Girls Playing Rugby

1876 - Matthew Bloxam’s letter is published in "The Meteor". It claims William Webb Ellis, a pupil at Rugby School, picked up the ball and invented rugby. A Rugby Union inquiry in 1895 found no proof, although it decided to perpetuate the myth.
1877 - The number of players is reduced from 20 to 15 a side.
1883 - First Home Nations Championship between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
1886 - Concerned at the growing dominance of the largely working-class northern clubs, the Rugby Football Union introduces strict amateur rules.