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- A dual-code rugby international is a rugby footballer who has played at the senior international level in both codes of rugby, 13-a-side rugby league and 15-a-side rugby union. Rugby league started as a breakaway version of rugby in Northern England in 1895 and in New Zealand and Australia in 1908, and consequently a number of early top-class rugby league players had been star players in the rugby union code. Accordingly, a high proportion of Australia and New Zealand's dual-code rugby internationals played in rugby league's formative years in those countries. From 1910 to 1995, dual-code internationals were infrequent and with the single exception of Karl Ifwersen, the player had always first appeared as a union international before shifting to league, due to strict bans applied by administrators in rugby union, which remained amateur, to those players who crossed to the professional code. In 1995 rugby union itself turned professional and the tide of switches began to reverse. Since then the vast majority of cross-code representatives have debuted internationally in league before moving to union where there is now a larger audience and more money available. Backs have more often been successful at the highest level of both games than forwards – approximately 65% of the players here listed are backs, although pre-1995 many notable forwards moved from union to league. Since 1995 nearly 90% of the league to union converts who went on to play internationally have been backs. The following is an incomplete list of dual-code internationals, listed by country. (en)
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