It is said that rugby that rugby was first born in 1823 when William Webb Ellis, with no regard for the rules, picked up the ball during a football(soccer) game and ran with it. Rugby has since evolved into an extremely popular world sport(that is gaining ground in the U.S.). There are two primary institutions of rugby that have slightly different laws to the; Rugby Union and Rugby League.
The most obvious difference in League versus Union is that there are 13 players on the field instead of 15. League also puts less emphasis on scrums and line-outs than Union does. Another difference is that in League a team only gets 6 tackles to score a try before the ball is given to the other team. There are more in-depth differences but these are the main few. The result is a more running-oriented game.
Rugby Union is the more common form of rugby and is what is usually seen tv. Union involves 15 players on the field at a time. Players numbered 1-8 are whats known as the forward pack. The pack consists of the larger players with greater pushing pwoer than the others. Players numbered 10-15 are known as the backs. Backs are the more fleet-footed of the team and are responsible the majority of the running and passing n the team. Backs also need to dextrous in order to effectively move the ball down the line. The number 9 player is known as the scrum-half and acts as the liason between the two groups, delivering the ball from the pack to the backs. The positions are arranged as follows:
- Loosehead Prop
- Hooker
- Tighthead Prop
- Second Row
- Second Row
- Blindside Flanker
- Openside Flanker
- Eight Man
- Scrum-half
- Fly-half
- Wing
- Inside Center
- Outside Center
- Wing
- Fullback
The explanation of complete gameplay is too involved for the purpose of this page but here are a few basics. The game is 80 minutes long with two 40 minute halfs. There is no stoppage of play for penalties or out of bounds. The ball cannot be passed forward. A score is known as a Try and is exectued by entering the try-zone and applying down pressure on the ball on the ground. A try is worth five points. A team then needs to convert a kick through the uprights which is worth two points after a try. During gameplay or after a penalty a team can kick the ball off the ground and through the uprights to gain three points. Often compared to american football, rugby is very different. It requires more endurance and is more free-flowing. Some useful links:
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