History of rugby leagueThe history of rugby league as a separate form of rugby football goes back to 1895 in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire when the Northern Rugby Football Union broke away from England's established Rugby Football Union to administer its own separate competition. Similar schisms occurred later in Australia and New Zealand in 1907. Gradually the rugby played in these breakaway competitions evolved into a distinctly separate sport that took its name from the professional leagues that administered it.
Rugby ballA rugby ball is an elongated ellipsoidal ball used in both codes of rugby football. Its measurements and weight are specified by World Rugby and the Rugby League International Federation, the governing bodies for both codes, rugby union and rugby league respectively. The rugby ball has an oval shape, four panels and a weight of about 400 grams. It is often confused with some balls of similar dimensions used in American, Canadian and Australian football. William Gilbert and Richard Lindon started making footballs for the neighbouring Rugby School in 1823.
Professional sportsIn professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations or teams can command large incomes. As a result, more sportspeople can afford to make sport their primary career, devoting the training time necessary to increase skills, physical condition, and experience to modern levels of achievement.
Rugby sevensRugby sevens (commonly known as simply sevens and originally known as seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months.
SelbySelby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. In the 2021 UK Census it had a population recorded at 19,760. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. From 1974 to 2023 the town was the administrative centre of the Selby District. Selby once had a large shipbuilding industry and was an important port on the Selby Canal, which brought trade from Leeds. The town's origins date from the establishment of a Viking settlement on the banks of the River Ouse.
Australia national rugby union teamThe Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the touring British Isles team. Australia have competed in all nine Rugby World Cups, winning the final on two occasions and also finishing as runner-up twice. Australia beat England at Twickenham in the final of the 1991 Rugby World Cup and won again in 1999 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff when their opponents in the final were France.
