Rugby

Rugby

Rugby is a team sport played with an oval shaped ball which can be kicked, carried and passed from hand to hand. It is played by two teams of 15 players (in Rugby Union) or 13 players (in Rugby League). It is played on a rectangular field with H shaped goalpost at each end.

A Rugby Match

          It has an estimated following of 475 million people all over the globe. Its main influenced are the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries. It spread to British colonies like Australia and New Zealand from the United Kingdoms.

History

Old School Rugby

          The origin of rugby can be traced back to the 18^th century in which during an English school football game at Rugby School where a student name William Webb Ellis is said to have ran with the ball while picking it up. Although there are doubts regarding the story, the Rugby World Cup is named after Webb Ellis.

Objective

The objective of rugby is to score more points than the opponent team by running with the ball, kicking it or passing it within the 80 minutes of time (40 mins each half) allocated for a game each. The team with the most scores at the end of the game wins. If the points are same, then a draw maybe called or it may enter an extra time depending on the game’s format. The other team will try to stop the attacking team by tackling and retaining the ball.

The Field

A Rugby Field

          The rugby field, a.k.a. the pitch or paddock, is an area of 68 m wide and 100 m long for playing the sport of rugby and is surfaced exclusively with grass. It is split up into two sections: the main playing area (must not exceed 100 m), dead goal areas (10 to 20 m). The goal posts are in an ‘H’ shape of 5.5 m wide and at least 16 m high, with a crossbar set 3 m above the ground.

Rugby Pitch with details

          A goal line, a.k.a. try line, is there near each end of the field. The area between the goal lines and the touchlines is the field of play. Broken lines run parallel to each touch line at 10 and 20 m from touch between the goal lines.

Rules

• A game is of 80 minutes with 40 minutes each half and a 10 minutes of rest period in between.
• A team must consist of 15 players and upto 7 substitutes.
• The pitch must be 100 m long and 70 m wide with a minimum of 10 m dead ball area.
• There are various markings on the pitch, viz: half way line, 5 m line, 22 m line, 10 m line and dead ball line.
• There should be one referee and two touch judge each in a game.
• If the ball goes out of play or a drop goal is scored or a player is fouled, the game will be stop.
• The defending team can tackle their opponents by grabbing and pulling them to the ground.
• When the player manages to kick the ball through the top section of the goal, a successful conversion, penalty or kick at goal occurs. The ball is still in play even if a player is unsuccessful until it crosses one of the playing fields boundaries.
• If a player manages to kick the ball through the top section of the goal, a successful conversion, penalty or kick at goal occurs.
• An attacking player is offside, if he goes before the ball  whilst active or running.