"Scientific" football is first described in 1862 at Rugby School: here one could see "scientific play", magnificent "drops" and "gallant run ins". It is uncertain if the drops and run-ins constituted what the author meant by "scientific", however it is made clear that this playing style was distinctly less "vicious" than in the past. Clearly there was something systematic about scientific rugby. Further references to scientific play come in match accounts in the 1860s, including to games under the Association rules.