The history of New Zealand Rugby

New Zealand Rugby (formally the New Zealand Rugby Union and formerly New Zealand Rugby Football Union) was formed in 1892 to administer the game of rugby union at the national level.

Rugby's history

The game has its origins in England in the 1820s, when a Rugby School student named William Webb Ellis did something a bit different during a schoolyard game and caught the ball and carried it forward, rather than back towards his own line, which was traditional. It took a while for the rules to be agreed between the different schools and organisations in England many of whom had their own games but by the 1860s the Rugby rules had gained in popularity and started spreading beyond England.

The New Zealand Rugby Museum

The New Zealand Rugby Museum is the home of New Zealand rugby heritage and culture and a collection of some of the world's rarest rugby artefacts, with rare and detailed coverage of the emergence of New Zealand as a major rugby power.

At the Museum's Palmerston North Gallery, rugby fans can test their kicking, tackling, leaping, sprinting and pushing skills at the 'Have a Go' area.

Find out more about the New Zealand Rugby Museum