rugby

The Rugby World Cup and South African language

Well, that was a cliffhanger and a half, wasn’t it? South Africa has been buzzing with elation ever since the Springboks’ historic victory in the RWC final. They took the title for the fourth time, thereby not only repeating their triumph at the 2019 World Cup but also placing themselves… Read More

Six Nations Championship: the lexicon of rugby

The British have invented so many sports (how many can you think of? I make it fifteen1) and exported them to the four corners of the globe. Sometimes, sadly for some, cosmic irony dictates that the adopter is superior to the exporter, as in the recent case of… Read More

Etymology Corner – ‘Rugby’

The Six Nations begin tomorrow so we’ve decided to look at the etymology behind the word ‘rugby’. ‘Rugby’ is what is known in etymological parlance as a toponym: a word that is derived from a place-name. In this case the word… Read More