Everyone knows that football was established in the UK. The year that happened is a bit harder to say. We do know it was in the early 1800s. Several dates have been named. You can use the dates assigned by The Football Association which is 1862 as the first organized and actual football game. But, there are records of townspeople playing a game that seems to be football as early as the 1500s.
Rugby
The reason we mention the conflicting dates above is that Rugby got its start at Rugby School in Warwickshire, England in 1823. They were playing the UK version of Football when William Webb Ellis decided to pick up the ball and run with it. Some folks take issue with that, but since the Rugby World Cup Trophy is now named “The Webb Ellis Cup” that pretty much seals it.
The Rugby game is a cross between the UK football game and the Canadian Football Game. The ball is the oblong football rather than the round UK football and the match is 80 minutes, 2 halves of 40-minutes each with a 10-minute half-time break. You can click here to compare the two sports.
Rugby Wins That Nobody Expected!
Nobody wants to watch a lame game. Everybody wants a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat game. But sometimes the impossible seems to happen. Sometimes a match turns so quickly and so dramatically that people talk about it for years to come.
2015 Rugby World Cup - Japan vs South Africa
This was not expected to be a close match. Japan was going against mighty South Africa. This game was not just an upset. It went down in history as one of the greatest rugby upsets of all time. Japan was expected to do well. They were expected to maybe win a trophy and perhaps to win third place if they were lucky. South Africa was the clear favorite.
However, experienced South Africa seemed to overlook the “fight back” that was rising during the second half. Karne Hesketh took action and he was luckier than a lottery winner. He grabbed for the winning play and sent Japan fans into orbit! The team that had won only a single World Cup game before this game, left Springboks licking their wounds over “beginners luck.” Japan won the game over South Africa, 34-32, and won the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
1991 Samoa takes on Wales - Millennium Stadium
It was supposed to be a good game. But everyone expected Wales to be victorious. Wales had been through some minor set-backs recently, but nothing would prepare them for what was coming.
October 6, 1991, was the darkest day in recent Welsh rugby history. The proud nation of Wales was taken totally off guard by the underdog, Western Samoan team. It was a World Cup pool match at Cardiff Arms Park, which Wales expected to win. The result meant that they failed to make it out of their group.
In 1999 as Wales once again went down to the South Sea Islands, which were then competing solely as Samoa. It was the World Cup again, and Wales were the hosts, so after the last two failures, they were determined to do better. Graham Henry was the coach and Rob Howley captain.
2007 Argentina Defeats France - Paris, France
France was happy to entertain winning over Argentina on the home turf in 2007, but that was not how things were going to turn out. Argentina took the lead early. Even though Ignacio Corleto scored the only try in the 27th minute. However, Contepomi missed the conversion and hit the post. At half-time, the score was Argentina - 17, France - 9 with all of France’s points coming from penalties scored by David Skrela.
France did better in the second half, but Argentina held a strong defense. They were not able to close the lead enough when Skrela scored his fourth penalty of the match in the 60th minute. Skrela and Frederick Michalak (his replacement) both missed penalties and that destroyed the chances for France to create a comeback. It is the first time that the French has lost in the pool stages of the World Cup.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup Pools
Fans have been waiting to find out when the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pools will begin, Well, wait no more, we have that information right here.
Below you will find the full 2023 Rugby World Cup Pools. The 2023 RC will take place from 8, September to 21, October. They will take place at nine venues.
Pool A: New Zealand, France, Italy, Americas 1, and Africa 1.
Pool B: South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Asia / Pacific 1, and Europe 2.
Pool C: Wales, Australia, Fiji, Europe 1, and Final Qualifier Winner.
Pool D: England, Japan, Argentina, Oceania 1 and Americas 2.
The All Blacks have won the Rugby World Cup three times: the inaugural competition in 1987 and both titles in 2011 and 2015.
Rugby is an exciting sport and millions of fans all over the world follow their favorite teams. The World Cup Pools are coming soon. Be sure you keep up. In this world, if you blink, you could miss something.
