One change which was made in the rules of the game and helped to alter its character ought first to be mentioned. Before 1875 a match could only be won by a majority of goals, this having been the original Rugby rule. Amongst men, however, place-kicking is never so good as it is with schoolboys, and the result was that in very many matches no goal was scored from the tries which were gained, and it became a common thing for a match to remain 'drawn,' although one side had secured several tries. As an example of the absurdity of the system it may be mentioned that the present writer played in one match when nine tries were obtained by one side, and yet it was declared drawn. The rule as altered in 1875 provided that one goal should be better than any number of tries, but that if no goal should be obtained the match should be won by a majority of tries; and this method of scoring remained for eleven years, although efforts from time to time were made to reduce the importance of the goal. Since then the rule has been frequently altered, and at present the game is decided by a majority of points, a try counting three, a penalty goal three, a dropped goal four, and a goal from a try two in addition to the try.

In the second period the good forward not only had to be a good scrummager and tackier, but was bound also to be a good dribbler, and fast in following up. If nine or ten of the desired players could not be found in a club, it became necessary to choose some for their scrummaging, and others for their dribbling and following up; but it was necessary at any rate for the team as a whole to show a combination of activity and power, and not to rely on strength alone. As soon as this was recognised, and it was seen that games were mainly won by good combined forward play, the object of the forwards on the winning side became not to keep the scrummage tight, but to break it up as soon as possible, and if this could not be done by straight shoving through the middle of the pack, to effect the same object by screwing the scrummage round with the ball still at the feet of that layer of the scrummagers which was borne to the front. With the scrummage once broken down, the ball was away in a moment, and borne down the field by the combined rush of the forwards. As soon, then, as the new game came in, every forward had to go into the scrummage head down, for by standing well up and shoving blindly he became of more harm than good.

Above all things he had to learn to dribble, and keep the ball close to him, and not to kick the ball right away from him into the hands of the opposing three-quarters. The new forward had to be a sturdy vehement player, but with his feet well under his control. In fact, he is the forward of to-day, save that he was not taught to cultivate 'scientific passing.'

As the system of ' tight scrummaging' gradually gave way, the half-backs began to find themselves with less and less offensive and more defensive work to do. The half-back could not afford to stand away from the scrummage so as to get well away from the ball, for the loose scrummagers were on the ball the instant it came through the scrummage. The chief business of the half-back then became to snap up the ball like lightning as soon as it came away from the pack, and then to run, punt into touch, or pass back to the three-quarter, as opportunity offered; but it was seldom in a fast match upon a dry ground that the half-back had a really good chance of himself getting away direct from the scrummage, his best chance of a run being after a pass from one of his own forwards. The immediate results, therefore, of the loose scrummaging system were these: the great requisites for a half-back became readiness of resource and nimbleness and deftness in picking up the ball; speed of running being a comparatively minor consideration.

The proper place for the speedy runner was at three-quarter back, and the slow runner did little good at three-quarter unless he happened to be a marvellously good and quick 'drop-kick' In the later game then we find the three-quarter backs doing the majority of the long runs, sensational drop-kicks and brilliant play, and the half-back having to content himself with being 'useful' only in all the 'outside scrummage play,' although he often got his opportunities for dodging over the line if he followed up the three-quarter after a run, or got hold of the ball after a loose rush of his own forwards who had overrun the ball.

The first alteration of tactics when the new game had fairly come in was the experiment of playing three half-backs outside the scrummage. The practice, however, never properly took root, although we believe the Blackheath Club steadily played this way throughout one season; the three 'halves' often got in each other's way, and there soon became little doubt that it was a mistake. Two 'backs ' were always played at that time, and to play seven men behind the scrummage was considered then a dangerous risk, nor could one three-quarter be reasonably expected to do all the work behind the three halves. The game then settled down for a bit with six players behind the scrummage, two halves, two three-quarters, and two backs, the remaining nine playing forward. The best halves were strong, thick-set men, rather under than over middle height, who could both whip up the ball and tackle unerringly, and were hardy and elastic enough to come up smiling after half a scrummage had fallen plump upon the top of them.

In these days also there was more room for a half to be brilliant than there is at present, as he was expected to snap up the ball and run or punt into touch from the melee, and not to 'sweep' the ball straight back to the three-quarters as soon as he could get his hands upon it.

The real feature of the loose game, however, was the additional importance it gave to the three-quarter back. In the old days when most tries were gained by a straight 'run-in,' the main defence rested with the backs, who could be relied upon to tackle the runner before he reached the goal-line; but now, when the most dangerous assault was a rush of the forwards in line, the single defensive line of the backs could not be relied upon, and the three-quarters had at all costs to keep the ball in front of them. Thus they came to do the bulk of the really important defensive work; they also rapidly came to do most of the long brilliant runs. The half-back was too close to the loose scrummage to get round, and thus constantly passed to the three-quarters, who then found a chance of getting away. Often, also, this chance arose through the clumsiness of an opposing forward, who kicked hard when he should have dribbled, and thus sent the ball past the half-backs into the hands of the three-quarters. The three-quarters thus were the only players behind who had much prospect of scoring a dropped goal, or of getting 'well away' with a hope of running round the opposing field.