All you want to know about women’s rugby union is described right here in this article, because we know that you must be feeling that whether Women’s rugby is all the same like men’s? Don’t go anywhere to search the answer here we are going to clear every doubt you have about women’s rugby union in brief.
All You Want to Know About Women’s Rugby Union
Yes, women’s rugby union is identical to what men’s rugby union is. It has the same rules, the measurement of the ground is the same and there is absolutely no difference in the rugby ball with which women rugby union players play. The only different thing between them is the history about their games. Women’s rugby union history has been hidden for many years now may be because of some social issues or it has something to do with the overall image of rugby. But mind well, the women’s rugby union has gained handsome popularity in the last few years thanks to big tournaments organized by rugby playing nations.
History of Women’s Rugby Union
There is not the exact date of when the women started playing rugby, but it takes us back to 1881 when two teams of Scotland and Northern England played a rugby game. At that point of time it was hard to imagine women playing such a ‘violent’ game and there were incidents of rioting as well which ultimately forced the abandonment of those early games. As the previous century took turn, women’s rugby union became more and more possible and by 1921 there were plenty of women’s rugby games played. There was a game in Sydney played in the same year was witnessed by a crowd of 30000 people. Yet the struggle was on till late 1970s and early 1980s. The major women’s rugby union games were started playing in the 1980s in New Zealand, USA and Japan. Even Italy and UK along with Canada too joined and national teams were starting to form.
Wider Acceptance of Women’s Rugby Union
By the time 1990s arrived many more countries have started playing women’s rugby union and major tournaments for the women’s rugby started to surface but still there was one hitch. The governing body of Rugby the IRB was still reluctant to give the official status for the first ever Women’s Rugby World Cup, which was supposed to be held in Wales in 1990. After so much of struggle in 1996 everything went normal and first ever Home Nations competition was held between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. IRB then established a plan to develop the women’s rugby union and finally in 1998 the Women’s Rugby World Cup was formed.