Rugby football

:This article discusses rugby football generally, for specific varieties see Rugby union, Rugby sevens or Rugby league.

Culture and humour

Because of its long adherence to amateurism, an ethic considered to have discouraged working class players, rugby union often has a reputation as a middle-class and upper-class game. Exceptions to this occur in New Zealand, Wales and the Pacific Islands, where rugby union remained popular in working class communities. Rugby league retains great popularity among working class people in the English counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, and in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland.

Related Topics:
Adherence to amateurism - Working class - Middle-class - Upper-class - New Zealand - Wales - Pacific Islands - English counties - Yorkshire - Lancashire - Australian states - New South Wales - Queensland

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In the United Kingdom, rugby fans sometimes use the term "rugger" as an alternative name for the sport (though less so nowadays than previously, and mainly in relation to rugby union). Those considered to be heavily involved with the rugby union lifestyle — including heavy drinking, striped jumpers, et cetera — sometimes identify as "rugger buggers". Retired rugby union players who still turn up to watch, drink and serve on committees rank as "alickadoos" or, less kindly, as "old farts" (see W. Carling).

Related Topics:
Jumper - W. Carling

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Rugby league supporters sometimes call themselves "treizistes", reflecting the French title of their sport (rugby à treize). The epithet occurs almost universally in France, but its use has also spread to English-speaking countries.

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Australians fall into three camps when it comes to naming the two codes of rugby: in New South Wales and Queensland, people usually refer to rugby union simply as "rugby" and to rugby league simply as "football". (The same perceived class barrier as exists between the two games in England also occurs in these two states, fostered by rugby union's prominence and support at elite private schools). However, in most states, "football" means Australian Rules Football, and there is no popular differentiation between the two kinds of "rugby". Areas in which all three codes are popular, especially the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, and the Riverina, generally use the names "league", "union" and "Aussie rules" to avoid confusion.

Related Topics:
Football - Class - England - Australian Rules Football - Australian Capital Territory - Northern Territory - Riverina

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New Zealanders generally refer to rugby union simply as either "football" or "rugby" and to rugby league as "league". In New Zealand, playing football has a reputation as the epitome of manliness for both Maori and non-Maori, as symbolised by a haka (war dance) at the start of important games. Kiwis see "rugby" as the accepted substitute for military heroism and an excellent training ground for soldiering. If (as Wellington allegedly said) Britain won the Battle of Waterloo on the playing-fields of Eton, New Zealand long saw its role in the Empire as intimately connected with the football field. Popular Kiwi mythology sees the encouragement of New Zealand rugby in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the Imperial reaction to declining fitness in Britain's industrial slums.

Related Topics:
Maori - Haka - Kiwi - Military - Wellington - Eton - Empire - Fitness

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