The First Rugby ball

What do most balls have in common? They are all round. But why are rugby balls are not round?

In the 1800’s the first rugby balls were made out of pigs bladders and they were slightly oval. In those days there wasn’t any pumps so you had to blow it up with your mouth and that wasn’t a popular task. The people use stem tubes to blow it up. Blowing up the ball was also very unhealthy.

Later in the 1800’s two shoemakers stitched 4 leather panels to make rugby balls for the local school (also called rugby). People replaced the pigs bladder with rubber bladders. Hand pumps were also invented so you don’t have to use lung power. Nowadays the rugby balls have to be a standard size and shape. Rugby balls are very unlikely to have raw, smelly, germ laden pigs bladders. Rugby balls are made from synthetic materials.