Thanks for the interesting history, Rob -- however, unless I missed it, you neglected to mention that the English RU game was absolutely gutted by the loss of the powerful northern clubs in 1895 -- then further diminished by the rapid growth of professional soccer in the 1890s and beyond -- in combination, helping Wales, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to dominate England during that era (and hence consolidate RU in those countries)
Being that I am far more familiar with the sport of American Football, perhaps one of the most iconic and defining features of American Football (and one that certainly separates it from Rugby) is the "Forward Pass" which has its formal origins as a 'legal' part of the game in the early 1900s. Likewise... perhaps THE most iconic image of the quintessentially English sport of Rugby is "The Scrum". As someone who is on the outside looking in... the Scrum (at least in my opinion) is the defining characteristic that not only separates Rugby from all other games, it is also the Scrum is also what makes Rugby "rugby". Which now leads me to my question: While am aware of the origins of the "Forward Pass" in American Football... can anyone tell me the origins of and the history behind "The Scrum" as well as how it became formalized in the sport of Rugby??
