I here that Rugby Union is popular in South of England while Rugby League is popular in North of England… Why is this?
What are the main differences for the split?
I’m from Australia, in Melbourne so a non Rugby League or Union playing state… I here in Australia that Union is played mainly by Rich Private School boys while lower class is League?… Same in England?
Correct me if I’m wrong about Australian Rugby routes as I pleed ignorance being in a Non Rugby state
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The reason for the initial split between Rugby Union and Rugby League goes back to the late 1890s. The feeling amongst the northern clubs (located in the industrial part of England) was that players should be compensated for any time they lost off work as a result of injuries. The southern clubs, where the base was more in the upper and middle class schools, were opposed to any sort of payment made to players.
Thee northern clubs choose to split off and for their own “Rugby League” which (as the southern clubs had feared) quickly went to an entirely and openly professional basis. It also brought in a number of rule changes intended to simplify the game (eliminating lineouts, the downs-to-score system and eventually uncontested scrums) for the casual fan in order to put paying customers in the seats at club games. Unfortunate, because (at least IMHO) these changes worked to the detriment of the game and explain why League has such an insignificant international presence.
Anyway, the RFU fought compensating players tooth-and-nail for 80-odd years until they (and the IRB) bowed to the inevitable (and “shamateurism”) and went openly professional in 1995. But in the meantime the “tradition” had been established that Union was an upper class game while League was for working men. A totally obsolete view in this day and age, but of course these traditions die hard.