Talk:William Webb Ellis
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William Webb Ellis is roundly known as the "inventor" as they say, of the game of rugby union. There is alot of speculation about the incident of Webb Ellis running with the ball. It can neither be proven or denied. However if Matthew Bloxams letter to the meteor is authentic then i believe that there should be no doubt about it. WEBB ELLIS CREATED RUGBY. - anon
- Er.. except that Bloxam never witnessed said incident and nor did anyone else as far as anyone can tell. Bloxam only releated someone (an unknown person) else telling him the story. Jooler
[edit] controversy section
This whole para needs a rewrite. The one and only source for the Webb Ellis story is Bloxam and his report of an event that he did not witness is so vague as to be next to useless. Any reference to caid is pure speculation. Who are these "some people" anyway? Also with regard to the second para in this section, it is beyond question that the rules of the Rugby game changed regularly with with each intake of boys. The masters did not control the game it was the boys game. Perhaps a good analogy is the game British Bulldog. Most kids in British schools have played the game (or at least they did in my day) but no one has ever seen a set of rules written down and now and again you might introduce a different rule. Jooler 12:59, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] By most accounts...
By most accounts, Webb Ellis picked ran with the ball in his arms during a football match against Bigside in the latter half of 1823. - there is only one account, Bloxam's. Any other "account" is once more just guesswork. The 1895 investigation found no other witness to the incident. I don't know what year Bloxam was referring to though. Is there a source for the date of 1823? Jooler 13:07, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
- Later: I see that it is mentioned here -http://www.pshortell.demon.co.uk/rugby/ch3.htm
