This paper examines the history of English rugby union football in the period between the 1895 split in the sport and the end of the Edwardian era. It argues that during this period, the RFU's definition of amateurism was constantly being refined and adjusted to take into account the changing fortunes of the game. However, underlying these shifts was a constant desire to create a sport that was fashioned around the needs of young middle-class men to create a social and recreational environment which they controlled, unthreatened by the prospect of working-class domination or commercial exigencies.