Reclaiming the name 'RUGBY'

[*Paul*]

In an earlier thread I posted an article from a 1984 Rugby League Week, you know a RL publication, where union was referred to as Rugby, but it's older than that. The term has also been used by Ray Warren, Warren Ryan, Peter Sterling, David Gallop, David Morrow, Phil Gould et al - all oldies mostly.

The usage is well entrenched, the whining about it is new.

 

[*Paul*]

It is with me. When I was growing up the short form for both codes was union & league.

Sure, but for me (70s) it was also rugby & league, as it probably was for those league luminaries I mentioned above.

So the idea that some sort of evil conspiracy of brown shirts has recently sprung up to enforce terms that I was familar with 30 years ago is hard to be left unchallenged.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Sure, but for me (70s) it was also rugby & league, as it probably was for those league luminaries I mentioned above.

So the idea that some sort of evil conspiracy of brown shirts has recently sprung up to enforce terms that I was familar with 30 years ago is hard to be left unchallenged.

WTF?

When did I , or anyone in this thread talk about a conspiracy to change the name to League?!


FFS , talk about getting a grip.

 

[herbert henry1908]

In an earlier thread I posted an article from a 1984 Rugby League Week, you know a RL publication, where union was referred to as Rugby, but it's older than that. The term has also been used by Ray Warren, Warren Ryan, Peter Sterling, David Gallop, David Morrow, Phil Gould et al - all oldies mostly.

The usage is well entrenched, the whining about it is new.

the point your finding hard to grasp is that nowadays , the media ( in major publications & on TV) are just reffering to the game as 'League'. Check the SMH website , or the foxsports website. This didnt happen in the past and is only a modern trend. Sure the abbreviation was used by some , but now it has become mainstream.

secondly , out of the names you mention only really Ray Warren could be refered to as an oldie in a media sense. (and maybe Morrow but only in a minor role) the others were mostly around as players or coaches.

 

[LordLeague]

News websites often tag Rugby League as "LEAGUE" and Rugby Union as "RUGBY". This is clearly wrong and plays directly into the hands of the ARU who wish to claim the term "Rugby" for themselves. Some web sites use the term "NRL" under which they group all Rugby League articles . The NRL is an organisation that runs a competition, It is NOT a sport FFS.

LordLeague

 

[*Paul*]

WTF?

When did I , or anyone in this thread talk about a conspiracy to change the name to League?!

Try reading the first line of the first post (and in case you didn't get it, I was being deliberately hyperbolic).

I'll make the point again, futile as it is. League=RL, rugby=RU have been part of the vernacular for some time now (e.g. Big League dates from 1974, League is used on the front cover of RLW in a couple of 1980 issues I just looked at), the suggestion that it's somehow a recent media agenda, and they're out to get us (though why calling league 'league' is a bad thing isn't immediately obvious), is tin foil hat stuff.

 

[*Paul*]

And some more to ignore: I have book - published in 1976 - where 'league' is used to describe the game on a number of occasions. And I don't have one on hand, but I'm pretty sure the newspapers of the early 80's had a "League Liftout"