Rugby Football Union - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

RFU redirects here. For DNA testing, see: Relative fluorescence units
Relative fluorescence units
The terms "relative fluorescence units" and "RFU peak" refer to measurements in electrophoresis methods, such as for DNA analysis. A "relative fluorescence unit" is a unit of measurement used in analysis which employs fluorescence detection...

.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board

International Rugby Board

The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...

(IRB) in 1886. It has since functioned within England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

as a society to promote and run the sport, including organising international matches for the England national team

England national rugby union team

The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

, educating and training players and officials and acting as the governing body for England.

The RFU is structured as an industrial and provident society

Industrial and Provident Society

An industrial and provident society is a legal entity for a trading business or voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand...

, owned by over 2,000 member clubs, representing over 2.5 million registered players, and forms the largest rugby union society in the world, and one of the largest sports organisations in England. It is based at Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...

, London.

In September 2010 the women's rugby body the Rugby Football Union for Women

Rugby Football Union for Women

The Rugby Football Union for Women is the governing body for women's rugby union in England. Its headquarters are at Twickenham Stadium, London.-History:Women's rugby union was first played seriously in Great Britain in the late 1970’s...

(RFUW) was integrated into the RFU as a "constituent body", and whilst it retains some independence within the organisation, its adoption of RFU structures and management effectively unify the men's and women's sport under a single governing body.

History

Formation of the first Rugby Union

On 4 December 1870, Edwin Ash of Richmond

Richmond F.C.

Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs...

and Benjamin Burns of Blackheath published a letter in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

suggesting that "those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play." On 26 January 1871 a meeting attended by representatives from 21 clubs was held in London at the Pall Mall Restaurant

Pall Mall Restaurant

The Pall Mall Restaurant was a hostelry situated at Number 1 Cockspur Street, Westminster, London, just off Pall Mall and near Trafalgar Square...

on Regent Street

Regent Street

Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...

.

The 21 clubs present at the meeting were: Blackheath (represented by Burns and Frederick Stokes, the latter becoming the first captain of England

England national rugby union team

), Richmond

Richmond F.C.

Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs...

, Ravenscourt Park

Ravenscourt Park Football Club

Ravenscourt Park was a short lived 19th century rugby football club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union, as well as producing a number of international players in the sport's early international fixtures.-History:Ravenscourt Park was founded...

, West Kent

West Kent Football Club

The West Kent Football Club was a short-lived 19th century rugby football club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union, as well as producing a number of international players in the sport's early international fixtures.-History:West Kent were...

, Marlborough Nomads

Marlborough Nomads

The Marlborough Nomads was a 19th century rugby football club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union, as well as producing a number of international players in the sport's early international fixtures....

, Wimbledon Hornets

Wimbledon RFC

Wimbledon Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from Wimbledon, London. The club was a founding member of the Rugby Football Union and were at that time known as the Wimbledon Hornets.-History:Wimbledon’s first recorded match was against Richmond F.C...

, Gipsies

Gipsies Football Club

The Gipsies Football Club was a short lived 19th century rugby football club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union, as well as producing a number of international players in the sport's early international fixtures.-History:The Gipsies...

, Civil Service, The Law Club

Law FC

Law, or The Law Club as they were also known was a 19th century football club that fielded teams playing by rugby football codes. It is notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union and for producing in a very short life span, a number of international...

, Wellington College

Wellington College, Berkshire

-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...

, Guy’s Hospital

Guy's, Kings and St. Thomas' Rugby Football Club

Guy's, Kings and St. Thomas' Rugby Football Club is the name given to the modern amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history, having all been founded in the nineteenth century. The teams from Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital were the first to merge...

, Flamingoes, Clapham Rovers, Harlequin F.C.

Harlequin F.C.

The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...

, King's College Hospital, St Paul's, Queen’s House

Queen's House Football Club

Queen's House was a 19th century rugby football club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union, as well as producing a number of international players in the sport's early international fixtures.-History:...

, Lausanne

Lausanne Football Club (Dulwich)

Lausanne was a 19th century football club that fielded teams playing both the association football and rugby football codes. It is notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union.-History:...

, Addison

Addison Football Club

Addison was a 19th century football club that played football by the rugby football codes. It is notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union.-History:...

, Mohicans

Mohicans Football Club

Mohicans was a 19th century football club that played football by the rugby football codes. It is notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union.-History:...

, and Belsize Park

Belsize Park Football Club

Belsize Park was a short-lived 19th century rugby football club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union...

. The one notable omission was the Wasps

London Wasps

London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...

. According to one version, a Wasps' representative was sent to attend the meeting, but owing to a misunderstanding, was sent to the wrong venue at the wrong time on the wrong day; another version is that he went to a venue of the same name where, after consuming a number of drinks, he realised his mistake but was too drunk to make his way to the correct venue.

As a result of this meeting the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was founded. Algernon Rutter was elected as the first president of the RFU and Edwin Ash was elected as treasurer. Three lawyers who were Rugby School alumni (Rutter, Holmes and L.J. Maton) drew up the first laws of the game which were approved in June 1871.

Although similar unions were organised during the next few years in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, France, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, the RFU was the first and therefore had no need to distinguish itself from others by calling itself the English RFU.

Participation in the IRFB

Until 1885, the laws of rugby union were made by the RFU. However, following a disputed try in an international between Scotland and England, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales founded the International Rugby Football Board. England refused to take part, stating that they should have greater representation, as they have more clubs.

In 1890, England joined the IRFB.

The secession of the northern clubs – Rugby Football League

On 29 August 1895, 22 rugby clubs from across the north of England held a meeting in the George Hotel

George Hotel, Huddersfield

The George Hotel, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, situated in the centre of the city, is a Grade II listed building famous as the birthplace of rugby league football....

in Huddersfield, next to the railway station. They voted to secede from the Rugby Football Union and set up the Northern Rugby Football Union

Rugby Football League

The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...

(later to be re-named the "Rugby Football League"). The RFU took strong action against the clubs involved in the formation of the NRFU, all of whom were deemed to have forfeited their amateur status and therefore to have left the RFU. A similar interpretation was applied to all players who played either for or against such clubs, whether or not they themselves received any compensation. Such players were effectively barred sine die from any involvement in organised rugby union. These comprehensive and enduring sanctions, combined with the very localised nature of most rugby competition, meant that most northern clubs had little practical option but to affiliate with the NRFU in the first few years of it existence. Discrimination against rugby league players could verge on the petty – even as late as the 1970s an English rugby union club was instructed to dismiss a cleaner who was married to a professional rugby league player.

The modern era

The RFU long resisted competitions and leagues fearing that they would encourage foul play and professionalism. The first club competition, then known as the R.F.U Club Competition first took place in 1972. Following a sponsorship agreement it became known as the John Player Cup in 1976

The RFU agreed to the formation of a league pyramid in 1987.

In 2003, the RFU began talks about a merger with the governing body for women's rugby union the RFUW

Rugby Football Union for Women

. After five years of discussion it was announced that the two bodies will "integrate" (rather than merge) from September 2010, with the RFUW remaining in existence as a "Constituent Body" within the RFU.

International connections

Since 1890 the RFU has recognised the International Rugby Board

International Rugby Board

as the world governing and law-making body for the game of Rugby Union. Other countries' governing bodies are often called by a similar name for example, Irish Rugby Football Union

Irish Rugby Football Union

The Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...

(IRFU). See the IRB

International Rugby Board

article for a full list of National Rugby Unions.

Director of Elite Rugby

In response to the faltering results of the England National Team on August 18, 2006 Rob Andrew

Rob Andrew

Christopher Robert "Rob" Andrew MBE , nicknamed "Squeaky", is a former English rugby union footballer and currently Director of Operations at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons. As a player, Andrew was assured in his kicking and defensive skills off both feet...

was appointed by the RFU to undertake the post of Director of Elite Rugby to oversee all aspects of representative rugby in England, from the regional academies to the full senior side, including senior team selection powers and the power to hire and fire coaches at all levels of English rugby. Rob also has the task of building bridges with the premiership clubs and the RFU in terms of players withdrawal from their club duties for international duties.

Streamlining of RFU Structure

On 6 January 2011, Rob Andrew's role as director of elite rugby at the Rugby Football Union was scrapped in an overhaul of the organisation's structure.

Chief executive John Steele opted to create a single rugby department divided into the areas of performance, operations and development with the emphasis on "delivering rugby at all levels", with each area having its own director.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Formation of the first Rugby Union

Participation in the IRFB

The secession of the northern clubs – Rugby Football League

The modern era

International connections

Director of Elite Rugby

Streamlining of RFU Structure

See also

External links