Tag Archives: Rugby

How Rugby Players have Evolved

 

How Rugby Players have Evolved

Rugby is a beautiful game that has drawn fans across different parts of the world. Over the last 20 years, the game has changed, especially if one considers player profiles within the same period. Many things have changed in the way rugby is played and one of the most notable things is the evolution the average rugby player has gone through. Today, rugby players are stronger and bigger than before.

These changes can be attributed to changes in training programs and feeding habits among the players. The game has seen major developments, which have helped to offer modern facilities that help the players to access health and physical services that have allowed them to grow into strong, fast daring people.

Better diet, better performance
Rugby players today feed better than 20 years ago. They have strength and conditioning staff, who have worked to ensure the dietary supplements given to the players help in revitalization. The health system has also improved and players are able to receive the right care from trained and experienced professionals.

Depending on the role played in the team, each player is given a specific kind of diet. This has helped to make strong teams that are equipped well in all positions. Having strong players has made the game more energetic and enjoyable to watch, something that has made it more popular. Remember the average male takes 55 grams of protein per day, but an average rugby player takes 220-300 grams and that’s a lot of steak.

Strength demands
Few years ago rugby players did not have any yardstick for understanding the strength needed in the sport, so they did not have sufficient motivation for fitness. Today, GPS trackers show that players need to withstand tough conditions. This, therefore, triggered some changes so the players could satisfy the requirements.

End results? Bigger men!
With the need for stronger players and to make it possible to perform for a longer period, better conditions have been made available. This has led to the production of bigger and stronger men who are able to handle the harshest of conditions in the sport.

There has been an explosion in the average weight and size of rugby players since the game was made professional. This has resulted in increased power in show, making the game an exciting sport to watch.

To confirm these findings, you can compare New Zealand players between 1994 and 2014. The average weight in 1994 was 92.3 kg, but it has risen to 105.1 kg in 2014.

A Beginner’s Guide to Rugby

Description
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.

Wales in Rugby – A History of The Six Nations Championship

 

With the Six Nations Championships now well underway for the 2015 season, Welsh rugby union fans’ confidence will be riding high in anticipation of a successful campaign, undoubtedly matched by a steely determination to win back the title after losing grasp last year. The welsh team have an enviable record in the competition having won outright twenty six times since in all and winning jointly on a further nine occasions.

In actual fact, Wales did not feature in the predecessor to the current competition which featured only two teams – England and Scotland – when they played the first international rugby union match in 1871. With the inauguration of the Calcutta Cup in 1879 as the prize for the winners of sporadic matches between the two countries, the appetite to participate in international rugby union grew in Wales (as well as in the other Home Nations) and in 1883 the Home International Championship was launched, featuring England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

The Welsh team enjoyed early success in the competition and came to be the dominant force in the final years of the competition, winning six out of the last ten championships in the first decade of the 20th century. With a surge in popularity of rugby union on the continent, France was admitted to the competition in 1910 and the Five Nations was born, although the advent of World War in 1914 led the tournament to be suspended for the duration of hostilities and for two further years beyond.

With allegations of financial mismanagement, the French were ejected from the competition in 1931, with the five Home Countries continuing to compete until world war intervened for a second time and the tournament was suspended again. On its resurrection in 1947, France returned to the fold and the Five Nations resumed, although this time the French proved to be a formidable competitor, winning a string of titles over the next two decades. Welsh dominance in the 1970s, in particular, proved that the Red Dragons were anything but a bit part player.

For the best part of half a century the format of the Five Nations remained unchanged until Italy’s admission in 2000 led to the tournament being renamed the Six Nations Championship. With Wales cementing their reputation as a rugby union powerhouse through continued success in the competition, fans will be passionately urging their team to reclaim the title at the end of the 2015 season.

A Guide to The Six Nations

If you’ve been in Cardiff within the last month you may have felt a palpable buzz in the air about the Six Nations. The Six Nations is a massively popular event within the whole of Wales, which depending on the results, can make the entire country scream with joy or despair.

The Six Nations Championship is a Rugby Union competition which has been going in some form or another for over 100 years. Its current incarnation dating from 2000 consists of the Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) along with Italy and France.

Every year these nations compete, playing each other team once for the Championship Trophy with the lowest scoring team being awarded the dreaded ‘Wooden Spoon’. There isn’t just one trophy up for grabs however, some fixtures also have their own trophy attached to them. For example whilst England and Scotland are competing for the Calcutta cup, France and Italy will be battling it out for the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy which commemorates the French born man who unified Italy. The Triple Crown Trophy can be awarded to a Home Nation if it conquers the other 3 Home Nations. Wales were the last to achieve this in the glorious Nations of 2012, where they also won the Championship.

You can find out more about how the Six Nations is going on the official website.