Rugby Football Union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Rugby Football Union

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the governing body for

rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871 and was the
sport's international governing body prior to the formation of
what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It
promotes and runs the sport, organises international matches
for the England national team and educates and trains players
and officials.
The RFU is an industrial and provident society owned by over
2,000 member clubs,[3] representing over 2.5 million
registered players,[4] 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,
London.
In September 2010 the women's rugby body the Rugby
Football Union for Women (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.

Contents
1 Early history (1800s)
1.1 Formation
1.2 The secession of the northern clubs
Rugby Football League
2 The modern era (1970 present)
3 Structure
4 RFU World Championship winning teams (6)
4.1 England Men's Senior Team
4.2 England Women's Senior Team
4.3 England Men's under-20
4.4 England Men's Sevens
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Rugby Football Union

Sport

Rugby union

Founded

1871

WR affiliation

1890

Rugby Europe
affiliation

1999[1]

Patron

Queen Elizabeth II

Chairman

Bill Beaumont[2]

President

Paul Murphy[2]

Men's coach

Stuart Lancaster

Women's coach

Gary Street

Sevens coach

Simon Amor

Official website

www.rfu.com
(http://www.rfu.com/)

Early history (1800s)

Formation

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On 4 December 1870, Edwin Ash of Richmond and Benjamin Burns of

Blackheath published a letter in The Times 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 on Regent Street.
The 21 clubs present at the meeting were: Blackheath (represented by
The First England Team, 1871, in the
Burns and Frederick Stokes, the latter becoming the first captain of
1st international, vs Scotland in
England),[5] Richmond, Ravenscourt Park, West Kent, Marlborough
Edinburgh, Scotland won by 1 goal &
Nomads, Wimbledon Hornets, Gipsies, Civil Service, The Law Club,
1 try to 1 try
Wellington College, Guys Hospital, Flamingoes, Clapham Rovers,
Harlequin F.C., King's College Hospital, St Paul's, Queens House,
Lausanne, Addison, Mohicans, and Belsize Park. The one notable omission was the Wasps. 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.

Plaque marking the foundation

location of the RFU

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 in Huddersfield, next to the railway
station. They voted to secede from the Rugby Football Union and set up the Northern Rugby Football Union
(later to be renamed 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 received any compensation. These players were barred indefinitely 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 its existence.

The modern era (1970 present)

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.

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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.
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.

Structure
In response to the faltering results of the England National Team on August 18, 2006 Rob Andrew 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. 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.[6]

RFU World Championship winning teams (6)

England Men's Senior Team
2003

England Women's Senior Team

1994, 2014

England Men's under-20

2013, 2014

England Men's Sevens

1993

See also
Army Rugby Union
County Championship
Rugby union in England

References

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1. Official Site of FIRA (http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com

/article_detail.php?article=80&modeAf=tableauFormulaire)
2. "Beaumont appointed RFU Chairman" (http://www.rfu.com/news/2012
/july/newsarticles/080712_bb_chairman). RFU.com. Retrieved 11 July
2012.
3. "Careers and Vacancies at the RFU" (http://www.rfu.com/AboutTheRFU
/CareersAndVacancies). Rugby Football Union.
4. "International Rugby Board - England" (http://www.irb.com/unions
/union=11000002/index.html). International Rugby Board.
5. Steve Lewis, One Among Equals, page 9, 2008, (Vertical
Editions:London)
6. "Rob Andrew's role at RFU scrapped in overhaul" (http://news.bbc.co.uk
/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/9338500.stm). BBC News. 2011-01-06.
Retrieved 2014-07-29.

Collins, Tony (2009); A Social History of English Rugby Union,

Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-47660-7.

External links
Official website (http://www.rfu.com)
Official RFU Clubs Website (http://clubs.rfu.com/Clubs)
Army Rugby Union (http://www.aru.mod.uk)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org
/w/index.php?title=Rugby_Football_Union&oldid=651275106"
Categories: 1871 establishments in England
Organisations based in Richmond upon Thames
Rugby union governing bodies in England
Rugby union governing bodies in Europe
Sports governing bodies in England World Rugby members

Re-excommunication: political
cartoon by J. M. Staniforth. The
Rugby Football Union is represented
as a religious cabal, dispelling Arthur
'Monkey' Gould from their 'church'
over 'The Gould Affair'. Gould,
wearing his Newport jersey appears
unconcerned regarding their actions.

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