English Rugby

Rugby in England is attributed to William Webb Ellis, "who with a fine disregard for the rules as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and sat with it" in 1823 during a football match at the Rugby School. 

In 1871, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was formed by 21 clubs. 1871 also marked England's first international rugby match, which they lost to Scotland at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh.

The England Rugby team have played at Twickenham Stadium since 1909. Twickenham has a capacity of 82,000, which makes it the largest rugby stadium in the world as well as the fifth largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is often referred as the home of rugby.

The English national rugby side compete in the annual Six Nations tournament against France, Italy, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. England are the most successful side in the Six Nations with 26 wins overall; 12 of these were Grand Slams. They also have a record 23 Triple Crowns successes. Their last success in the Six Nations was in 2011, when they won four games and lost one, giving them a two point outright victory.

When it comes to the Rugby World Cup there is only one date that stands out: 2003. The 2003 World Cup was the pinnacle for English Rugby. Captained by the immovable Martin Johnson and the right boot of Jonny Wilkinson, they topped their group, and then beat Wales and France in the quarter and semi-finals, setting up a final with arch-rivals Australia.  

The final goes down as one of the greatest World Cup Finals of all time; England went in at half-time with a 14-5 lead but Australia hit back with nine unanswered points, forcing extra time. An 82nd minute penalty by Wilkinson gave England the lead before Australian fly half Elton Flatley equalized. Then, the infamous right boot of Wilkinson struck in the 100th minute with what has become the most historic England drop-goal of all time.

Jason Leonard is the most capped national player with 114 caps. He has also won four Grand Slams and the World Cup. Jonny Wilkinson is obviously immortal in the minds of England fans after his kick won the World Cup, but he is also the record point scorer with 1,151. 

Rory Underwood was capped 89 times by England and holds the record for most tries with 49. Finally, Coach Clive Woodward gets an honorary mention; not only did he win the 2003 World Cup, but he also won three Six Nations.

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