Timeline of The Foundation of National Rugby Unions
The first national rugby union was the Rugby Football Union, founded in England in 1871. This was followed over the next decade by the Scottish Football Union (1873, later SRU), Irish Rugby Football Union (1879) and Welsh Rugby Union (1881). In Australia, the Southern Rugby Union (later the New South Wales Rugby Union) and the Northern Rugby Union (later the Queensland Rugby Union) were formed in 1874 and 1883 respectively, before eventually helping form the Australian Rugby Union in 1949. Both South Africa and New Zealand formed their Unions before the end of the 19th century. The white South African Rugby Board merged with the non-racial South African Rugby Union in 1992 following the fall of apartheid. The other major rugby power, France, formed the French Rugby Federation in 1919.
Other notable foundations are Argentina (1899), Fiji (1913), Tonga (1923), Samoa (1923), Japan (1926), Italy (1928), the Rugby Union of the Soviet Union (1936), Hong Kong (1953) Canada (1965) and USA (1975).
Some of the pre-1925 foundations may be more surprising to those who speak of "traditional rugby playing nations": Rhodesia/Zimbabwe (1895), Germany (1900), Ceylon/Sri Lanka (1908), Morocco (1916), Malaya/Malaysia (1921), Catalonia (1922, later disbanded by Francisco Franco), Spain (1923) and Kenya (1923)
Many minor governing bodies have been set up in recent years, with the most recent being Jordan (2007), Ecuador (2008), Turkey (2009) and the United Arab Emirates (2010).
Read more about this topic: History Of Rugby Union
Famous quotes containing the words foundation, national and/or unions:
“A face is too slight a foundation for happiness.”
—Mary Wortley, Lady Montagu (1689–1762)
“Thinking is the most unhealthy thing in the world, and people die of it just as they die of any other disease. Fortunately, in England at any rate, thought is not catching. Our splendid physique as a people is entirely due to our national stupidity.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“When Hitler attacked the Jews ... I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned. Then, Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church—and there was nobody left to be concerned.”
—Martin Niemller (1892–1984)