1. Rugby is the national sport of Papua New Guinea.

2. Ellis Park in Johannesburg is named after William Webb Ellis, the boy credited with i"nventing" rugby.

3. The world’s first, and oldest, rugby club is the Guy’s Hospital Football Club, formed in 1843 by ex-Rugby School pupils.

4. Both American and Canadian football originate from rugby.

5. The first Rugby League World Cup was played in France in 1954.

6. Rugby league supporters sometimes call themselves "treizistes", after the French name for the sport.

7. The highest rugby union World Cup match score was when New Zealand beat Japan 145-17 at Bloemfontein, South Africa, on June 4, 1995.

8. The first rugby balls were made from pig’s bladders; the modern version consists of polyurethane, synthetic leather, laminated polyester, latex and glue.

9. The 15-year-old Mick Jagger played one of his first gigs at Maidstone Rugby Union club.

10. Rugby was introduced into the Olympics in Paris in 1900.