Dr Anonymous set wheels in motion for rugby’s first Union

Brendan Gallagher looks at how player welfare and rows over law changes resulted in the formation of the RFU 150 years ago

Action needed: Rugby was still an ill-disciplined game of uncertain laws in 1870

First RFU president: Algernon Rutter

This Tuesday night – January 26 – is the 150th anniversary of the founding of the RFU at the Pall Mall Restaurant in London, an event of some importance at the time and even greater significance in retrospect. And in many ways it remains a very modern tale. It was all about stopping the bickering and agreeing a unive...

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