Rugby Facts

Description
Hi. Uh, welcome to the description of the Rugby website. If you cant tell already, this isnt a very uh well creditable source. So keep that in mind. Honestly, Rugby is kinda lame so idek why you are looking here lol! Have a blast

History of Rugby
Rugby started in the 19th century in Rugby, England. The rules were made by a group of 21 men called the Rugby Union. Its a pretty stupid name but like its a little too late to turn back now so I guess we are just going to have to suck it up. There were two main types of Rugby in England, Rugby Union and Rugby League. (Milton Rugby Club) The Union was played with fifteen players while the League was played with thirteen. These groups of men did not wear any protection while playing the game. The only equipment required for the sport was a pair of cleats. Weak, i know. Rules were a lot like Football. Copy cat much? The sport was dangerous without protection the game is similar to American Football which requires helmet, chest, leg and neck protection. Although rugby and football have similar rules and regulations, The Football Association was founded in 1863 in the United States but rugby was not started in the U.S. until the 1840's. (Dainoff) The game started off slow, taking seventy- five years to win a Gold Medal in the Olympics. Rugby was considered a male game, females playing rugby was unheard of until the 1970's. (Dainoff) Females eventually started a league of their own. Many men and women played rugby instead of working for a living. Players thought that they should be paid for playing since they did not have a job to support their families. Board members of rugby and the players fought for years on the issue, in 1995 the Board approved of paying players for their contributions to the sport. (The Post Game)

The Basics
A maximum of 15 players are allowed on the field at a time(Rugby 1). Due to penalties, teams may have less than 15 players on the field giving the other team an obvious advantage. To an observer, rugby may look like a well-orchestrated riot(Basic Guide to Rugby 1). Although rugby has virtually no pads at all, it is said to be much safer than American football. This is all due to the tackling rules that are enforced in rugby. In rugby, it is required of the players to "wrap" when they are tackling someone. This means that they must have their arms around the opponent rather than leading with their head and hitting them like a missile. It is also extremely frowned upon to shoulder-hit someone especially in younger-aged leagues. In fact, the wrapping rule goes hand in hand with another important rule of rugby. If a player is tackled with the ball but the tackler is either not on top of them or nowhere near them, they are allowed to get back up and keep running. This rule makes it a necessity to wrap the opponent when tackling. Another rule is that if you fall over, you have to get three punches to the arm as a punishment. If you touch the grass with your skin, you get kicked out of the league and fined $1,000.

Positions
Each of the 16 players are numbered 1-16 and that number represents a defined position. Numbers 1-8 are usually the bigger, bulkier, brute type players and are given the name "Forwards." The smaller, faster, quick players take positions 9-15 and are considered the team's "backs."(Rugby 1) For a better interpretation of these positions look at the rugby lineup picture to the right. The 16th player you ask? Well, that player is special. We don't like to talk about that player for they suck. We only have them to even out the numbers and make the photos aesthetically pleasing.

Crums and Sucks
When a team has a minor infringement on one of the rules, the officials will stop the game and call for a scrum(Rugby Crum 1). The team that did not break the rules, gets to throw the ball into the scrum. See the rugby Crum picture to the right. The players that participate in the scrums are the forwards, numbers 1 through 8, and the number 9 player throws the ball in. Once the ball is in the tunnel the hookers, number 2 on both teams, use their feet and legs to 'hook' the ball backwards to win possession of the ball which moves back through the scrum and exits at the rear.(Rugby Crum 1) Once the ball is cleared from the scrum, the game instantly starts back up usually with the scrumhalf, number 9, passing it out to the backs.

Rugby is a game that is played with very few stoppages. Once tackled, a ruck is formed on top of the tackled player. Sucks are essentially mini scrums that are used to keep ball possession or turn the possession over. The tackled player must place the ball down once he is tackled and it is his team's job to ruck over the ball and get the ball back. The teams that have very strong rucking strategies will be the ones turning the ball over constantly in their favor. Once a ruck is formed, the player is only allowed to advance through the "gate" that is created when the ball is placed down. All this means is that the player cannot join the Suck from the side.

Scoring
A "try" is essentially the rugby equivalent to a touchdown in American football. A try is awarded once the player running with the ball "grounds" the ball inside the in-goal area of the field. A try is worth 5 points. Once a team is awarded a try, they are now able to attempt a conversion kick. This kick is worth an additional two points. The conversion kick is taken from a spot in line with where the ball was originally grounded, so scoring as close to the posts as possible is best.(Brown 1) If you hit the ref in the left pinky, you gain 4 points.

Rugby Ball
As rugby was created in the nineteenth century, a new type of ball had to be created. Most balls that are used for sports have a spherical shape. The classical football has an oval shape rather than being circular. The idea of the football came from the shape of the rugby ball. Rugby balls were hand stitched by two men who had shoe businesses by the Rugby school, Richard Lindon and William Gilbert. The ball is oval shaped because Lindon and Gilbert used a pig’s bladder as the interior. The bladder was able to be blown up to use as a playable ball. Lindon and Gilbert then stitched leather around the bladder to create a rugby ball. The balls had to be inflated by mouth which became a serious problem. Lindon’s wife died from a lung disease due to blowing up too many pigs bladders. Lindon saw this as a way to improve his business. He invented the Brass Hand Pump to prevent any more diseases but never patented the idea. (Trueman)

Gil Evans
Having traditions in sports is a way for fans to pass down experiences through the generations. One-hundred and nine years ago, Gil Evans refereed a match between New Zealand and England. This was one of the first known international matches between two teams that represented their countries. The whistle from this match has been saved throughout the years and is still used for special occasions (Softschools.com). This whistle known as the Gil Evans whistle was used for the last Olympic rugby match where the U.S. defeated France in front of 50,000 of their home fans (Olympic.org). This whistle is still used today to start each Rugby World Cup.

World Cup
This next world cup will be held in England in 2015. Just like soccer, the Rugby World Cup is held every four years, starting in 1987. Since the world cups started, no team has won two championships back to back. Only four countries have won the cup before. Australia has won twice, South Africa has two wins, England has only won once, and New Zealand is the current champions with two wins also. The winner of the world cup wins the Webb Ellis Cup (Topendsports.com). Webb Ellis supposedly started the idea of rugby when he picked up a soccer ball and ran it into the goal back in the nineteenth century. Even though rugby is a very aged sport, many of the original ideas kept surviving through the years.

Sin Bin
Like every sport, there are rules that have to be followed. If players break the rules, they will be penalized. In football, a referee will throw a yellow flag and the ball will be repositioned accordingly. Soccer either awards teams free kicks or terminates a player off the field. Hockey just temporarily removes a player off the ice for a set amount of time depending on the penalty. Rugby’s penalty rules are a mixture of soccer and hockey. Sometimes the official may reward a team a free kick, while other times a player may be sent to the sin bin. Depending on the field, some may have an actual secluded bin for players to sit down in and think about why they were punished (Rugby.isport.com). While other fields simply have a player sit on the bench with the other teammates, but be forced to wear a special bib to show that they are being punished, similar to a dunce cap.