In 1995 rugby dropped its amateur ethos and went openly professional - but not before nearly tearing itself in two. Produced by Justin Gregory.

Rugby went professional more than twenty years ago. Getting there nearly tore the game in two.

"Professionalism is about more than just money, right?"

One cold winter's night, Keith Quinn went to a party.

It was 1979 and down at the Hutt Valley Marist club they were holding a send-off for club stalwart Bernie Fraser. He was about to leave on his first overseas tour with the All Blacks.

Towards the end of the evening, an official came to Keith and asked a favour. The local businesses had held a whip-round and raised some money for Bernie. It was a gesture typical of the time, thoughtful and generous, meant to make sure Bernie didn't suffer financially while off work playing for the national team.

The official wanted to know if Keith, one of the country's best known sports journalists, would present the money to Bernie.

Sure, said Keith.

"But I knew that I should have really been reporting this as a breach of the amateur rules."

Rugby Union back then was an amateur game and had been since it was invented and codified in the mid-19th century. No one got paid to play, but not because there wasn't any money in the game.

Australian journalist Peter FitzSimons played seven test matches for the Wallabies in 1989-90. He clicked to the truth early on.

"I was standing at the Sydney Football Stadium, singing the national anthem. And the stadium was a cathedral."

As he sang, he let his eyes wander around the stadium.

"You've got 40,000 people here, Mum and Dad were paying $65...huh, there must be $2.7 million dollars flowing through the gates here and I'm on $50 a day!"

But the debutant couldn't have cared less.

"It wasn't about the money. It was about the honour of the jersey. And that was the glory of the game."

But within a few short years, honour and glory were no longer enough for most top players. And in truth, some were already being paid.

They called it shamaterurism; amateurism in name only. Lots of sports did it. In rugby's old days there was boot money; cash quietly stuffed in your boots after a game. Or generous gifts from good honest rugby fans like the business owners of Lower Hutt.

By the 1980s there were large expense payments, commercial sponsors for big sporting competitions and brand logos on team jerseys. Athletes of all kinds did ads and endorsements, implicitly trading off their sports profile. Everyone winked at the hypocrisy. Occasionally someone was nicked for it and the contradictions of the system would be laid bare…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details