The Basics of Rugby

What sport involves crunching tackles, spell-binding catches, and exhilarating runs – but isn’t football?

Rugby World Cup 2019 begins on September 20th in Japan. Consisting of 48 matches played across 44 days, it’s sure to be jam-packed with excitement, controversy, and heroic achievement. 

Indeed, rugby union (the most popular form of rugby) is fast becoming a big deal: in 2016, there were over 1.5 million players in the United States – second only to England in terms of the total number of registered and non-registered players. The sport’s not confined to males either, with females accounting for more than a quarter of the almost 10 million global playing population. 

Okay, so, you need to learn how to play rugby, right? But what the hell is it and why does it look so complicated?  

The referee is checking his watch and is about to bring his whistle to his mouth. It’s time to let the action unfold!  

Fact or Fiction? 

Let’s start from the beginning: the origins of rugby are just how you’d like them – shrouded in myth and legend. While variations of the game can be traced back over 2,000 years, to Roman times, the person primarily credited with its invention is William Webb Ellis, a 16-year-old public school student in the English town of Rugby. 

In the 1820s, several antiquated versions of soccer were played throughout Britain – all with loosely similar rules, many of which involved catching and kicking the ball. However, on a winter’s afternoon in 1823, it was Ellis who “first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the rugby game.” 

Over time, former Rugby school pupils spread this variation throughout Britain and its colonies, such that 22 clubs founded the Rugby Football Union in London in 1871 in an attempt to formalize a set of rules. Over the years, rugby has continued to grow, with the first World Cup held in 1987 and the advent of the professional game in 1995. 

Although there’s little evidence to support Ellis’s apocryphal episode (the tale was conveniently only disseminated subsequent to his death in 1872), it’s become so universal that the World Cup trophy has been named after the Englishman.

The Objective of the Game

Let’s start with the rugby basics: the team which scores the most points wins. 

Basic Rules

You cannot throw, or ‘pass’, the ball forwards. You may kick the ball in any direction and you may run with it in any direction; however, you can only pass the ball backward or parallel. Indeed, even if you drop the ball forwards, you’ll be penalized. This is known as a ‘knock-on.’   

In addition, you need the ball to score; therefore, you can gain possession by tackling your ball-carrying opponent to the ground or out of play. However, for safety reasons, you may not make contact with the tackled player above the shoulders.

These rules and a whole bunch of others are applied by a referee, who is aided by two touch judges (assistant referees) – one on either side of the pitch. For certain on-field situations, a television match official (TMO) may be consulted to give further clarity with the help of video replays. 

Players and Equipment

Rugby is a 15-a-side game, with both teams allowed to make a maximum of eight substitutions each. In general, the team is split into forwards, who wear numbers 1-8, and backs, who wear numbers 9-15.   

Contrary to popular belief, there are significant differences between a rugby ball and a football. We all recognize the football’s iconic seam and pointier ends, which facilitate single-handed, overarm throws. However, since a rugby ball is kicked more regularly and passed with both hands, it has a far smoother exterior.

Furthermore, despite the intensely physical nature of the sport, international rugby players are not required to wear any shoulder pads or headgear. 

The Field

The rectangular field of play must not exceed 100 meters (approximately 328 feet) in length from goal line to goal line, while being no more than 70 meters (approximately 230 feet) in width. This makes it both wider and longer than a football field. 

Additionally, there’s an in-goal area behind the H-shaped goalposts at either end of the field – similar to an end zone in football. The significance of these areas – measuring anywhere from 6–22 meters (approximately 20–72 feet) in length – will soon be revealed. 

Duration

Each game lasts 80 minutes, consisting of two periods of 40 minutes, with an interval in the middle of no longer than 15 minutes, after which both teams change ends. Extra time, consisting of 10 minutes on each side, is only played in knockout games when the scores are tied at the end of the initial 80 minutes. 

The Kick-Off

Each half commences with a dropkick – where the ball is dropped to the ground and then kicked – from the middle of the halfway line. In fact, play is restarted in the same way after a score, with the conceding team kicking the ball into opposition territory. 

How to Score

If you want to learn how to play rugby, then you’ll need to know the different ways to score:  

Try: five points are awarded for grounding the ball, with downward pressure, in your opponent’s in-goal area. 

Conversion: two points are awarded for a successful kick between the goalposts, subsequent to a try being scored. The difficulty of the kick is dependent upon where the try is scored; the closer the ball is grounded to the goalposts, the more central, and therefore easier, the kick will be. 

Penalty Kick: three points are awarded for a successful kick between the goalposts, subsequent to the referee penalizing your opponent. Similar to a conversion, the kick is taken from wherever the infringement took place. 

Drop Goal: three points are also awarded for a successful drop kick between the goalposts from anywhere on the field. 

The final whistle has sounded. The crowd of office colleagues and family are on their feet, applauding your new-found insight into one of the world’s fastest-growing sports. William Webb Ellis may have picked up the ball and ran with it nearly 200 years ago, but now you’ve picked up the rugby ball too. Will you run with it and join the burgeoning movement of almost 800 million followers worldwide? If you’ve loved mastering the rugby basics, there’s so much more for you to check out!