Rugby League in United States of America (USA)

Rugby league takes its name from what was initially a breakaway faction of the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) known as the Northern Union, and was played under the same rules as rugby at first. When similar breakaway factions occurred from RFU-affiliated Rugby Unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908 they formed associations known as Rugby Leagues and introduced modified Northern Union rules. The Northern Union later changed its name to the Rugby Football League. Thus, the game became known as rugby league. Over the following decades the game's rules were gradually changed and now rugby league is a distinctly different sport.

The aim of the game is to score points by carrying an oval ball (the correct geometric shape is a prolate spheroid) up the field towards the opposing team's in-goal where the ball is grounded to score a try (worth four points). This is to be done by the attacking team within a "set of six" tackles allowed before the ball must be handed over to the opposition. At the end of a set of six, unless the attacking team is in good field position from where they can attempt to score a try, the team with the ball will usually elect to kick the ball to the adjacent end of the field, thereby forcing the opposing team to run the ball from as far away from their own try line as possible. The opposing team attempts to prevent the attacking team from carrying out this objective by tackling the player with the ball. After scoring a try the scoring team then has the right to attempt to kick a goal (worth a further two points if successful). The kick may be taken from any point on an imaginary line parallel with the touch-line and through the point where the try was scored. The team with the most points at the end of two 40-minute halves wins.

Rugby league is played in more than 30 countries, though It is most commonly played in the north of England, Australia and some parts of New Zealand. Of these two areas Oceania is generally thought to be the stronger region. Rugby league is most popular in the north of England, Eastern Australia, parts of New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, where rugby league is recognised as the national sport.

In the United Kingdom, rugby league has traditionally struggled to become accepted outside of the "heartland" towns of northern England where the game originated. This has sometimes been blamed on the lack of media coverage given thus Neumann's Spiral of silence theory applying. The balance has not changed even with the advent of Super League on Sky Sports.

The game is also attempting expansion in Europe. Despite having had many strong teams historically, rugby à treize in France has struggled to compete with rugby union since the Vichy government banned the sport and illegally seized all their assets during World War Two. However, early 21st century developments have seen Georgia, Holland, Germany, Estonia, Malta, Serbia, Argentina, Jamaica, Samoa, Tonga and others take part in international rugby league tournaments or matches.

Australia have won every world cup since 1975. Until November 25, 2005, they had also not lost an international tournament or series of any kind for nearly thirty years. This record was finally broken when they lost to New Zealand in the final of the 2005 Tri-Nations Series at Elland Road in Leeds.