The true history of rugby league's birth in Australia and its dramatic first seasons. A revised, updated and expanded 'Centenary Edition' of The Rugby Rebellion: The Divide of League and Union. Pioneers of Rugby League is a thrilling and authoritative account of the most explosive era in Australian sport - caused by the tumultuous arrival of rugby league (our nation's first professional football code) a century ago. Using dramatic first-hand accounts, of on-field action and off-field events, the true history is revealed: of how 13-man rugby league won the support of New South Wales and Queensland footballers and fans alike, conquering the established rugby union, and thwarting the plans of Australian football.