Rugby Union/Introduction

Rugby union is a very fun game played outdoors. It is full contact, and is seen as very violent by a lot of people. There are 2 main types of rugby: rugby union and rugby league. Rugby is played throughout the world, particularly in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Argentina.

Equipment

Unlike American football, rugby players wear very small amounts of equipment. They usually have only a jersey, rugby socks, rugby cleats, and a mouthguard. Practises usually use simple drills, that only need equipment like pylons and a ball. The rugby ball looks very different from other kinds of balls. It is fatter than an American football, but it has a lot more grip.

The Ground

Often called a pitch, the rugby ground must be safe to play on and may consist of grass, sand, clay, snow or artificial turf. The playing area is rectangular in shape. The side length of the field of play is 94-100 meters from one goal line to the other, with the in-goal area extending 6-22 meters from the goal line to the dead-ball line. The width of the playing area is 68-70 meters across from one touchline to the other. At either end of the field, centered on the goal line, are goal posts, which consist of two posts and a crossbar. The inside of the posts are 5.6 meters apart and the posts have a minimum height requirement of 3.4 meters. The top of the crossbar should be 3 meters from the ground. When padding is attached to the goal posts, the distance from the goal line to the external edge of the padding must not exceed 0.3 meters.

Moving the Ball

You cannot throw the ball forward in rugby, it always has to go backwards. You can kick the ball at anytime, but you have to be careful of offsides. Offside rules will be explained in the rules section.

Scoring

A try is scored by taking the ball into the end zone, and touching it down on the ground. A try is worth 5 points. After a try, the team kicker will kick the ball for an extra point. The place the kicker kicks the ball from depends on where the try was scored. You can also score a drop goal at any time in the game. All you have to do is drop the ball, and kick it once it bounces off the ground. If the ball goes through the uprights, your team gets three points. Finally, you can score penalty kicks. If the other team gets a penalty (your team gets the ball), you can kick for posts. The referee will set up a tee for you at the place where the penalty happened. If the ball is kicked through the uprights, your team scores three points.