Posts Tagged ‘history’

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Why Archery Is The Intelligent Sport

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Archery requires flawless hand-eye coordination and a steady hand. In this situation, a steady hand does not come from not drinking alcohol, but by being so strong that the archer is not straining to draw the string and hold it while taking aim.

Rapid fire archery necessitates fast reflexes You could say that these qualities are desired for other objectives in general life and that may be a fact, but archery is the one sport that requires them all.

Shooting a gun accurately takes some of these skills too, but it does not need great strength and rapid fire is only a question of pulling the trigger or even holding it back. It is the case that when guns were developed, archers looked down on riflemen, because they did not require the same level of training to be good shots.

This is one of the main factors why guns took over from bows. It took 10-15 years to train a long bowman, but just a couple of weeks to train a rifleman. It was compulsory in England and Wales for all men and boys to practice with their longbows at the village butts on a Sunday where they were watched over and instructed by the local sheriff’s militia.

The long bowman was a respected figure, because everybody knew the commitment and skill it took to be an accurate archer. This was not merely a fact in Great Britain, but in each country in the world (except Australia) as far as we know.

Evidence of archery, but not the longbow, has been discovered everywhere from Europe to Asia and some of it goes back 12,000 years, which is a long time for a bit of timber to last, particularly when a broken bow would often have been a household item which could be used on the fire as fuel.

Prior to the proliferation of the bow, huntsmen and warriors used the atlatl (or woomera, in Aborigine Australian), which is a long, grooved stick used to hurl a one-metre long dart at almost 100 mph. There is proof that the atlatl was being used by Homo heidelbergensis 400,000 years ago in contemporary Germany.

The longbow and the flat bow were most frequently used in northern Europe where most soldiers walked into battle as only knights (nobility) had horses. On the other hand, in most other countries, where much of the fighting was done from horseback or from chariots, a shorter bow was used as it was less unwieldy and easier to move across the horse’s neck to shoot left and right.

The longbow and the flat bow were about six feet in length and had a typical draw weight of over 60 lbs but up to 100 lbs, which would fire a three-foot arrow up to 1,000 yards.

The shorter bows were recurve bows and although lighter to draw, it took a significant amount of ability to hit a target whilst travelling at speed on the back of a horse or bouncy chariot.

There are two ways of aiming any bow: by sight and by intuition. In sight shooting, the archer aims down the arrow and lines it up with the target allowing for distance, wind, movement etc, but in intuitive shooting, the archer just concentrates on the target. Intuitive shooting might come after lots of sight shooting practice.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now involved with the Nerf n-Strike Stampede Blaster. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Smart Toys for Kids.

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Advice For Fishing With A Bow and Arrow

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Archery fishing is also called bow fishing and it is as ancient as the bow and arrow themselves. We in the West tend to think that only poorer tribesmen in Third World countries go bow fishing, but that is not quite true.

These days the hunting of mammals is strictly controlled and so some people who like to hunt with a bow will switch to bow fishing if the animals that they like to pursue, say deer, are out of season. Some other people, who would not hunt a deer or bear are quite happy to hunt fish in this fashion.

Bow fishing is a skilled sport, but the paraphernalia need not of necessity be hi-tech. The fact is that you can use whatever bow you have or you can just make one. It does not have to be powerful, because the quarry is seldom more than ten feet away. You categorically do not have to have a 100 lbf longbow to kill a trout.

Having said that, any bow used for fishing will need to be adapted slightly - you will need to attach a reel to it, but it does not have to be anything fancy. There are three principal types of reel for use in bow fishing: hand-wrap, spincast and retriever and the line is usually braided nylon of approximately eighty pounds although you might require six hundred pound breaking strain line for alligators or sharks.

It is worth checking out the regulations with regard to bow fishing in your country or state, because sometimes bow fishermen have to be licensed and sometimes getting that license involves having attended a safety course.

Some regions will even have by-laws regarding the kind of equipment you can use in bow fishing and of course, some fish have seasonal restrictions.

Bow fishing is a mixture of fishing and hunting, so you could have to learn some new skills like tying knots for example. You will need to be able to tie the line to the reel and the arrow and those knots will need to be able to put up with the tremendous acceleration that an arrow leaving a bow goes through without failing.

The bow may not be different much from a normal bow, but the arrows certainly do. Arrows for bow fishing are usually a lot more substantial that air-flight arrows. They also have barbed tips to stop the fish escaping or just dropping off when you reel it in. The arrows do not have fletching either because flights are apt to deflect the true course of the arrow in water - the opposite of in the air.

There are three main techniques used in bow fishing: 1] you can put down ground bait and lie in wait. - an over hanging tree or high rock is good for this; 2] you can float down stream in a dinghy while sitting or standing in the prow; 3] you can walk into the river like a salmon fisherman.

Compensating for the refraction of the water is the most difficult ability to learn and that means knowing the water well too.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on several topics, but is presently involved with archery recurve bows. If you would like to know more or for special offers, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.

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A Short History Of Hybrid Cars

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

The first difficulty with working out which was the first hybrid vehicle, is deciding what the term ‘hybrid vehicle’ means. For instance, a barge being pulled by a horse with the current of the canal could be construed as a hybrid vehicle. However, most people these days will agree that a true hybrid vehicle utilizes a ‘rechargeable energy storage system’ or an RESS.

For example, this could define a vehicle that uses one form of propulsion, such as an internal combustion engine as its main form of propulsion, whilst that engine recharges batteries that can also be used to run an electric engine.

I am certain that it will surprise 90% + of people to hear that the history of hybrid vehicles is almost as long as the history of automobiles themselves. Porsche is a famous make of expensive sports cars, but in 1898 Ferdinand Porsche, a young Czech student, designed the Loher-Porsche one-cylinder internal combustion engine.

However, this engine was utilized to drive an electric generator, the electricity from which was used to power electric motors which were affixed to all of the four wheels. The petrol engine was used only to generate electricity for the electric motors in this early case.

This early hybrid was exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and was capable of travelling at 35 mph (56 kph). In 1901, Porsche drove it himself to win the Exelberg Rally. After this they sold more than 300 units of their early hybrid car. Mass production had not been invented yet and rich people were still sceptical about the new, malodorous technology.

1959 was the next landmark in the history or hybrids because petrol was not expensive and few people, if any, foresaw the future for the world and the environment. Anyway, the car invented, the Henney Kilowatt used the early transistors or those days to regulate the flow of electricity. This was the real precursor to modern hybrid cars.

One of the inventors of the Henney Kilowatt was Victor Wauk and he was involved in the process of experimenting with electric cars in the Sixties and Seventies. Sometimes, he is called the Godfather of Hybrid Vehicles.

It is fairly remarkable, but the regenerative braking system used by modern hybrids to help recharge a hybrid’s batteries was invented in 1978 by the electrical engineer, David Arthurs..

It then took until president Bill Clinton took the initiative to instigate the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles in 1993. It involved the Dept of Energy, Chrysler, ford, GM and one or two others. G. W. Bush replaced this program with his own FreedomCar Initiative in 2001.

This initiative was designed to finance extraordinarily risky or problematic projects for the development of hybrid cars. It has taken us over 100 years to rejuvenate the initial hybrid idea but we only did that because we were compelled to do it.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on several topics, but is now involved with how to get cheap 4×4 tyres. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Car Tyres For Sale.

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Knighthood: No Easy Endowment

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

The polished armor. The heavy sword or lance at his side as he sits atop his noble steed. A righteous disposition and sense of duty to a king. These descriptions represent the fundamental qualities and characteristics of a knight. Becoming a knight, however, was not all that easy and certainly not for everyone.

The armor and sword required by a knight in order to serve his king were expensive. The training and equipment necessary were possibly equivalent to that required by modern-day professional hockey players. So, really only men of a certain birthright could become a knight, and the best way to have a father who had been a knight.

So let’s say dear old dad happened to be a wealthy gent or a knight himself. Your family could afford to send you off to serve at the castle of a noble as the page. This at the tender age of seven, by the way. Pages were taught all the knightly necessities from lance practice, to swordsmanship, to mucking horse stalls. That’s right-for all the noble training, a page had to earn his keep by cleaning house, preparing the noble’s clothes, and other less chivalrous tasks. They did get backstage passes to tournaments, though. Someone had to attend to the knights in competition. But the end justified the means, right?

For all the page had to do, his life was not so bad. If he could tough it out, learn his lessons, and survive to the ripe old age of fourteen then the page ascended the ranks. He would be deemed a squire. As far as climbing the kingdom ladder, it was a major step. Squires were taught the code of Chivalry. They had to show their worth in the art of Heraldry-weapons making. Squires also had to learn horsemanship, jousting, social etiquette, dancing as well as the use of weapons. The dancing and etiquette were for integrating themselves into castle social life.

After seven years of this rigorous training, a squire was then granted the title of knight. There were exceptions to waiting until the 21st birthday of a squire. Only if they exhibited exceptional valor on the battlefield in the service of knights would knighthood be bestowed a squire at a younger age. Otherwise they had to stick to protocol. Any other knight or noble could perform the knighting ceremony. However, some noteworthy overachievers were dubbed “Sir Knight” by the king himself.

It all sounds so archaic, so classist, so…so similar to today’s corporate structure. Being a knight today, however, is not simply for European nobility anymore. Many Americans are skipping over the pond for their own knighting rituals. Most are famous-actors, musicians, writers. Some are knighted simply because they are rich and can afford to travel to such places where knighthood is still given out.

Whether they happen to be rich or famous, many of today’s knights (and dames) have a social conscience and are well-rounded individuals. While they may not have been brandishing a sword while atop a horse in the heat of battle, they usually have contributed their own resources to benefit others, and worked hard. They have not simply sought the favor of the nobility who will bestow them with the honor of knighthood.

If you like the idea of becoming a knight sometime, set out to make your dreams a reality and share your wealth. You never know, you may find yourself being honored by royalty in the time it took for a page to become a knight.

If you were interested in the above piece, it is possible to go check out additional related articles or reviews at Bruce Tulio or this Bruce Tulio Post.

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Horse Jewelry

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Horse fanciers and riding enthusiasts often like to demonstrate their affection for the animals and their hobby. There are several ways of doing this. Children may decorate their bedrooms with wallpaper with horses on it or wear badges.

I saw a car once with the number plate “HOR5E” and I have seen men wearing rings with a design of a horse running inlaid into the stone in gold. Women often wear brooches of a similar design or merely the head of a horse.

Equestrian jewellery is smart and also timeless enough to be worn on any occasion. A beautiful horse’s head drawn in tiny diamonds makes a dazzling brooch, but so does one fashioned from gold or silver. In fact, numerous jewellers are realizing the popularity of equestrian jewellery.

Although the horse’s head brooch is probably the most traditional piece of equestrian jewellery, pendants are also well-liked these days. The jeweller can craft a larger figure when it is suspended about the neck than if it is attached to the hair or clothing.

You may not have seen the type of jewellery that I am describing, but I bet that you have seen the Lucky Horse Shoe displayed somewhere. The Lucky Horse Shoe is only another aspect of equestrian jewellery. Many women like to wear them around their necks or on a Charm Bracelet.

The most famous symbol of a horse is almost certainly the Ferrari logo. The Ferrari logo of a rearing horse not only adorns their cars, but can also be seen on official Ferrari memorabilia such as Ferrari jewellery, Ferrari watches and Ferrari shirts and jumpers.

However, equestrian jewellery does not only come in the form of the horses themselves. The accoutrements to riding are also frequently represented in jewellery. Men often use cuff links in the form of tiny stirrups and women often wear silver or gold riding boots on their Lucky Charm bracelets.

Besides the above-mentioned equestrian lucky charms, I have also seen horse buckets, saddles and hunting horns on ladies’ charm bracelets or as single charms hanging from the ears or about the neck. They can also be worn as larger pieces as brooches.

Much of this sort of jewellery is intended for the more well-to-do horsey set and for girls as they go through their horse-loving stage. Therefore, the articles are manufactured in two distinct types: costly and the not so expensive - otherwise very few girls would have the opportunity to show their affection for their large four-legged friends.

The last group of people that can often be seen wearing equestrian jewellery is the gambler who likes to follow horse racing. This is normally a man, but definitely not always.

These men will often wear pins of some form depicting an aspect of their love of the sport and the animals. They may also think of them as lucky charms too.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now involved with Good Diamond Quality. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Jewellry but Watches.

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What Sort Of Cars Are NASCAR Cars?

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Stock car racing was really born out of the inclination of owners of modified stock (meaning: ‘off the sales lot’) cars to show off their vehicles, craftsmanship and driving expertise. The need to ’soup up’ these stock cars came from the wish to escape the law enforcement agencies chasing them when they were running moonshine or said another way, bootlegging.

For the period of Prohibition, a lot of moonshine whiskey was being produced in remote areas of the Appalachians and in particular the Allegheny Mountains, from where it was transported by private carriers in their own stock cars often to the southern states. Many of these drivers tuned up their cars in order to have more chance of escape.

When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, this bootlegging continued in order to circumvent paying duty, but it slowly died out. However, the fire had already been lit and the drivers of these cars liked to race them in their spare time for pride and reward, particularly in the southern states and particularly in North Carolina, where most of the stock car teams are still to be found.

NASCAR was founded by Bill French in 1947 when he crafted the first set of uniform rules and a championship points system so that an overall winner of all the season’s races could be worked out.

However, the conditions in the early days were pretty crude. The cars were often second-hand and worn and the track was just earth and dust. Under these conditions the cars quickly fell apart, so NASCAR allowed competing cars to be customized or strengthened. Safety aspects for the drivers were also introduced. Nowadays, the NASCAR instruction manual clearly defines all the modifications that are allowed on contending cars.

These days it is a mistake to call NASCAR cars ’stock cars’; they are anything but stock cars. NASCAR cars are hand made. The frames are different from stock cars in that they are manufactured from tubes for strength; the tin is sheet steel and the engine blocks begin as simply that - a bare block. What the mechanics do with it after that is a closely guarded secret.

The safety of the driver is also taken very earnestly. The driver is shielded from injury by a heavy roll cage. Strong round and square tubes make up the car’s framework, while thinner tubing is employed at the front and back ends to soak up the impact of crashes by crushing slowly. These are called clips and the front clip will also allow the engine to fall away under the car, rather than be forced straight back into the driver.

The bodies of NASCAR cars are not straightforward to make, often taking ten days to complete. However, NASCAR rules cover the general body shape and they supply thirty templates to make constructing a NASCAR car a bit simpler.

But it does not stop there. There are different regulations and templates for different sorts of races on different tracks, because the cars that compete on superspeedways are not the same as those used for short tracks or endurance races.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on many subjects, but is at present involved with thinking about the Poconos Raceway in Pennsylvania. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Poconos Vacations.

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A Brief History Of Chess

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Games similar to chess have been about for at least a thousand years, but there are also board games that could be called chess’ antecedents that go back another 500 years or so.

North-east India seems to have been the place of origin of a game known as ‘caturanga’, which was played on a board with squares even if they were not black and white. The name of the inventor is also lost in the mists of history.

Caturanga was played by monks and the nobility in north-east India in the Sixth Century. Buddha came from Nepal a thousand years before that and it is thought that the monks took caturanga on their pilgrimages to the East. China has a game of chess called xiangqi, but it is uncertain which came first.

Japan has a game called shogi, which is also played on a grid or uncheckeded squares. It appears that traders also took the game to northern Africa where the Persians took it up with passion.

The kings of Persia were known as Shahs and this became the basis of the word for chess in many European countries.

‘Shaxmati’ in Russian, had reached northern Europe by 1000 AD at the latest, but the path into the countries of Europe came from the north and the south. Vikings were playing a kind of chess in Britain in the Eighth Century called ‘Taefl’ or ‘Hnefatafl’.

The game was called ’shatranj’ in Persian and this entered Portugal and Spain with the Arab invasions. However, by 1200 AD, the rules were being altered and by 1475, the game was approximately like the game we know and play today.

Chess became part of a knight’s formal education in strategy. Books and pamphlets on how to play chess began to be published in the late 15th Century.

By the 18th Century, the epicentre of European chess had moved from Spain to France, but by the early 19th Century northern Europe was starting to figure prominently in the beginnings of European Chess Championships.

Chess clubs started to spring up all around Europe in the mid-19th Century. Britain and Ireland were starting to figure prominently in the tournaments. People began buying books on chess and famous chess matches were published so that they could be scrutinized by enthusiasts.

Newspapers were publishing chess games and correspondence games were being played between the London and Edinburgh chess clubs in 1824. However, it took until 1851 before the first modern ‘all comers’ chess championship was staged. It was won by a German called Adolf Anderssen. Anderssen’s aggressive style became the manner of the day.

German players dominated the world chess scene until a Cuban, Capablanca, ruined it for them by holding sway as World Grand Master between 1921 and 1927. Capablanca did not lose a game for three years.

Alekhine, a Russian French player took the title from Capablanca and held it until his demise in 1946, although he lost it for two years to the Dutchman, Euwe.

No changes to the rules of chess have been brought in for hundreds of years.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with the Gyro Helicopter S107. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Smart Toys for Kids.

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History Of The Caribbean And Why Its Attractive

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Culturally diverse, people can’t help but dream about the Caribbean. The history of the Caribbean is very festive and colorful

Three tribes dominated the early Caribbean history: Arawaks, Ciboney ad Caribs. Columbus stirred up the beaches and the natives when he arrived. Everyone in western Europe joined the band wagon and travelled to the west indies.

With the land ravaged by wars, the original natives were as good as wiped out and the population replaced by the westerners and their African slaves. Thus came a new era for Caribbean history.

A new part of their history developed when everyone finally understands what the more valuable things are. Historical landmarks are preserved by early conquerors.

The culture is a soup of different flavors coming from cultures all across Europe and Africa. Food developed form imperial cuisine down to slave food spiced up by locally grown herbs. Most slaves cooked up their local dishes and got spices from their own masters. So in this region, you will find a mix of local Caribbean flavors and African cuisine.

When the wars ceased, everyone lived in harmony and the people realized the importance of aversion to war. Everyone started tolerating each other and this is how mutual understanding came about between the different cultures.

The history of the Caribbean teaches us the valuable lesson that if people are free and peace is around, the culture and value of lives increase. Having learned from their own, the people appreciated what they had and more festivities with rich music and dances came about as the years passed. Truly, Caribbean history has it all with the overturn of war and peace.

The history of the Caribbean is rich and colorful as well as its people and varying cultures. For this reason, it is a top vacation spot. Learn more about the history of the Caribbean by clicking on Caribbean history

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The History of English Cricket

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

It will come as a surprise to those who have not learned the history of cricket, but it is now thought that Cricket really originated in Saxon or Norman times as a children?s game played by children living in the region called the Weald of Kent in what is today Kent and Sussex in South East England . It was not taken up as an adult game until the beginning of the 17th century.

The first known allusion to the game in the history of cricket is to be found in the records of a 1598 court case concerning a disagreement over a school’s ownership of a plot of land. A 59-year old coroner, John Derrick, testified that he and his school friends had played ‘creckett’ on the site fifty years beforehand.

The school was the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and Mr Derrick’s report proves beyond acceptable doubt that the game was being played in Surrey around 1550.

The first mention of it being played as an adult team game was in 1611, when two men in Sussex were prosecuted for playing cricket on Sunday instead of going to church. This was in the same year when a dictionary defined cricket as a boys’ game and this implies that adult participation was a recent development.

With all the recent press coverage of the pressure of gambling upon the outcome of cricket matches, it is astonishing that historically, gambling played a very substantial part in the development of the game in England. Cricket had definitely become a major gambling sport by the end of the 17th century.

There is a newspaper report of a “great match” played in Sussex in 1697 which was 11-a-side and played for the high stakes of 50 guineas a side. 50 guineas would be the equivalent of GBP5,000 to GBP 6,000 in today?s terms.

The present day system of County teams came about as a result of well-off gamblers forming their own teams in order to fortify their bets and began to employ local experts from village cricket as the first professionals. It is believed that the first ?County? game took place in 1697 between Sussex and another county.

Cricket was introduced to North America via the British colonies in the 17th century, and in the 18th century it spread to other parts of the British dominated world. It was introduced to the West Indies by colonists and to India by the British East India Company in the first half of the century.

The first colonists took it to Australia soon after 1788 followed by New Zealand and South Africa in the first years of the 19th century.

It might come as a shock to many that the very first International cricket game took place between the United States and Canada in 1844 (Canada won by 23 runs) and the very first overseas tour was by a party of leading English professionals who toured North America in 1857.

The first English tour of Australia was in 1862, with the first Australian tour of England being by a team of Australian Aborigine players in 1868.

In 1877, an England touring team in Australia played two matches against full Australian XIs that are now regarded as the very first Test matches. The next year, the Australians toured England for the first time and were a spectacular success.

No Tests were played on that tour but more soon followed. At The Oval in 1882, there was played what was to become the most well-known match of all time which gave birth to The Ashes.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with the London 2012 Olympics mascot. Click a link if you are interested in the 2012 London Olympics Volunteers.

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The Surprising History of Rugby

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Today, each schoolboy knows the story of William Webb Ellis, the Rugby School pupil “who with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it”. The presentation trophy for the Rugby World Cup is named the Webb Ellis trophy in his honour, and his “achievement” is commemorated by a plaque at the school

There is just one thing wrong with this story. It simply is not true. It was not until four years after the death of Webb Ellis in 1876 that the story first saw the light of day and its origin is thought to come from a local antiquarian and previous Rugbeian Matthew Bloxam.

He was not a contemporary of Webb Ellis and says that the story was told to him by an anonymous source some 53 years after the incident is alleged to have happened.

In 1823, when the incident is alleged to have happened, the rules of rugby had yet to be formulated and any changes, such as the legality of carrying or running with the ball, were often agreed on an ad hoc basis a short while before the beginning of a game.

There were therefore no formal rules for football during the period William Webb Ellis was at the school (1816?25). It was not until 1845, some 200 years after football was first played at Rugby School, that three schoolboys published the first written rules of the game.

For many years it had been the boys, and not the masters who had set down the rules which were frequently modified by every new generation of pupils.

Guy’s Hospital Football Club, formed in London in 1843, by old boys from Rugby School, has strong claims to be the oldest football club in the world. It definitely predates by 14 years the formation of Sheffield FC, believed to be the oldest club playing association football.

In 1871, after a number of contentious disputes with the Football Association, 21 clubs met in London to form an association of those clubs ‘who play the rugby-type game’.

As a result the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was shaped. The first International rugby game was played on 27 March 1871 between England and Scotland. The English team wore white shirts ornamented with a red rose and the Scots brown shirts with a thistle. (Scotland won the match).

The worries and conflicts regarding amateurism and professionalism had long proved a thorny topic. The representatives of Yorkshire and Lancashire are accredited with bringing in rules concerning amateurism in 1879.

These rules were finally formalized by the RFU in 1886. It is broadly believed that the northern clubs were in favour of the professional game whereas these northern bodies were strong advocates of amateurism,

However, conflict arose over the controversy regarding ‘broken time’, the issue of whether players should receive reimbursement for taking time off work to play.

The northern clubs had a substantial number of working class players who had either to miss games due to working commitments, or give up their wages in order to play rugby. By 1892, this subject of broken time repayments was a problem not merely for northern clubs such as Bradford and Leeds but also for clubs in the south.

It became a concern of the RFU: these broken time repayments would become a rapid path to professionalism.

On 29 August 1895, 20 clubs from Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield and decided to resign from the RFU and create the Northern Rugby Football Union, which from 1922 became the Rugby Football League.

The quarrel about payment was one which at the time was also affecting soccer and cricket. Each game had to work out a compromise; rugby’s position was the most radical. Amateurism was strictly enforced, and anyone accepting payment for playing rugby league was disqualified.

However, on 26 August 1995 the International Rugby Board declared rugby union an “open” game and thereby removed all restrictions on payments or benefits to those connected with the game.

It did this because of a committee conclusion that to do so was the only way to end the hypocrisy of sham amateurism and to keep control of rugby union. The wheel had turned full circle.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on lots of subjects, but is at present involved with the London 2012 Olympics mascot. Click a link if you are interested in the 2012 London Olympics Volunteers.

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