Books in the Original Rules series

Of all the rules governing sport, the laws of cricket are among the oldest. Those of 1744 survive uniquely on a piece of linen at the MCC Museum of Cricket, drawn up when gambling on cricket matches was rife. The story of the evolution of these laws and how they affected the game is a fascinating and seldom told chapter in the history of cricket.

This book investigates the origins of the game of rugby and reproduces for the first time in a single book both the first rules of the game, drawn up at Rugby School in 1845 and the first rules of the Rugby Football Union, published in 1871.