The first mention of the “wrong” ball appeared in the first half of the 19th century in one of Tom Brown’s novels. It narrated about life at school in the town of Rugby School, including the game with a non-standard ball.
Therefore, it can be assumed that already in 1835 a “melon” was used to play rugby, as the shell was called for its similarity to the
melon culture of the same name
. If you look closely, the rugby ball is really very similar in shape to a melon, and at first glance it is not clear how you can play with it.
Toward the end of the same century, a craze for a new kind of football led to the fact that shoe manufacturers were involved in sewing leather balls . It is not surprising that the first successful attempt to begin mass production of balls belonged to two shoe makers who lived near the previously mentioned Rugby School. Being the owners of the manufactory, they realized how profitable a new hobby could be for them, and began to supply those who wanted, since the demand at that time exceeded the supply. First of all, they satisfied the demands of schools and sports societies.
At first, the rugby ball had an almost spherical shape, and the basis for it was a pig bladder, sheathed it with four leather pads. At that time, there were no uniform standards for a
sports apparatus , so the shape of the ball itself corresponded to the shape of a bubble. Such equipment was inflated exclusively by mouth - not the most pleasant task, but given that the bubble was taken fresh, it was also unsafe. Later, to facilitate the process, they began to use a nipple, and the rubber chamber acted as the basis of the projectile. At the end of the 19th century, ball manufacturers thought of using the principle of a medical needle to inflate a sphere - they began to fill the rugby ball with air through a pump.
The game became more and more popular, it finally began to play with hands. The shape of the melon is preserved to this day - players from all over the world insisted on maintaining the authenticity of the shell. Global changes came to the shell only at the end of the 19th century, when it was modernized in order to increase the entertainment of the game itself. Today, rugby in the world sports community is gaining popularity like American football. Just as in the USA fans collect cardboard cards with the image of idols, rugby pictures (ball, club symbols, players) are popular in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
A modern rugby ball is made of composite rubber and rubberized cotton, its ends are rounded and smoothed. As for the size of the projectile, they are regulated by the International Rugby Union. By analogy, all with the same
football, the rugby
ball is marked depending on weight and size. So, for example, No. 5 is intended for adults, No. 4 - for games of youth groups, No. 3 - for children under 9 years of age. As for the cost of sports equipment such as a rugby ball, its price starts at 20 USD, and you can buy “melon” for a long time not only on the corresponding online resources, but also in the most ordinary sports store.