The modern sport of Rugby League that is played throughout the
world today has its origins in late 19th century England. A
group of clubs based in the north of the country which
participated in the one unified rugby code of the time broke
away from their governing body to form their own competition.
Their motivation was the desire to offer fair compensation to
their players for the time off work that was required by playing
in Saturday matches. That was a practice outlawed at the time by
the then Rugby Football Union and this social phenomenon was the
catalyst for a true sporting revolution. From this point
onwards, the game began to evolve via a series of radical and
innovative structural changes and changes to on-field rules
until it grew into the vibrant and exciting modern sport we know
today.