Last Saturday the boys put in a hard shift at Kelso in difficult conditions and this week it will be the just the same at Jedforest and there is good reason why its tough in the Border towns

The well versed story of the birth of rugby football being down to a chap on the Close at Rugby School in 1823 called William Webb Ellis "having a fine disregard for the rules "makes for a gripping yarn of daring do but has little to do with the truth --but hey why let the truth get in the way of a good story
The fact that the story only emerged in 1876 after William had departed the mortal coil and so was in no position to confirm or deny his adventure only added to the mythology but it suited the RFU to claim the credit for the birth of the sport

The truth about the birth of rugby owes more to the towns and villages of Scotland and England with their traditional Uppies v Downies games stretching back to Medieval times than to the playing fields of Eton
Yes the public schools universities and early clubs codified the rules in Victorian times with a contribution from one of our own founders Glasgow Accies but the roots went much deeper than that it went back to Border towns like Jedburgh where Callants Ba or Hand Ba has existed since 1548 and is still played today
Each town and village had its own set of "folk football "rules and many of the contests still exist today and are played annually usually at this time of year
The transition from kicking to handling at Jed is reckoned to have occurred well before young Webb Ellis was born and it came about because of a desire to preserve life and property on the part of the authorities and magistrates

On Saturday we travel to one of the true birthplaces of the sport now known as rugby football

This article was posted on 11-Mar-2013, 11:44 by Hugh Barrow.