<P> In 2009, many retailers with both online and High Street stores launched their online sales on Christmas Eve and their High Street sales on Boxing Day . </P> <P> In the United Kingdom, it is traditional for both top - tier football leagues in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the lower ones, as well as the rugby leagues, to hold a full programme of football and rugby union matches on Boxing Day . Originally, matches on Boxing Day were played against local rivals to avoid teams and their fans having to travel a long distance to an away game on the day after Christmas Day . Prior to the formation of leagues, a number of traditional rugby union fixtures took place on Boxing Day each year, notably Llanelli v London Welsh and Leicester v The Barbarians . </P> <P> In rugby league, festive fixtures were a staple of the traditional winter season . Since the transition to a summer season in the 1990s, no formal fixtures are now arranged on boxing day but some clubs, such as Wakefield Trinity, arrange a traditional local derby friendly fixture instead . </P> <P> In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Test cricket matches are played on Boxing Day: for more details see Boxing Day Test . </P>

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