentina over Paraguay in May 2002. They won 152-0

Rugby Facts Trivia
Continued

  1. Rugby is the dominant sport in such commonwealth countries as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
  2. New Zealand is the little superpower of world rugby. They are tied with Australia with 3 finals and 2 wins since 1987.The New Zealand National team, the All-Blacks, was founded in the 1880's, before the country was even independent.
  3. The native Maori of New Zealand found the game well adapted to their warrior culture, and make up a large percentage of All Blacks players even today.
  4. Completing the kiwi-related Rugby is this tale. As if facing the All Blacks, with their contingent of fearless 200-pound native warriors with face tattoos was not intimidating enough, the team adopted a Maori war chant tradition, Haka, in 1884. Called the Kora, the primal ritual is performed before every game.
  5. One last piece of rugby facts trivia. While the USA is not known as fertile ground for rugby, it was technically the reigning world champion for over 60 years. The USA team took the gold medal in Rugby at the 1924 Olympics, after which the sport was dropped from the competition. Until the first Rugby world cup in 1987, the absence of any other international competitions left the USA champions by default.

Related Content