Nothing great about amateurism - it was designed to keep the working class and other riff raff out of the games played by the upper classes. The working class could not afford to take the time off from work to play sports. This became an issue in the 1890's. The RFU said no and in 1895, the northern clubs split away to form the Northern Football Union. This developed into the game called Rugby League.
League is popular in the north of England and in Australia.
It has been having a hard time since Rugby Union became professional. In League, there is no contest for the ball. After a player is tackled, his team keeps possession and restarts play. It is similar to the concept of downs in American football. In league you have 6 tackles to score otherwise the other team gets the ball.