England have got their hands on most coveted prize in rugby - the William Webb Ellis trophy.

But who is the famous golden cup named after, and why?

The Academy decided to find out more about the boy who gave rugby to the world.

Ok, so who exactly is William Webb Ellis?
He's the boy who brought rugby to the world (...or so the story goes).

Wow, how did he manage that then?
William, or Bill to his mates, was a pupil at posh Rugby School in Warwickshire during the early 19th century.

During a football training session in 1823 the 16 year old schoolboy caught the round ball and instead of standing still, he ran with it. Go Billy boy!

And that's how rugby started?
Lots of people like to believe so, but others say it's a complete myth.

Pupils at Rugby School roll back the years

After all, games involving running and handling had existed for centuries before that.

In fact, some historians reckon William Webb Ellis might have been demonstrating the ancient Irish game of 'caid', which was similar to rugby.

His dad had been stationed in Ireland with the army and he could have seen it being played there.

What did William Webb Ellis have to say about it all then?
Nobody ever asked him.

But why not?
William Webb Ellis died in 1872 - and it wasn't until four years later that the story came to light when another former Rugby pupil wrote to the school magazine.

By the time any proper research was started in 1895, it was difficult to find anyone who could remember what happened.

How did the rules of rugby develop then?
In William Webb Ellis's days, there was no distinction between rugby and football like there is today.

It's every rugby player's dream

Each school just developed its own version of football and within each school the game could even vary from one generation of players to the next.

The split was eventually made official in 1863 when the Football Association, the governing body of football, was formed.

Then in 1871 representatives from rugby clubs across the country met to form the Rugby Football Union and draw up their own common code of laws.

Former pupils of Rugby school would have had a hand in this.

Soon after the RFU was formed, the first rugby international was played between England and Scotland in Edinburgh on 27 March.

So poor old William Webb Ellis had nothing to do with it after all?
The most coveted prize in the game may be named in his honour, but sadly rugby historians tend to agree the story's all a myth.

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