In the early 19th Century there was a belief that males could display manliness through sporting endeavours. Sport was considered labour intensive and only for men that were “manly” enough to engage in activities like tackling. These activities were deemed too dangerous for women.

There was also this idea that males tend to follow rules better in a sporting context which meant they were disciplined and demonstrated their character through sport. Sport provided young men with an opportunity to promote manliness and masculinity due to their ability to engage in high contact and high impact activities.

Patriotism was seen through many sports including cricket and it soon became known as “The Gentleman’s Game”