The James brothers made their debuts for Broughton Rangers in 1892, but had to wait another seven years before being allowed to play regularly for the club. This is the story of what happened in the years between their first game and their return to Broughton Rangers in 1899.
In the years before the ‘Great Split’ in 1895 there were a number of high profile cases brought by the rugby union authorities against players accused of professionalism.
A number of clubs were suspended and the players found guilty were banned from playing rugby union.
Most of the players that were banned were playing for clubs in the north of England. These were, in many cases, the clubs that would eventually be part of the breakaway that led to the formation of the Northern Union. Many of the players banned had been born and brought up close to the club they played for. However, there were exceptions and those exceptions were usually players who had moved a considerable distance to a club in the north leaving their home town and local club. Many of those players accused of professionalism cited looking for work as the reason they moved to the north of England, but in the age of informers and ‘witch hunts’ the suspicion of financial inducements being offered to players to move north became normal.
