ABSTRACT
1. In the present chapter, we shall analyse the way in which industrialization, embourgeoisement and public school reform led to the emergence at Rugby School of a social structure conducive to the incipient modernization of their football. We shall first discuss the ‘necessary’ then the ‘sufficient’, i.e. motivational, conditions for this process. We shall then review the evidence which shows the occurrence of modernizing changes in the game. And finally, in a short postscript, we shall return to the emergent division of football into Rugby and soccer. Our first task, however, is to examine the connections between Arnold’s reforms and the incipient modernization of Rugby football.
