The Outbreak of WW1 and RUGBY

Written and researched by David Bohl, with the kind help of British Newspaper Archive

Whilst the game of rugby was in the slumber of the Summer recess war was declared on Germany on the 28th July 1914. It wasn't until the hundreds of Fixture Secretaries put their hats back on that there was an obvious and difficult problem to be solved - King and Country ? Keep playing ? Cancel the season ?
It was a while before the powers that be issued directives, but in most cases the County Unions took it upon themselves to make the decision to cancel their fixtures. There also seems to be a misconception that the The Northern Union (rugby league), being a professional outfit, ignored the call to arms and continued to play, however as we can see from the newspaper clip this was clearly not the case.


The object of the webpage is to illustrate, via the newspapers, the contrasting attitudes the game of rugby had in the first few months of the Great War, a war which had devastating consequences when the clubs tried to reform in 1919, none the least was our own Sefton RUFC alias the Aliens.

(Dublin Daily Express 6th Aug 1914)

(Belfast News Letter 25th Aug 1914)

(Leigh chronicle 4th Sept 1914)

(Leigh chronicle 11th Sept 1914)

26/08/1914

31/08/1914

04/09/1914