| WHAT IS RUGBY? "On a crisp fall day in 1823 William Webb Ellis picked up a football in his hands and ran with it. To this day, backs throughout the world hail this moment as the birth of rugby. Forwards, however, know that the game was not really invented until 1.5 seconds later, when Roland Dimrumple drove a squealing Mr. Ellis' face into the turf, kicked him in the solar plexus and told him to 'keep his sodding hands off the ball.' " This quote from an anonymous individual describes the beginning of the game of rugby at the Rugby School in England. Since then the game has become an international game with teams on every continent of the world (except of course Antarctica). The pinnacle of rugby competition is the World Cup, played every four years (Maybe you saw the one page devoted to it in Sports Illustrated?). The last one was played in 2003 with England defeating host Australia on Jonny Wilkinson's drop-kick. Other major competitions include the Tri-Nations (Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa), Six Nations (England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Italy) and the Super 12 (regional teams from the Tri-Nations). In the United States the highest level of competition is the Premier Super League. Our national team is the USA Eagles which won its first world cup game in forever by defeating Japan. The basic premise of rugby union (which is what we play as compared to rugby league) is simple. Two teams playing each other trying to outscore the other. This is done by passing the ball sideways, backwards, or kicking the ball. The ball cannot be passed forward. Rugby is described as a "game of ruffians played by gentlemen." It is played today by men and women, young and old, rich and poor, and the game continues to grow in popularity all over the world. A side consists of 15 players split into backs and forwards. Forwards gain and maintain posession of the ball and try to get the ball to the backs to score the ball. There are 8 forwards, and more often than not they are the heavyweights of the team. They are responsible for scrummages and lineouts. The Backs are usually more mobile and should do most of the scoring after the forwards get them the ball. The game is controlled by one referee and two touch judges. The referee is the judge and jury and his word is final. Touch judges stand on the sideline and mark where the ball went out and who controls the ball for a line out. All matches begin with a kick-off from the 50 meter line. At the start of the second half the other team will kick-off. Scoring can be done in four ways. The main way is to score a try, which is similar to football, except that the ball must be grounded in the tryzone. (there might be a reason it is called a touchdown). A try is worth 5 points. A two point conversion follows from the spot on the field that the try was scored. Other ways to score are on a penalty kick, which is worth three points, and on a drop-goal during play, which is also worth three points. Penalties and other stoppages in play occur for many reasons. One of the most common is that the pass is thrown forward. Another is that the ball is knocked, that is a player touches the ball and it falls forward. Both of these result in scrummages. When a player goes out of bounds their team loses posession of the ball. A line out then occurs where both teams lift a player in the air to get posession of the ball. Penalties occur for many reasons. Reasons like not releasing the ball, obstruction (you are not allowed to block), high tackles, and being offsides. During play the objective of the defending team is to tackle the opponent. When this happens either a ruck or maul occurs. A ruck occurs when the ball carrer goes to the ground and his teammates move overtop of him allowing someone to take the ball and carry it into the next phase. A maul occurs when the ball carrier goes into contact, but is not brought to the ground. Mauls may be moved forward, but the ball must be stripped when the maul is stopped. The length of the game can vary, but standard matches have two 40 minute halves. Other forms of rugby include Rugby League and Rugby Sevens. In Rugby League a team is given six phases to score, and if they do not, the ball is given to the other team who have six phases to score. Most of the other rules are the same. Rugby Sevens main differece is that there are only seven players on the field (hence the name). It is much more fast paced but with a shorter clock. There is a brotherhood that exists between ruggers. While you may be enemies on the field, you are friends off of the field, and it is the job of the host to provide some sort of after game entertainment, usually food and drinks. |
