William Webb Ellis: Legacy of rugby ‘inventor’ thrust into spotlight as sport returns to birthplace

Before teams from around the world converge on England for the Rugby World Cup, Geoffrey Riddle takes a look back through history at the town credited with the creation of rugby union.

A statue of William Webb Ellis, who is widely credited with inventing the game of rugby, stands outside Rugby School in Rugby, England. Neil Hall / Reuters

RUGBY, ENGLAND // Tucked away in an unremarkable corner of the private church inside the grounds of Rugby School is a small wooden figurine holding a ball that cuts unceremoniously out of a dark pew.

The light streaming through the large stained-glass windows does not fall on it. With plaques commemorating the memories of Alice In Wonderland author Lewis Carroll and First World War poet Rupert Brooke dotted around the church any visitor could easily miss it.

And yet, this little carving should really be seen as a symbol for rugby union and act as a shrine inside this church for the sport worldwide.

A carved rugby ball perched high above the church’s organ is the only other motif to the oval-ball sport, which was allegedly started here in 1823 by a schoolboy who would eventually grow up to become a vicar and will be associated with the sport forever.

According to one flimsy source, while playing an early form of the game William Webb Ellis broke a long-standing rule by catching the ball and running with it on The Close, a pitch that stands adjacent to this church.

By doing so, Webb Ellis changed the course of history. He initiated a sequence of events that has resulted in 20 teams from the world arriving in England ready to play for the trophy that bears his name in the Rugby World Cup that starts on Friday night at Twickenham.

Whether or not Webb Ellis was entirely responsible for the birth of rugby union is debatable.

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The source of the story appeared in the Rugby School magazine, Meteor, over 50 years later and was penned by Matthew Bloxam, a former pupil.

In those days rugby could be played by up to 170 boys and could go on for five days.

Whatever the actual details, what matters to those who live here is that the game was invented on the immaculate pitch on which the first XV still play.

“We do know that rugby was invented here, that is not up for debate,” Peter Green, the Rugby School headmaster, said.

William Webb Ellis was a pauper and was on a free place at the school, which currently costs over £30,000 (Dh171,177) a year to attend.

“He was an unlikely hero,” said Green.

Not content with simply inventing the game, Rugby School was also largely responsible for the proliferation of the sport throughout the world.

RJ Harman, who attended Rugby School, brought rugby union to New Zealand in 1850.

Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the sport spreading to Japan via Old Rugbeians and the founding of the Yokohoma Football Club.

The spread also influenced the creation of other sports such as American football and Australian Rules football, due to Tom Wills, an Australian, attending Rugby School.

And over the next few weeks the world will now return to England and this Warwickshire market town that boasts a population of just over 75,000.

There will be four tours of Rugby School per day during the Rugby World Cup, and the town has been singled out to host a Rugby World Cup Fan Zone.

In all, there are only 15 Fan Zones spread around the country during the tournament, with Bristol, a city of just under 500,000 people with a rugby team that has previously been in the Premiership and boasts former international talent such as Dwayne Peel, Gavin Henson, Tom Varndell and David Lemi, missing out.

For anybody from the UAE coming to the Rugby World Cup, the town is ready to receive you, and the inhabitants are at pains to try to make Rugby town more relevant to the sport and the world.

According to Visit Britain, nearby Stratford Upon Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, receives three times as many visitors per year in comparison to Rugby.

“We are proud, honoured and delighted that we are set to play a part in the Rugby World Cup,” Richard Dodd, Rugby’s mayor, said.

“Stratford may have Shakespeare but this is the recognised birthplace of a whole sport, and no other town in the world is named after a major sport.”

Looking at the fresh new visitors’ book in the Webb Ellis museum in the centre of town, in the last month tourists would have dotted the atlas all over.

People from Argentina, Japan, Australia the Philippines, the Netherlands, South Africa, France, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong, Germany, Hungary, USA, Uganda, Taiwan and Canada have all made the trip.

The world in union? Not quite.

Rugby has a long way to go before it is a truly global sport, but with this World Cup set to be the biggest yet that visitor’s book may well be full by the end of the year.

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