Rugby union

Rugby union is a competitive outdoor contact sport, played with an oval^[1] ball, by two teams of 15 players. It is one of the two main codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league. There is also a seven-a-side variant named rugby sevens, which is played under modified laws and with only seven players per team. Another variant popular in parts of New Zealand is South Island Round-ball rugby (or just round-ball rugby or "rumble" rugby).

Rugby union is most often referred to as simply rugby. It has also been known by the name rugger, although that term has declined in use.^[2][3]

Overview

Main article: Playing rugby union

A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes, (plus stoppage time), with a short interval (no more than 10 minutes)^[4] after the first 40 minutes; at under-19 level and below, games are limited to a maximum of 80 minutes, with an interval after 35 minutes.^[5] A match is controlled by a referee, who is assisted by two touch judges or assistant referees. For professional matches, a television match official (TMO), commonly called the video referee is often employed, usually to advise the referee on matters pertaining to the scoring of tries and dropped goals.

The Try, 1930s boys' comic illustration of play in a school rugby match.

The object of the game is to score as many points as possible. The team that scores the greater number of points is the winner.

Points are awarded for scoring a try or kicking a goal. A try, which is worth 5 points, is scored when the ball is grounded by a player on the attacking team within the opponent's in-goal area. A goal is scored by kicking the ball over the crossbar of the opponent's goal while remaining between the posts.

There are three ways to score a goal: (i) a dropped goal (scored in open play where the ball must hit the ground immediately before it is kicked); (ii) a penalty goal (awarded after the opposing side infringes against the laws of rugby and may be kicked from a stationary ground position or by drop kick); and (iii) a conversion (awarded after a try is scored) by either a drop kick or a place kick. A penalty or dropped goal is worth 3 points; a conversion is worth 2 points.

The pitch must be no more than 100 meters in length, not including the in-goal area. The depth of the in-goal area can vary but must be at least 10 meters (where practicable) and no more than 22 meters. The width of the pitch may also vary but must be no more than 70 meters wide. The goal posts are situated on the centre of the goal line with the upright posts placed 5.6 meters apart and the crossbar is placed 3 meters above the ground in an "H" shape. The overall height of the goal posts must be over 3.4 meters.

A typical passage of rugby takes the following form: the team in possession of the ball moves the ball up the field in an effort to ground the ball over the opponents' goal-line in order to score a try until such time as the ball carrier is tackled. They then form a ruck in order to win the ball back. This process repeats until one team loses possession, makes a mistake that violates the laws of the game, moves off the field of play or a try or goal is scored.

The team in possession may choose to advance by kicking the ball forward. The ball may be passed from one player to another as long as the ball is not thrown forward. Rugby union is one of the few ball games where the ball cannot be passed forward. Any team mate nearer the opposition goal than the ball-carrier is off-side and must not interfere with play, meaning that American football–style blocking is forbidden.

The team not in possession attempts to stop the ball carrier by tackling him, which consists of grabbing hold of him and bringing him to ground. A tackled player must pass or release the ball, allowing the opposition to contest possession of the loose ball. Play does not stop unless there is an infringement of the laws, or the ball/ball-carrier leaves the field of play.

If the ball goes into touch the game restarts with a line-out. If the game stops because of an infringement, play restarts with either a scrum, free kick or penalty kick (depending on the severity of the infringement) awarded to the non-infringing team.

Tries are the main form of scoring, and the primary aim of most teams is to score tries. Drop goals and penalty kicks are usually augmenters, a safer option against a steadfast defense or to punish ill-disciplined opposition. On some (rare) occasions, a team may be awarded a penalty try, if their opponents commit a foul which is deemed by the referee to have prevented a probable try, for example collapsing a scrum close to the try line.

History

Main article: History of rugby union

The history of rugby union follows from various football games played long before the 19th century, but it was not until the middle of that century that laws were formulated and codified. Most people believe rugby started when schoolboy William Webb Ellis picked up a football in 1823 and ran with it, creating rugby. This occurred in Rugby School, Rugby, England, hence the name of the sport. The code of football later known as rugby union can be traced to three events: the first set of written laws in 1845; the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the The Football Association in 1863 and; the formation of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The code was originally known simply as "rugby football"; it was not until a schism, in 1895, which resulted in the separate code of rugby league, that the name "rugby union" was used for the game itself.

Governing bodies

See also: International Rugby Board and Timeline of foundation of national rugby unions

The recognised international governing body of rugby union (and associated games, such as sevens) is the International Rugby Board (IRB). The IRB headquarters are located in Dublin, Ireland.

Six regional associations are members of the IRB; these are:

• Africa: Confederation of African Rugby (CAR)
• Asia: Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU)
• North America & West Indies: North America and West Indies Rugby Association (NAWIRA)
• Europe: FIRA - Association Européenne de Rugby (FIRA-AER)
• Oceania: Federation of Oceania Rugby Union (FORU)
• South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby (CONSUR)

National unions oversee rugby union within individual countries. These are affiliated both with the IRB and with their respective regional association.

Worldwide

A giant rugby ball suspended below the Eiffel Tower as a promotion for the Rugby World Cup.

Rugby union has established itself as a popular sport for both spectators and participants, particularly in Australia, Argentina, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, New Zealand, Romania, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga and Wales. Other places with lasting traditions in rugby, albeit as a minority sport in most cases, include the USA, Canada, Sri Lanka, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Uruguay, Chile, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Moldova, Portugal, Spain and numerous African countries. For example, the United States are the current Olympic gold medalists, winning the event at the Paris Olympics in 1924, which was the last year rugby was played at the games. There are now moves to have rugby reinstated as an Olympic sport, in the sevens format. Large numbers of players are active in North America, and the national teams of Canada and the USA regularly qualify for World Cups. Japan, also a country with many registered players, unsuccessfully bid to host the 2011 World Cup, narrowly losing a vote to selected host New Zealand. Japan will again bid to host either the 2015 or 2019 events. They will be joined in the bidding process by Italy, where the sport has gained in popularity following acceptance into the Six Nations in 2000. Neither country has hosted a World Cup to date, and are viewed by some fans of the game as opportunities for rugby union to extend its reach. Part of the sport's appeal is that it is played in many different styles in these diverse countries. This is partially due to the varying interpretations of the laws of the game, but perhaps the greatest influence is the playing environment created by local climates.^[6]

The International Rugby Board (IRB), founded in 1886, governs the sport worldwide and also publishes the game's laws and rankings. There are currently 95 full members and eight associate member countries. According to IRB figures, rugby union is played in over 100 countries spanning six continents by men and women of all ages. The IRB controls the Rugby World Cup, the Women's Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup Sevens, IRB Sevens World Series, Junior World Championship, Junior World Trophy, Nations Cup and the Pacific Nations Cup. It holds votes to decide where all of these events shall be held, except in the case of the Sevens World Series. For that competition, the IRB contracts with several national unions to hold individual events.

Records of women's rugby go back over 100 years - the first mentions of the game being in New Zealand in 1891 and France ten years later. In the past 30 years the game has grown in popularity among female athletes, and, according to England's RFU, is now played in over 80 countries.

Major international competitions

For more details on this topic, see List of rugby union competitions.

Ireland playing Georgia in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

The most important tournament in rugby union is the Rugby World Cup, a men's tournament that takes place every four years between the elite national rugby union teams. South Africa are the current world champions, winning the 2007 tournament held in France. They beat England, who were attempting to become the first country to retain the title, having won it in 2003. The fact that four different countries have won the World Cup confirms the level of competition in the tournament, creating intense interest from supporters, the media and major sponsors. Major international competitions in the northern and southern hemisphere are the Six Nations Championship and the Tri Nations Series, respectively.

The Six Nations is an annual competition involving northern hemisphere teams England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Each country plays the other five once, the modern tournament traces its roots to the first ever international game, when England lost by one goal to Scotland at Inverleith Park, adjacent to Raeburn Place, Edinburgh in 1871. In the 1880s, Wales and Ireland joined to create the Home International Championships. France joined the tournament in the 1900s and in 1910 the term Five Nations first appeared. However, the Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) excluded France in 1931 amid a run of poor results, allegations of professionalism (rugby union was officially amateur until 1995) and concerns over on-field violence. France then rejoined in 1939-1940, though World War II halted proceedings for a further eight years. France has played in all the tournaments since WWII, the first one of which was played in 1947. In 2000, Italy became the sixth nation in the contest. Argentina have long been rumoured to be interested in joining the 6 Nations but their geographical location and various other factors combine to make it look extremely unlikely, in the near future anyway. Since their strong performances in the 2007 World Cup a number of commentators believe they should join the Tri-Nations with New Zealand, Australia and World Cup champions South Africa.

The Tri Nations is an annual international rugby union series held between the southern hemisphere teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The series was initially played on a home and away basis with the three nations playing each other twice. In 2006 a new system was introduced where each nation plays the others three times rather than two. In 2007 the teams played each other only twice, as it was a World Cup year. The IRB had been brokering a deal which could have seen Argentina admitted to the competition in 2008,^[7] but it was later confirmed that the Tri Nations would not be expanded until at least 2010.^[8] Amidst all the rugby union competitions are also the autumn and summer Tests, which take place between September to December and June to August. These are played by the major rugby union nations on a home or away basis.

Rugby union was played at the Olympic Games in 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924. As per Olympic rules, the nations of Scotland, Wales and England were not allowed to play separately as they are not sovereign states. Rugby Sevens has been played at the Commonwealth Games since 1998.

Women's Rugby

Women's International Rugby began in 1982. Over six hundred women's internationals have now been played by over forty different nations. As well as the women's World Cup event (which takes place every four years), there are also other regular tournaments, including a Six Nations run in parallel to the men's competition.

Recently, there has also been a movement to include a Nations Cup Championship for the Senior Women's sides. The inaugural event takes place in August 2008 at Esher RFC in London, England. The tournament features England, USA and Canada. The inaugural U20 Women's Nations Cup took place in Oakville, Ontario and included Canada, Wales and England, with a Canada 'A' also playing supplemental matches with the two Home Nations countries. The England U20's took the tournament in the final game during an unabated, 90 minute, torrential downpour.

British military

The earliest record of rugby being played in the Army was during the Crimean War (1854-56). In its early days rugby was very much the preserve of the officers; it was not until the early 1870s that the game became inclusive of all ranks.

The Royal Navy and in particular the British Army did much to spread rugby worldwide as it did for two other sports of English origin; cricket and football. Army regiments stationed throughout the British Empire had regimental teams who played locally. Whilst serving in India the 3rd (East Kent) Regiment (The Buffs) and the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) both had a hand in the conception of the Calcutta Cup, the oldest trophy in the history of international rugby.

The Army Navy Match, which is currently played at Twickenham each year was first played in 1878, but did not become an annual event until 1909.

In 1905 the Royal Navy Rugby Union (RNRU) was formed and the Army Rugby Union the following year (1906), both service unions were affiliated to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on their formation.

Women's rugby was introduced into the British Armed Services in the early 1990s.

Variants

There are two major variants:

• Rugby sevens, in which there are only 7 players per side, and each half is normally 7 minutes.
• Touch rugby, in which 'tackles' are made simply by touching an opponent.

See also

• Comparison of rugby league and rugby union
• International Rugby Hall of Fame
• List of international rugby union teams
• List of rugby union terms
• Rugby Sevens
• Rugby union at the Summer Olympics
• Touch rugby
• Women's International Rugby

Bibliography

• "Laws of the Game Rugby Union" (pdf). irb.com (2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
• "Provisions Relating to Players Dress" (pdf). irb.com (2007-07-22). Retrieved on 2008-01-02.

References

Footnotes

Notations

• Rugby15.co.uk RFU Laws
• Scrum.com Rugby guide

External links

Official

• International Rugby Board
• Rugby ITV Sport

Resources

• Rugby Data Statistics on International Rugby Union games
• Rugby guide and message board
• Rugby union phrase guide
• Rugby Union Rules
• The RugbyRugby Guide
• Virtual Library of Sport - Rugby Union