"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.
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