Rugby football is very different from American football.
Yes, it was one of the versions that students would play in English public schools back in the 19th century.
Oh wow, that's interesting. I didn't know it was played in England. What other games were played in English schoolhouses during that time?
All kinds of games, but Rugby leagues used to go by rugby union rules, but now they are separated.
How many Rugby leagues are there curently in England?
, they are now wholly separate sports. In addition to these two codes, both American and Canadian football evolved from rugby football in the beginning of the 20th century.
Forms.
Following the 1895 split in rugby football, the two forms rugby league and rugby union differed in administration only. Soon the rules of rugby league were modified, resulting in two distinctly different forms of rugby. 100 years later, rugby union joined rugby league and most other forms of football as an openly professional sport.
The Olympic form
Games related to rugby football were played in the United States in the early 19th century. During this time the sports had no fixed rules, and were particularly popular in universities and college preparatory schools in the Northeastern United States. The sport of American football evolved from these intercollegiate games.
Meanwhile, in Huddersfield, England a schism developed in rugby football between those who favored strict amateurism and those who felt that players should be compensated for time taken off work to play rugby. Many Northern English industrial towns tended to be poorer