"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 withEngland 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.

Know Your Rugby Positions

Front Row - Without a doubt the manliest men on the pitch, large, often hairy, beer-swilling carnivores that can and will smash anything in their path. Reveling in the violence inherent in the scrum, they are rarely considered "nice" people, and in fact to some they aren't even considered humans at all. Front rowers tolerate this attitude far and wide because they recognize their role at the top of the food chain and are used to suffering the fools that surround them. Accused by some of simply being dumb, I prefer to think this groups as "open to unconventional ways of thinking."

Locks - Slightly below the front row on the food chain. As with front row players it is inadvisale to put an appendage you wish to keep near this group's maw when they are in the feeding mode. This group of large often foul-smelling brutes is also more than willing to relish the finer points of stomping on a fallen opponent's body and will gleefully recount the tale ad infinitum. While they tend to take the tag "Powerhouse of the Scrum" a little too seriously, they can be useful if inured with the proper hatred of their fellow man. While members of this proud fraternity like to think of themselves as "open to unconventional ways of thinking" - they are usually just dumb.

Back Row - These are fine, fit fellows who, like a bunch of hermaphrodites, are confused as to what their role in life should be. While they know they are undeniably linked to the forwards, there are those among them who long for the perfect hair and long flowing gowns that come with being a back. Some relish the forward role and will do anything to win the ball and there are others within this group that will break the prime directive of the word and do anything to prance follishly with the ball. Generally, these guys are not all bad, but I, personally, have to wonder about any forward who brings a hairbrush and a change of clothes to a game.

Scrum Half - Some like to think of this back as an honoray forward. I myself tend to think of the No. 9 as half a fairy. While the toughest back almost always fills this position, this idea is almost laughable - kind of like the hottest fat chick. The scrum half's presence is tolerated by the forwards because they know that he will spin the ball to the rest of the girls in the backline who will inevitably knock the ball on and allow them the pleasure of another scrum. The No. 9 can take pride in the fact that he is the lowest numbered back and that as such he can be considered almost worthwhile.

Fly Half - His primary role is the leader of the backs - a dubious honor at best. Main responsibilities as far as I can tell are ability to throw the ball over people's heads and to provide something soft for opposing back rowers to land on. Expected to direct the prancing of the rest of the backline - the fly half, like any good Broadway choreographer, is usually light on his feet. While some may argue that these girls must be protected, I find it hard to support anyone whose foot touches a rugby ball on purpose.

Centers - Usually come in two varieties: hard chargers or flitting fairies. The hard charger is the one to acquire, as he will announce his presence in a game with the authority rarely found above No 8. The flitting fairy is regrettably more common and will usually attempt to avoid contact at all costs. The flitting fairy is also only one good smack away from bursting into tears and leaving the pitch to cry on the shoulder of his inevitable girlfriend. Both types will have extensive collections of hair care products in their kit bags and will be among the best dressed at the post-game festivities.

Back 3 - While some people refer to this group as two wingers and a fullback, I swear to god I can't make out any difference between them. They are all bleepings bleeps if you ask me. How these three guys can play 90 minutes of RUGBY and stay clean and sweat free is beyond me. I know for a fact that their jerseys sometimes go back in the bag cleaner than when they came out. These ladies are fond of sayings like "Speed Kills" and "Wheels Win" - how cute. Well, I have a saying too: it's "You're a bleeping bleed!!" These guys will be easy to spot after the game because they are the finely coifed, sweater wearin', wine sippin', sweet-talkers in the corner avoiding the beer swilling curs at the bar. On the whole, I really don't mind this group because in the end, they sure are purty to look at.

A less humorous but a lot more useful explanation of the game and it's positions can be found at:
IRB Rugby Pamphlet

taken from the "20th annual Bryn Mawr Cup" program, produced by Second City Troop RFC