 The expansion of rugby in the first half of the 19th century was driven by ex @-@ pupils from many of England 's Public Schools , especially Rugby , who , upon finishing school , took the game with them to universities , to London , and to the counties . England 's first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871 . Not only was this match England 's first , but it also proved to be the first ever rugby union international . Scotland won the match by a goal and a try to a try , in front of a crowd of 4 @,@ 000 people at Raeburn Place , Edinburgh . A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872 which saw England defeat Scotland by a goal , a drop goal and two tries to one drop goal . In those early days there was no points system , it was only after 1890 that a format allowing the introduction of a points system was provided . Up until 1875 international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored ( <unk> and dropped goals ) , but from 1876 the number of tries scored could be used to decide a match if teams were level on goals . 
