Rugby

Rugby is a type of football game; the name comes from an England preparatory school. The sport is soccer or association football. Kicking and dribbling with the foot are a part of rugby, but continuous passing of the ball is its most characteristic feature. The game is most popular in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. The game is played with 15 people on each team and is called a “Rugby Union.” The teams with 13 people on each team are called a “Rugby League.” The league is the professional game and the other difference besides the number of players is the rules. The object of the game is to attempt to score the ball behind the opponent’s goal line and score the greater number of points within two fourth minuet playing periods.(Richardson)

History

Rugby was developed through an interpretation of the rules by a young boy by the name of William Webb Ellis during a soccer match during 1823. The ball carrying spread to many other English public schools. In 1839 students from Cambridge University gave it a run during an intramural game and they called it “Rugby’s Game”. Then in 1848 the first code of the game was made and Rugby acquired recognition. In the 1860’s two different types of soccer (football) were developed handling and nonhandling. In ’63 the nonhandling supporters formed a Football Association (football or soccer). In 1871, twenty-one amateur clubs established the Rugby Football Union and made the original laws of the game.(Richardson)(Thomas)

Women Play Rugby Too

The Women’s Rugby League is the female only version of the game. There are currently clubs for female only participation in Australia, Great Britain New Zealand. They are overlooked by many individual organizations of the different countries. At international level France, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand compete in the Woman’s Rugby League World Cup.("Women's Rugby League")

(Girls' Rugby)

A Quick Look at the Rules

1. As you notice, there are no shoulder pads or helmets in rugby.





2. The ball must be pitched backwards to your teammates. No Forward passes like John Elway.A team can pitch the ball back and forth to each other as many times as they wish.





3. THERE IS NO BLOCKING to assist your runner.





4. Everyone runs with the ball and tackles equally. Unlike American Grid-Iron Football where 2 or 3 guys get all the glory and the rest of the team is never given the opportunity to prove themselves and run for a score, every player on the rugby field will run with the ball and tackle over 20 times a game. If you were an offensive lineman and never ran the ball and never tackled this game is for you! Everyone will be a running back and linebacker. When a set dead-ball scrum is formed, that is when the team will get in their SET POSITIONS, but shortly after that when mass chaos breaks out, all players will run and tackle with the ball





5. When you are tackled you have 1 second to let go of the ball and purposely “fumble” the ball. Don’t touch it again until you are up from the pile and standing on your two feet again.





6. When you TACKLE someone, you can’t pick up the fumbled ball until you are ON YOUR FEET. This is one of the most called penalties on new players. You must be standing up to pick up the ball. You cannot dive on a loose ball.





7. When you are on defense, and a tackled player is put to the ground, you must make sure you are on YOUR SIDE OF THE “scrumage line” BEFORE you engage in any physical contact with the other team. This is called offside and is one of the most called penalties for all levels of players. This happens when a defensive player is chasing down a runner from behind. The defensive player must run around the ruck pile and enter from the other side to give contact on the ruck pile. This is a very big yardage penalty if you get caught not being on sides on a loose ruck pile





8. The game will have 15 players from each team taking the field





9. When you teammate pitches the ball to you as you are running down the field, and you accidentally drop the ball. THAT IS A PENALTY, it is called a “Knock On”. The other team will get the ball automatically right there for their possession. As you can see, this is the kiss of death when you drop or “Knock On” the ball deep in your own territory by their scoring end zone. This is why we run so many ball-handling drills in practice, to cut down on these penalties.





10. There are no “Downs” in rugby like football. An offensive team may have the ball for 20 “phases” or “downs” in a row, if they can keep winning the ruck pile and push over the tackled player to win the ball and regain possession. It is very important to always be in “support” and chasing after your ball carrier at all times. When your offensive player is tackled and there is 4 offensive players running right behind the ball carrier, they should no doubt be able to push over the 2 or 3 defensive players that are at the tackle area or the “ruck pile”. On the other side of the coin, if no offensive players are in support and the ball carrier is tackled, the defense will simply just step over the ball and the ball carrier, to pick up the loose ball. The offensive player must “REALEASE” the ball in 1 second. The Defensive team will just pick it up and run the other way if no offensive support is right there. It is VERY IMPORTANT TO BE IN SUPPORT AND HAVE 4 PLAYERS RIGHT BEHIND A BALL CARRIER. (1)You will be there for a pitch-pass. (2) You are there for a ruck over to win the ball. ("Rules of Rugby")

Equipment and Paraphernalia

Rugby is played with an oval-shaped, leather covered, inflated ball. 11 to 12 inches long, 23 to 24 ½ in circumference and weighs 14 ½ to 15 ½ ounces. The ball is flatter, more rounded and less pointed, than an American football.(Richardson)

Even with all the physical contact the players don’t have any padding. All they wear is jerseys, shorts, long socks, cleats and if you want scrum caps.

The Field

A game of Rugby or a Match is played on a field that is no longer than 110 yards from goal line to goal line. There is a goal post that stands in the middle of each team’s goal line. Right behind the goal line there is a “in goal” area which is the same as an end zone. The in goal is no more than 24 yards long. The playing area is surrounded by “touch” lines. The field is 75.5 yards wide from touch line to touch line. The middle of the field is called the “halfway” line. In Rugby unlike American football, each team’s ten yard line is ten yards from the halfway line. The time periods are made up of 40 minutes broken with 5 minuet periods.(Richardson)

The Players Positions

There are fifteen players at the start of the match, eight forwards(the pack) and seven backs.