Leisure Kicks - The essencial sport and leisure guide

Rugby (both league and union) evolved from the sport of football. Rugby League evolved as a result of a split from the Rugby Football Union in 1895 over the issue of payments to players for ‘broken time’ – essentially compensation for the loss of working hours. However, the sport would not officially become the Rugby League until 1922.  After the initial split, the rules were then gradually changed in order to produce a more entertaining game that would appeal to spectators. The line-out was abolished and the number of players was reduced from 15 to 13. The sport became hugely popular and by the time the 1954 Challenge Cup rolled around, the game was attracting hundreds of thousands of fans watching the games. 

The Engage Super League in Europe and the Australian National Rugby League are the premier club competitions. Super League's Grand Final takes place at Old Trafford in early October while the Challenge Cup Final is held at Wembley Stadium in late August every year. Rugby League is played throughout the world and the current World Cup holders are New Zealand.

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The 1930 Australian rugby league team perform their pre-match war cry
Wikimedia Commons