A Beginner’s Guide to Rugby
Rugby is a close contact sport that involves 15 players on each team, and an oval shaped rugby ball which is designed for clasping and kicking. The two teams continually pass, kick and ground the ball with the aim of scoring as many points as possible. Passing the ball forward is prohibited.
Organisation
A rugby team is divided into two categories: forwards and backs. The former consists of eight players, and the latter consists of seven players.
Rules
Plays usually result in a ruck or a maul. A ruck occurs when a player is tackled to the ground and is forced to release the ball. If the player is tackled while still standing the result is a maul formation. The ruck or maul allows the game to continue without stoppage during play. However, the game can be restarted in two ways: a scrum and a line out. A scrum occurs in the event of an accidental infringement and a line out occurs when the ball goes out of bounds.
Scoring
When a player successfully places the ball in the opposition’s in-goal area, the result is a try. A try is worth five points, with two bonus points awarded in the event of a successful place kick or drop kick. A player may also score points for a successful drop kick in general play as well from a penalty. In both instances, they are worth three points.
Duration
A typical rugby game lasts a total of 80 minutes, divided into two periods of 40 minutes each. In international games, there are usually stoppage intervals. Between the two periods or halves, there is an interval of 10 minutes. In knockout games there is extra time.
Kick off
The referee tosses a coin to determine who kicks off the match. The captain who wins the toss gets to choose the end his team will attack first as well as whether his team will kick off. The game begins with a drop or place kick from the centre of the half-way line.
The ball must travel for at least ten metres from the kick off point, if it fails to do so the result is a scrum (as described earlier). This gives the opposing team the advantage of a feed or throw.
The Ball
A rugby ball is oval-shaped. The standard length is 28-30 cm and the standard weight is 383-440 grammes.
