Rugby League Merchandise – A History of the Australian Football League

The origins of the Australian Football League (AFL) can be traced back to 1896 when 8 teams decided to split from the Victorian Football Association (VFA) to form the Victorian Football  League (VFL). The VFA had been formed in 1877 but organised Australian Rules Football had been played in Victoria long before that with the first documented game taking place in August 1858 between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar. In 1897 Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne contested the first VFL season with Essendon winning the first premiership.

St Kilda struggled in the new league losing their first 48 games before finally breaking through in the 1st round of the 1900 season defeating Melbourne by 1 point.  The game finished with the scores deadlocked on 68 points apiece but St Kilda successfully argued that one of Melbourne’s points had been scored after the three-quarter time bell so the game was awarded to St Kilda. Success for the Saints was short-lived though with St Kilda losing their remaining 13 games in 1900 and their first 12 games in 1901 before posting another victory.

Round 1 of 1903 saw Geelong defeat St Kilda by 50 points meaning that St Kilda had managed to win only 2 of their first 100 League games.  But by round 6 that same year something had changed.  St Kilda started winning and finished the year in 5th position on the ladder with 6 wins just missing out on the Final Four.  Read more... (1595 words, estimated 6:23 mins reading time)

September 2nd, 2010 by admin
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The Legend Of Rugby

‘This stone remembers the exploit of William Webb Ellis who with a fine disregard for the guidelines of soccer, as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the special feature of the Rugby game A.D.  1823′

The game of Rugby has a superb history that is steeped in customs of the ages.  Rough and tumble games involving multiple players on each side fighting to get possession of a ball made from a pig’s bladder stuffed with air and transport it to a marker at one end of a patch of ground can be traced into the middle ages.  Frequently these games have Celtic and Viking origins.  Otherwise, they can be traced back to the Romans.  However , these games came to be, we do know that the folks of Britain had a passion for playing them.  

There wasn’t any formal set of rules to regularize these games.  Instead, the local players were known to make up there own rules on the spot.  Because these games were so coarse and people were so regularly hurt, maimed or even rubbed out in the playing of them, the law began taking measures to outlaw the playing of such games.  

The laws went as far as to make it illegal to play on public roads or public lands.  The laws did not discourage people from collaborating in sporting events.  It just meant that the games were moved from public lands to personal lands.  College became popular venues for such sports events because they had massive enough tracts of land for playing, and because giant numbers of boys and younger guys were picked up there.    Read more... (646 words, estimated 2:35 mins reading time)

August 27th, 2010 by admin
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A Guide To Rugby In Yorkshire

Yorkshire rugby has been played since 1877 and in this year the committee of the Yorkshire County Football Club issued a knock-out tournament the first of its kind in the UK. Competing for a trophy appealed to the public of Yorkshire and therefore the local Yorkshire Rugby teams all fought it out to be the best team in Yorkshire. All the proceeds from the match were given to local charities a tradition that is no longer seen today, but most of the profit made by both team and players are contributed to local and national charities.

In the first season of Yorkshire Rugby 16 teams played for the T’owd Tin Pot which was finally won by Halifax. The trophy is known as the T’owd Tin Pot due to the Yorkshire accent. The cup is still in play today and is still competed for by teams within the Rugby Football Union. The trophy was won by the Yorkshire Rugby team Morley Rugby Club just before World War II broke out and was kept safe and unharmed under the secretary’s bed for the duration of the war.

Yorkshire Rugby is very proud of their local teams and of all the silverware they have collected over the years bringing them into an international standard league of teams. Leeds Rhinos for example are currently the European Super League champions, making sure Yorkshire Rugby stays on the map. Yorkshire Rugby is proud to present many successful teams all in their own right earning their way to the top of the league tables but as a whole representing Yorkshire Rugby. Yorkshire Rugby is home to the Bradford Bulls, Castleford Tigers, Wakefield Trinity Wild Cats and the Featherstone Rovers all being a success for both their local area and for Yorkshire Rugby.  Read more... (501 words, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

August 17th, 2010 by admin
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Rugby Enthusiasm!

As summer draws nearer the majority of people want to spend more time outside.  Children at school long for the summer holidays to start and people in offices yearn for weekend gardening or barbeques.  When the weather starts to get warmer there is often a desire to take up new outdoor activities and sports.  Some like to go cycling or to go on long walks.  Others decide to join a local sports club or team.  Rugby may have its origins in several football games which were played during the 19th century; these sorts of games had been enjoyed by generations, and were generally specific to certain areas or schools.  In the middle of the 19th century the rules of rugby football were officially formulated, and the Rugby Football Union was then started in 1871.  Over time, rugby has become less of an amateur game (although it is enjoyed by hundreds of young people and adults alike!) and there are now professional players.

A lot of people will be looking to start up a new sport this year, and rugby appeals to large numbers of youngsters.  Finding a local team shouldn’t prove too difficult in most places, and these clubs should have the necessarily rugby training equipment to help new comers to the game develop their skills.  There are a number of high street and online stores which sell rugby training equipment.  As in a lot of circumstances, sometimes the best deals are to be found on the internet, but buyers should ensure they use a reputable site when purchasing rugby training equipment online.  Read more... (508 words, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

August 7th, 2010 by admin
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Donnacha Ryan Autographed Ireland Rugby Football Club 8×10 Photo, COA Guaranteeing the Authenticity of This Signature.


Product Description
This is a Donnacha Ryan autographed 8×10 photo. Donnacha has signed the photo in blue sharpie for us. This signature is not a replica or a preprint autograph, this is a authentic autographed obtained directly from the ab… More >>
Donnacha Ryan Autographed Ireland Rugby Football Club 8×10 Photo, COA Guaranteeing the Authenticity of This Signature.

July 8th, 2010 by admin
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English Rugby ? History

Imbued in English culture is a love and creator of Sports of all kinds.

I have a website where I have listed and linked to the 100+ various sports and games created by us Brits. One of our favorite sports is Rugby Football which It is believed was first played in English villages up and down the country. There are stories that villager’s played against villager’s and the aim of the game was to get the ball passed the opposing village boundary line. The rules included kicking, punching, scratching the opposition over and above the running with the ball and kicking of the ball.

 

While it is true that such games as Rugby did exist for centuries, their may be a kernel of truth to the William Webb Ellis legend that a football match was being played when Web Ellis picked up the ball and created Rugby. As far as most historians can tell, the earliest form of football with much similarity to rugby as we know it today, did originate at Rugby School around Ellis’s time. Whether he was the actual creator of the game or the game simply evolved into something like the modern game during his time is still a point for debate.  Read more... (1247 words, estimated 4:59 mins reading time)

June 28th, 2010 by admin
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England Rugby League Launch New PUMA Kit

The PUMA® England Rugby League Kit has today been released for pre-order at www.RugbyLeagueOnline.co.uk for delivery on launch day 23rd April, St. George’s Day.

Will the 09/10 PUMA England Kit, be the one to see England claim their victory status back on home soil?

Roger Harrison, Marketing Director, PUMA UK said: “This is our fifth season in partnership with the RFL and believe that this innovative kit will give the team an added confidence on the field. We look forward to watching some great Rugby League in the Autumn domestic Internationals. Off the pitch the Shirt will look great on Supporters too.”

The first 50 Shirt orders will receive a signed autograph of Sam Burgess following the star’s photoshoot for the launch at Genesis in Manchester at the end of March.

Genesis Group International Ltd, the Exclusive Licensee for PRO Teamsports for PUMA (UK and Ireland) make the Technical Kit the England Team wear on field and are also the Official Merchandise Partner to the Rugby Football League.

Julie Orange, Marketing Manager, Genesis, states: “To celebrate the 09/10 England Kit launch, we are delighted to unveil the all new, easy to use website www.RugbyLeagueOnline.co.uk. In addition to the Replica Kit, supporters who play Rugby themselves can now buy their own PUMA Rugby Footwear and Equipment from the site.

“Due to demand, we’ve introduced the all new exclusive Leisurewear range too, that combines supporter merchandise with everyday wear, this alongside the PUMA England Trainingwear will be available to buy from the website over the coming weeks.”  Read more... (294 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)

June 18th, 2010 by admin
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The Twickenham Rugby Experience

Twickenham Stadium is the home of English Rugby Union. The stadium is the biggest Rugby Union stadium in the UK and the second largest stadium in the UK. It is only smaller than Wembley Stadium. Although the stadium is primarily used for Rugby Union fixtures it does also house a number of other events.


It has a long history as a venue for music concerts and has held a wide variety of bands such as Genesis, U2, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Iron Maiden and the Eagles. It has also played host to The Rugby League Challenge Cup Final, the Guinness Premiership final and the Middlesex sevens. The stadium is probably most notable for holding the England international rugby union test matches.


Twickenham Stadium is owned and run by the Rugby Football Union. As a result the stadium plays host to a large number of rugby fixtures each year and arguably the largest and most prestigious of these games are the visits of the English Rugby union team. The English team play all of their home fixtures at Twickenham. This is unique amongst the home nation rugby teams.


The other teams have a national stadium but they also use a variety of other stadiums to play their fixtures throughout a season and as a result the Twickenham stadium is particularly prestigious. The stadium is also home to England’s six nation matches and it invites teams that visit England to tour from the southern hemisphere. This typically happens every year and it usually takes place in November.  Read more... (578 words, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

June 8th, 2010 by admin
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