Traditionnal rugby ball temporary tattoo 7cm

Here is the temporary tattoo of the traditional rugby ball: brown leather color and visible white seams. It is to this craftsman from Rugby, William Gilbert, that we owe the charm of this sport: this oval ball whose exact trajectory cannot be predicted, which adds this spice and whimsical side to the game.

Rugby tattoos

As surprising as it may seem, the first balls used to play rugby were not oval but round. In 1823, at the college in the town of Rugby, England, a certain William Webb-Ellis was playing soccer and suddenly decided to pick up the ball by hand. Rugby was born.

The ball, supplied by the town's shoemaker, William Gilbert, was round. It was made from an inflated pig bladder. The oval ball, used in France in the game of "barrette", had not yet arrived in England.

It was only in the 1840s that Gilbert tested an ovoid shape, easier to hold, to press against the bust of the players. In 1877, the oval ball was officially adopted by the English rugby federation.

The export of this British invention began timidly in the 1920s, first in the Commonwealth countries (Australia, New Zealand and South Africa). As rugby developed internationally, Gilbert balls became popular wherever a rugby field was established.

Size of the tattoo: 5 cm x 7 cm.