Rugby Arrives in the United States

Published on March 9, 2026 under Major League Rugby (MLR) News Release

The graduates of Rugby School who came after William Webb Ellis in 1823 introduced the game to Oxford and Cambridge. They wanted to continue playing the run-and-tackle game. Over time, these Rugbeians traveled to other nations in the United Kingdom to introduce rugby by establishing clubs. Another pathway for growth came from the establishment of new teams at the other English public schools. Rugby's one code, and not the many, would govern schoolboy play.

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Allyn Freeman

Home Country First Rugby

England 1823

Wales 1850

Ireland 1854

Scotland 1854

Throughout the 19th century, the United Kingdom established naval and army bases in many British Commonwealth countries. Importantly, the Crown organized rugby games for its military personnel. These athletic contests also found avid interest from the local population.

Commonwealth

Australia 1862

Canada 1864

New Zealand 1868

India 1872

However, by 1874, no rugby games had occurred in an independent United States.

Rutgers vs. Princeton, 1869 (Queensmen versus the Tigers)

In November 1869, Rutgers University in New Jersey challenged Princeton (then known as the College of New Jersey) to a football game. The match was played under the English Football Association Rules, or soccer. Each team fielded 25 players.

Historically, this contest is always referenced as the first American intercollegiate "football" match. But similar nomenclature has confused this contest (a kicking game and a round ball) with the much later development of gridiron football (running and tacking with an oval ball). There is no developmental connection between these two different types of football games.

In 1873, students at four eastern colleges, Columbia, Yale, Stevens Institute of Technology in Newark, and Princeton, formed the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA). Harvard refused to join, and this notable decision would become the catalyst that opened the door for the launch of rugby in the United States.

Harvard vs. McGill, 1874 - Rugby Introduction

In the 1860's a football game without formal rules was played on the Boston Commons among the city's private schools. It became known locally as the "Boston game", introducing a sometimes running and tackling phase to mass play.

Harvard, isolated in New England and a far distance by train from the schools in the IFA by train, searched for opponents to play the "Boson game." McGill University in Montreal learned of the challenge and agreed to travel to Cambridge. (Trivia: The first global nation versus nation athletic event featured a cricket game in 1859 in New York City between Canada and the USA.)

The football contest comprised two matches, the Boston game and one of rugby. Harvard defeated McGill 3-0 in the "Boston game." The next day, the teams played rugby and tied 0-0. Notable for rugby's popularity, the sport operated under a set of written laws, specifically the number of players, the size of the pitch, scoring, the time of play, and other well-defined features.

Harvard then traveled to McGill in October 1874 to schedule a rematch, winning a rugby game by three tries. This McGill vs. Harvard rugby rivalry continues today through an annual contest called the Peter Covo Memorial Cup. The Canadians lead this series 24-14.

Harvard vs. Yale, 1875

The train journey from Boston to Montreal required 24 hours. Harvard realized it had to enlist other eastern universities in playing rugby. A November 1875 match would take place when Yale agreed to play Harvard in New Haven. The city's Hamilton Park hosted the event, attracting more than 2,000 spectators who paid 50 cents for admission.

It was called "The Concessionary Game" as Yale suggested dividing the contest into halves, one half to consist of the Boston game, and association football the other. Yale wore dark pants, blue jerseys, and yellow caps, while Harvard wore crimson breeches, shirts, and stockings. Harvard won the rugby game with four goals and two touchdowns.

Two Princeton undergraduates witnessed the match and returned to campus praising rugby. They urged the Association football team to convert to rugby.

Aftermath

Rugby football, finally, debuted in the United States in 1874, thanks to its Canadian neighbors from Montreal's McGill University. Its reception into eastern colleges occurred primarily because the Big Three - Princeton, Yale, and Harvard - celebrated the sport. Over the next six years, twenty-eight American colleges would adapt the rugby game.

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