English Oral

Introduction:

The rugby is a collective fight sport. Pierre de Coubertin asserted in the Athletic Sports that the young man who plays rugby is better prepared than the other one for the match of the life. It is less the nature of the game that its symbolic investment. The rugby is perceived by the specialists of the sports marketing as the practice proposing specific values where get involved commitment, interbreeding and courage. It has an addictive nature compared to other sports, turning to the blueprint of fighting sports.

Obviously, the rugby knew a more limited distribution than football which became the most universal sport of this end of century, but this collective practice of fight presents specificities in the geopolitical competition of sports.

“This is the value of miscegenation as it is a sport that, before the others, has mixed the north and south through the third half-time with a concept of shared emotion”. "In football, you get rid of the ball while in rugby it scores a try. It is neither the philosophy nor the same symbolic images. We pass the ball or it takes her in his arms and together we go to trial. The inventors of rugby gave him moral strength that protects the aesthetics of the game.” Said Jacques Seguela.

I. The origins of the rugby:

Some studies claim that the ancestor of rugby is the Soule or Sioule, popular sport in since the middle Ages. The Soule has indeed common features with rugby as Knappan in , and hurling in , which are from the same period. But these games were quickly extinguished at the end of the eighteenth century, unlike the soccer folk who found refuge in English colleges.

The original variant was invented in the field of the main panel of the city of Rugby (). Legend is that during a football games in mid-1823, William Webb Ellis, a student of this college (the Rugby School) and future pastor, take the in his arms ball over the opponent's goal line while the rule is to push the ball with the foot. In fact the origins of rugby are much more complex.

Each British colleges practice a kind of ball game derived from the Soule. Each college has its own rules and the kicking game and hand game are common. The gesture of William Webb Ellis, to keep the ball in his hand, has gradually evolved the rule of Rugby School. But with the invention of the railroad, colleges will no longer be isolated and sporting events will become possible. We must therefore agree on the rules to adopt. Thus we see in the first encounters that the matches take place according to the rule of the college which receives it. But soon the needs for more uniform rules arise. Disputes arose between the supporters of a game favoring the foot and those who want to limit this game deemed too violent (you have to realize that the game of the day differs from that practiced today). This quarrel leads to the birth of the Football Association and the association.

On 5 December 1887, committee members of the Irish , and met in Manchester and wrote up the first four principles of the International Rugby Football Board. In 1890 England joined the IRFB, the same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union.

In 1893, the IRFB was faced with the divide between amateurism and professionalism, which was nicknamed the "Great Schism". Following the introduction of working class men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying "broken time" payments to players, due to the loss of earnings from playing on a Saturday.

The Australian Rugby Union, Rugby Union and South African Rugby Union joined the board in 1948.

The most important tournament in rugby union is the , a men's tournament that takes place every four years among the national rugby union teams. New Zealand is the current holder, winning the 2011 tournament held in New Zealand.

Major international competitions are the and , held in Europe and the Southern Hemisphere respectively.

The Six Nations is an annual competition involving the European teams England, France, Ireland, , and Wales.

The Rugby Championship is the new name of the Southern Hemisphere's annual international series for that region's top national teams. From its inception in 1996 through 2011, it was known as the Tri Nations, as it featured the hemisphere's traditional powers of , New Zealand and South Africa.

According to the classification of the IRB the main nations of the Rugby are:

Nations of the "Tier 1”: the Six Nations (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and . Nations of the "Tier 2" consists of the remaining High Performance unions like , Samoa and Tonga.

II. Diffusion of rugby through the Anglo Saxon world:

England, Wales and Scotland The game invented in the British college is codified in 1871 by Rugby Union which formulates rules and favors its presence, at first in the heart of England. The game quickly gains Scotland where it is practiced in the universities of , Glasgow and Saint Andrews. The students returning in their city and settling as notables or captains of industry do not hesitate to form teams and clubs, and to organize federations and championships.

This geographical distribution often comes along with a social extension, to form teams and clubs, the initiators appeal to the available young people of lower social class which didn’t go to universities. So, in the industrial areas of the North of England, but also in the Scotland’s textile region, teams constituted are socially composite. In Wales, the process is similar; rugby is practiced at first to Newport then develops in industrial cities and mining towns where the persons in charge of the industrial companies favor the practice in an aim of social consensus.

Ireland The game gains Ireland where it is practiced in the Trinity College of as in Queen College of Belfast. The geopolitical conditions are different in Ireland and the rugby doesn’t play a unanimous role. It is especially practiced by the Protestant British loyalists while the nationalists, mainly but not exclusively catholic, develop from "Gaelic Athletic Association" the local sports. This cleavage, without being totally absolved because some catholic establishments as Black-Rock College adopt the rugby union, stays the characteristic of the country.

Australia In Australia, the first matches are made between emigrants, sailors in stopover and soldiers in garrison in Sidney. The University of Sydney found the first Australian club in 1863.

The distribution of the official rugby is however delayed by the invention of a local game. This adapted rugby refuses the violence. This game extends in the Victoria, then in Southern and western Australia and in Tasmania. The rules of Rugby Union impose however upon Queensland and in New South Wales thanks to schools and college which, after 1886, impose the code of the metropolis to allow the foreign exchanges.

The Australian sport remains nevertheless divided; the rugby union is practiced by former students of the elitist colleges attached to the traditional and Protestant affluent classes; the rugby league at XIII is more popular, supported since 1910 by the catholic colleges of the brothers Marists in Galls of the South. These divisions being added to the success of the cricket explain a support limited in the population. The efforts of the leader of fifteen to develop it by organizing the international matches and especially the meetings with All Blacks of New Zealand are not convincing because this neighbor, by its inconvenient victories, instead of consolidating it, weakens it.

New Zealand Unlike Australia where it is minority, fragile and reserved, the rugby in New Zealand is majority, strong and popular. From 1870, the rugby is introduced into a school of the Southern island, the Nelson College, and then gains Wellington and quickly propagates on both islands. The whole country is conquered within fifteen years without resistance or real competition with the other sports.

Gradually, it is the New Zealand educational system which uses the vector of the rugby in a spirit more equalitarian than in the other parts of the Empire. This choice of a sport of commitment joins the traditions of the native populations been used to the outdoor life and to the virile fights. The integration of the Maori to the colonial society is facilitated by the rugby, even if it is advisable not to overturn into the myth of a fast fusion because the ways of life of the natives and the Europeans remain very different.

The creation of a central authority of rugby in Wellington testifies of a New Zealand identity based on social and racial groups of diverse origins. New Zealand was consolidated in its will of social equality by rugby. This fact is rare enough to be underlined because somewhere else in the world in particular in South Africa, the rugby plays a different role.

South Africa In South Africa, the political situation is, in the late nineteenth century, far more complex. British colonies and Boer republics independent coexist. Rugby is introduced in the English educational institutions of high level and then distributed by the military and government officials. Afrikaners are increasingly adopting the game notably practiced at the University of Stellenbosch which includes a large Dutch community. After the end of the Boer’s war, the Afrikaners were gradually introduced into the British union. There was no racial mixing, from the beginning to end of this century: "Yes, rugby in South Africa is political. Those who play against him do not realize, I agree. But the Springboks, the rugby they play, beautifully illustrate first, not their sport, but their lifestyle and think their civilization. And, alas, their everyday racism…»

Other nations In Samoa, Fiji and Tonga, rugby was introduced by sailors, soldiers and missionaries. The teams were first made by Europeans but they quickly integrated natives.

At the middle of the nineteenth Century the British immigrants introduced rugby in Argentina. Rugby union was created in 1873, but the first clubs Admitted only English members, natives were rarely accepted.

Bordeaux the capital of French rugby was hosting a British colony active and well integrated into the business that, by publicizing the sport practices across the Channel, spread the rugby in the provinces of Aquitaine and the South.

Rugby has spread through the British colonists and former students of English universities. Some countries have rapidly fully integrated the sport that corresponded to their values. For other rugby remains a minor sport mainly because of a split between rugby and rugby at 15 to 13. Rugby had an important social role; the spread of rugby demonstrates the importance of socio-political conditions in each territory.

Nations where rugby was egalitarian and encouraged the social and racial mix: England, Wales and Scotland, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.

Nations where rugby kept inequality, racism and conflicts going: Ireland, South Africa, Argentina.

III. The developments of rugby

The spirit of rugby Since its professionalization, in 1995, rugby has been transformed. The players took 20 pounds of muscle; the games are attracting more and more spectators and are often preceded by events whose link with the oval ball remains to be established, like cheerleader’s shows or other American-style shows that are imposed to the French stage before the game or halftime. Indeed, the success of its rugby has its drawback. Fair play that characterizes this "rough sport played by gentlemen" and the friendly atmosphere that prevails in stadiums unfortunately seem to be in distress.

When you whistle a player or a penalty, in some stages, it's a habit.

Frederic Michalak was booed at the in 2007 because now the public in the stands goes far beyond the enthusiasts.

Arbitration is also concerned with economic pressures and media consequences of this new media. : For example before the referee used only rarely the video referee to validate a test, now it becomes almost routine.

Maybe rugby’s values have not changed, but the value of rugby has changed. Underexposed until 1998/1999, the sudden media coverage has changed its value. Rugby became a "business" as an alternative for communication giants. Besides the presence of advertisers change the mood of the third half.

Amateurism versus Professionalism Of the twenty nations engaged in the World Cup 2011, more than a quarter experiencing the joys of amateurism! The players concerned are not paid when they practice their passion, and they have to combine professional activity and sporting challenge, stalling their workouts early in the morning, during their lunch break and out of their work.

Unlike the 2007 World Cup, where had no professional player in its ranks, now there are no 100% amateur team. This new situation is explained by the creation of national leagues in these countries limited to rugby culture.

The and , for example, opted for a semi-pro league (players are paid but hold another job in addition).

With these new measures, coupled with the export of foreign players in major championships, the gap between the teams before the enormous global elite and their pursuers decreased significantly. But to see standing up to the ogres All Blacks, there are still a few years to wait ...

Financial aspects Rugby has become a real business. With the biggest stars of on land, spectators more numerous in the stands and growing media audiences, the business of rugby continues to expand.

Marketing revenues grew 30% in five years. If you plan to put your brand on a player, it’s 800 000 euro budget for the torso, and 200 to 300 000 euros to appear only on the jersey sleeves. Player’s salaries are increasing. The world record of salary is held by New Zealander Dan Carter and 700,000 euros for seven months in Perpignan in 2009. Only a handful of stars significantly inflated its revenue from contracts individual image. "On average, it's an extra 10%," says one agent. Through this, the player assigns to a company close to the club the right to exploit his name to sell T-shirts, postcards and calendars, it also accepts promotions.

World Cup has become a major financial issue too:

In 2007, France had generated 540 million euros in economic benefits due to the holding of the Rugby World Cup 2007.

Among the beneficiaries, the tourism sector has benefit from the influx of fans. For the cup 2011, 95,000 spectators came to New Zealand mainly from Britain, the USA and Australia. Second sector with fully benefit from the influx of tourists during the 2011 competition: the wine industry. The three countries we just mentioned are also major importers of New Zealand wines, of which 70 will be presented and sold in "The Cloud Winery", an ephemeral boutique mounted for the occasion in the port of Auckland.

The "range" of ticket prices for the 48 games runs from 20 euros for the group matches the less sexy than 850 euros for the final of 23 October. The meetings will be held in 12 different stages, the larger enclosure, in Auckland, can accommodate 60,000 spectators.