Surfer Dude Studios

Rugby

6.6million players across 120 countries participate in rugby on a regular basis*.

*Source: World rugby

© copyright Surfer dude Studios BT Murrayfield Stadium.

Rugby (particularly Rugby union) has always been a popular sport at Surfer Dude Studios.

Rugby is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form (15 a side rugby union), a game is between two teams of 15 players, over two halves of forty minutes each (eighty total), using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field, with H-shaped goalposts on each try line.

Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by male and female players of all ages. In 2014, there were more than 6 million people playing worldwide, of whom 2.36 million were registered players. World Rugby, previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, and currently has 101 countries as full members and 18 associate members.

National club or provincial competitions include the Premiership in England, the Top 14 in France, the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand, the National Rugby Championship in Australia, and the Currie Cup in South Africa. Other transnational club competitions include the Pro14 in Europe and South Africa, the European Rugby Champions Cup solely in Europe, and Super Rugby, in the Southern Hemisphere and Japan. International level tournaments include the 6 Nations, the Championship, and the World Cup.

Antecedents

Although rugby football was codified at Rugby School, many rugby playing countries had pre-existing football games not dissimilar to rugby.

Forms of traditional football similar to rugby have been played throughout Europe and beyond. Many of these involved handling of the ball, and scrummaging formations. For example, New Zealand had Ki-o-rahi, Australia marn grook, Japan kemari, Georgia lelo burti, the Scottish Borders Jeddart Ba' and Cornwall Cornish hurling, Central Italy Calcio Fiorentino, South Wales cnapan, East Anglia Campball and Ireland had caid, an ancestor of Gaelic football.

The first detailed description of what was almost certainly football in England was given by William FitzStephen in about 1174 - 1183.

After lunch all the youth of the city go out into the fields to take part in a ball game. The students of each school have their own ball; the workers from each city craft are also carrying their balls. Older citizens, fathers, and wealthy citizens come on horseback to watch their juniors competing, and to relive their own youth vicariously: you can see their inner passions aroused as they watch the action and get caught up in the fun being had by the carefree adolescents.

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William FitzStephen (circa 1174 - 1183)

Modern game origin

Playing football has been a long tradition in England and versions of football had probably been played at Rugby School (amongst others) for 200 years before three boys published the first set of written rules in 1845. The rules had always been determined by the pupils instead of the masters and they were frequently modified with each new intake. Rule changes, such as the legality of carrying or running with the ball, were often agreed shortly before the commencement of a game. There were thus no formal rules for football during the time that William Webb Ellis was at the school (1816-25) and the story of the boy "who with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it" in 1823 is apocryphal. The story first appeared in 1876, some four years after the death of Webb Ellis.

Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, which former pupils then introduced to their university. During this early period different schools used different rules, with former pupils from Rugby and Eton attempting to carry their preferred rules through to their universities.

A significant event in the early development of rugby football was the production of the first written laws of the game at Rugby School in 1845, which was followed by the Cambridge Rules drawn up in 1848. Other important events include the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the Football Association in 1863 and the formation of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The code was originally known as "rugby football"; it was not until after the schism in England in 1895, which resulted in the separate code of rugby league, that the sport took on the name "rugby union" to differentiate it from the league game. Despite the sport's full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world.

Rugby League

In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). Although many factors played a part in the split, including the success of working class northern teams, the main division was caused by the RFU decision to enforce the amateur principle of the sport, preventing "broken time payments" to players who had taken time off work to play rugby.

Northern teams typically had more working class players (coal miners, mill workers etc.) who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle. In 1895, a decree by the RFU banning the playing of rugby at grounds where entrance fees were charged led to twenty-two clubs (including Stockport, who negotiated by telephone) meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield on 29 August 1895 and forming the "Northern Rugby Football Union". Within fifteen years of that first meeting in Huddersfield, more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the rugby revolution.

Similarities between the two codes

The two forms of rugby share the same basic rules of the game and use a similar-shaped ovoid ball. The aim is to score more points through tries, conversions, penalty goals and drop goals than the opposition within the 80 minutes of play. The ball can be taken forward in three ways - by kicking, by a player running with it, or as the result of a set-piece. The ball can be passed from hand to hand between teammates in a backward or sideways direction; it may not be passed forwards although it can be kicked forwards. Dropping the ball in a forwards direction results in a scrum, a set-piece that restarts the game, except on the sixth tackle in league where the game restarts with a handover to the opposition. Player numbers were reduced to thirteen a side, creating more space for attacking play, and rucks and mauls were replaced with a play-the-ball restart.

Generally it is considered that Rugby union, with more laws than Rugby league, is a more complex game, with Rugby league described as a simpler game that is easier for spectators to understand, but with a greater emphasis on fitness, speed and physicality, than closed skills like scrummaging and line-out lifting found in Rugby union.

Laws

The laws of Rugby like most sports have evolved since their earliest conception. A full descripton of the current laws can be found at the World Rugby site. But here is a simplified version of the most basic concepts of the game.

Scoring

Rugby union is played between two teams - the one that scores more points wins the game. Points can be scored in several ways: a try, scored by grounding the ball in the in-goal area (between the goal line and the dead-ball line), is worth 5 points and a subsequent conversion kick scores 2 points; a successful penalty kick or a drop goal each score 3 points.

Playing field

The field of play on a rugby pitch is as near as possible to a maximum of 144 metres (157 yd) long by 70 metres (77 yd) wide. In actual gameplay there should be a maximum of 100 metres (109 yd) between the two try-lines, with anywhere between 10 and 22 metres behind each try line to serve as the in-goal area. Several lines cross the field, notably the halfway line and the "twenty-two", which is 22 metres (24 yd) from the goal line.

Rugby goalposts are H-shaped, and consist of two poles, 5.6 metres (6.1 yd) apart, connected by a horizontal crossbar 3 metres (3.3 yd) above the ground.

Match structure

Games are divided into 40-minute halves, with a break in the middle. The sides exchange ends of the field after the half-time break. Stoppages for injury or to allow the referee to take disciplinary action do not count as part of the playing time, so that the elapsed time is usually longer than 80 minutes.

Passing and kicking

Forward passing (throwing the ball ahead to another player) is not allowed; the ball can be passed laterally or backwards. Only the player with the ball may be tackled or rucked. Any player may kick the ball forward in an attempt to gain territory.

Breakdowns

The aim of the defending side is to stop the player with the ball, either by bringing them to ground (a tackle, which is frequently followed by a ruck) or by contesting for possession with the ball-carrier on their feet (a maul). Such a circumstance is called a breakdown and each is governed by a specific law.

Tackling

A player may tackle an opposing player who has the ball by holding them while bringing them to ground. Tacklers cannot tackle above the shoulder (the neck and head are out of bounds), and the tackler has to attempt to wrap their arms around the player being tackled to complete the tackle. It is illegal to push, shoulder-charge, or to trip a player using feet or legs, but hands may be used (this being referred to as a tap-tackle or ankle-tap). Tacklers may not tackle an opponent who has jumped to catch a ball until the player has landed.

Rucking and Mauling

Mauls occur after a player with the ball has come into contact with an opponent but the handler remains on his feet; once any combination of at least three players have bound themselves a maul has been set. A ruck is similar to the maul, but in this case the ball has gone to ground with at least three attacking players binding themselves on the ground in an attempt to secure the ball.

Set pieces

Set pieces are a way of restarting the game after the ball has gone out of play or an infringement has occurred. As the major winners of possession, the forwards are usually involved in the set pieces.

Lineout

When the ball leaves the side of the field, a line-out is awarded against the team which last touched the ball. Forward players from each team line up a metre apart, perpendicular to the touchline and between 5 m and 15 m from the touchline. The ball is thrown from the touchline down the centre of the lines of forwards by a player (usually the hooker) from the team that did not play the ball into touch. The exception to this is when the ball went out from a penalty, in which case the side who gained the penalty throws the ball in.

Both sides compete for the ball and players may lift their teammates. A jumping player cannot be tackled until they stand and only shoulder-to-shoulder contact is allowed; deliberate infringement of this law is dangerous play, and results in a penalty kick.

Scrum

A scrum is a way of restarting the game safely and fairly after a minor infringement. It is awarded when the ball has been knocked or passed forward, if a player takes the ball over his own try line and puts the ball down, when a player is accidentally offside or when the ball is trapped in a ruck or maul with no realistic chance of being retrieved. A team may also opt for a scrum if awarded a penalty.

A scrum is formed by (up to) the eight forwards from each team binding together in three rows. The front row consists of the two props (loosehead and tighthead) either side of the hooker. The second row consists of two locks and the two flankers. Behind the second row is the number 8. This formation is known as the 3-4-1 formation. Once a scrum is formed the scrum-half from the team awarded the feed rolls the ball into the gap between the two front-rows known as the tunnel. The two hookers then compete for possession by hooking the ball backwards with their feet, while each pack tries to push the opposing pack backwards to help gain possession. The side that wins possession transfers the ball to the back of the scrum, where it is picked up either by the number 8 or by the scrum-half.

Positions

Unlike association football, rugby is far more prescriptive in the formation and positions of players.

In rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1-8) and seven backs (numbered 9-15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16-23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players".

A table of positions can be found below.

Rugby league omits the flankers, and has a different numbering sytstem, with most teams favouring a squad number, and uses interchanges, rather than replacments, to allow players to come on and off the pitch with greater flexibility.

Variations

The two more common differences applied to the variants of the sport lie in either fewer players or reduced player contact. Of the variants, the oldest is Rugby sevens (7s, or VIIs), a fast-paced variant which originated in Melrose, Scotland in 1883. In rugby sevens, there are only seven players per side, and each half is normally seven minutes.

Major tournaments include the Hong Kong Sevens and Dubai Sevens, both held in areas not normally associated with the highest levels of the 15-a-side game. A more recent variant of the sport is Rugby tens (10's or Xs), a Malaysian variant with ten players per side.

Due to the physical nature of playing rugby, several variants have been created to introduce the sport to children with a reduced level of physical contact. Of these versions, Touch rugby, in which "tackles" are made by simply touching the ball carrier with two hands, is popular as a mixed sex version of the sport played by both children and adults. Tag Rugby, is a version in which the participants wear a belt with two hook-and-loop fastener tags, the removal of either counting as a "tackle". Tag and touch Rugby also varies in the fact that kicking the ball is usually not allowed.