Every four years, countries around the globe stop and watch as an egg-shaped ball get tossed, tussled, kicked and thrown by 30 players within a 100-meter field.  First used in the 1800s in England, the egg-shaped ball looks like the ones used today.

 Awareness of this game is drastically increasing in other countries due to its level of competitiveness and required skills. Many people, players and enthusiasts alike, are adept with the technical rules and how the game is played. However, there are people who wonder why the ball possesses its quirky shape.

Rugby balls trace their roots to the 1800s where pig bladders were stuffed and sewed in most English schools. William Gilbert and Richard Lindon are credited for the first rugby balls sold in the English Rugby schools. Early Rugby balls are actually more plum shaped than oval because they take the shape of an inflated pig bladder. In 1835, the ball was made slimmer mainly because of improved construction and leather materials.

In the 1850s, Gilbert and Charles Macintosh, along with other ball manufacturers, began to experiment and improve on the raw material used to make the balls. They started utilizing rubber inflatable bladders as opposed to using pig bladder. This development in ball manufacturing benefitted rugby in Colorado and in other places.

A few years later, the first rules governing the ball in rugby in Colorado and other areas were made. In 1892, the size of the rugby ball should be between 11" and 11.25". The ball's circumference at its widest point should not be larger than 26". The ball should be at least a pound (13 ounces). These standards will later on change in 1931 with the width decreasing to 24" and the weight increasing to 15 ounces.

Fast forward to the modern days of union rugby, the most common code played today, the ball should be 11.81 inches long and have 22.83" to 24.40" circumference at its widest point. The outer layer should be made of leather or similar synthetic material and should comprise of four stitched panels.  Its weight is around the one-pound mark, but accurately increased to 16 ounces. Generally, the ball used in rugby in Denver and other places retained its egg shape. However, it appears slimmer than its ancestors in the 1800s.