"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again"
The great rugby split happened in 1895 when, put simply, the southern based bosses wouldn't play fair with the northern based working class players. The Northern Union was formed which became Rugby League and it prospered although concern was expressed about whether the new code was financially viable without international competition. The All Golds arrived in 1907 and their tour was a big success. It facilitated the introduction of the new code in New Zealand and Australia who provided the required international competition. In the UK, Rugby League is now played in the summer and, without doubt, this has many advantages. However, the move destroyed the traditional and very successful international calendar involving regular Kangaroo/Lions/ Kiwi tours and as a sport we haven't really found an acceptable replacement. Tri/Four Nation tournaments are poor replacements which don't attract enough sponsorship, crowds or media attention. Ruby League internationals used...