Why do rugby players get money?

Answer 1

Originally in the late 1800s the game of Rugby Union was an armature sport where only those who had a good financial background like a rich family could afford to play. When clubs in the north of the England started to loose its players as they moved south to find work started to partition the Union to allow them to pay some wages to the players the Union rejected the concept stating that it was and would remain armature. Those clubs broke away from the union and formed the Rugby League. It made changes to the format of the team and rules and started to pay gate fees to players. It became professional. Following the 1987 rugby world cup the IRB realised that more and more "armature" players were being offered huge sums to move codes and play league. Prior to this any union player found moving to a professional club were sanctioned, in effect banned from coming back to the Union code. The decision to make the Game an open game by the IRB was to change the course of the sport as now players in the former armature game would be paid and could therefore move between codes. It has been universally agreed that as the union game has developed in the passed 23 years that the players at all levels do deserve a form of financial remuneration. Especially when the playing life of a professional rugby player in both codes in less than that of a soccer player. Since the development of the RWC the union has seen huge financial income both from games and the marketing value of the games.