Nevada Rugby - World of Rugby

While playing soccer at the Rugby School of England in 1823, William Webb Ellis picked up the ball in his hands and ran with it. This sparked an interest, leading to the creation of rugby. Cambridge University immediately adopted the game, popularized it and made local rules. The game grew popular at area schools and in 1871, 10 years after the common rules of soccer were set, the first Rugby Union was founded in London and firm rules of the game were established
In the U.S., the game emerged primarily on the West Coast. The lack of precise rules, ambiguities in the game and complexity of the sport drew a lot of U.S. players away from the game and major changes were invoked. In 1880, the scrum was replaced by a line of scrimmage, drawing emphasis from the free-running characteristic of the game. The game continued to play with rugby rules until 1905 where the publication of photographs of a harsh game between Sarthmore and Pennsylvania created a stir. President Theodore Roosevelt insisted on reform of the game to lower the brutality with threat of abolishing the game by edict. In 1906, the forward pass was introduced to the U.S. game. The rules of rugby died. Thus the game of American football was born.
Rugby continued to flourish elsewhere, especially Britain, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Although a handful of clubs remained in the U.S., rugby did not reemerge until the 1960s. College campuses turned to the sport because it was one where many could play and escape the rigid discipline and professionalism inherent in college football. The sport is now played in over 80 countries.