In the UK we have the split between Rugby Union and Rugby League, now two distinct sports. The history of that split gets to the heart of British class distinc

In the UK we have the split between Rugby Union and Rugby League, now two distinct sports. The history of that split gets to the heart of British class distinction and is more interesting that you might at first think. There's a good description of it here[1] but the TL;DR is: In the South of England rugby was played by independently rich amateurs and in the North of England it was played by the working class men who needed to support themselves and their families and wanted it to become professionalised. The groups couldn't agree and so split. With the rules of Rugby League supposedly changed to make it more appealing to paying crowd. 1. https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/sport/2019/10/split-between-rugby-league-and-rugby-union-story-national-class-division https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/sport/2019/10/split-bet...