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Rugby 101

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Very nice, Deet. Check out the USA Rugby site, DB, should be some links there. There are also some fairly good youtube clips, but I'm not sure how much of an overview they give. Just b/c I should be doing other things, but would rather talk rugby, I'll give you my two cents. Hopefully, wadc45 or others will jump in and correct it at some point.

Rugby is played with 15 on either side for 80 minutes with a running clock. In official matches there is a limit to substitutions and once a player goes out (unless he's bleeding and the blood is stopped) he can't come back in. A regulation pitch is the size of a soccer field, but typically we wind up playing on more narrow football fields in the US.

Rather than a set of downs a team maintains possession as long as it can. It is like basketball in that you play offense and defense. No one likes turnovers, but it's a regular part of the game. You can routinely go from offense to defense and back in a matter of seconds.

The goal is to get the ball over the opponent's goal line (tryline) and touch it down (a try). In order to move the ball forward, you can run it or kick it, but you can only pass the ball behind you (lateral passes are typically called back as forward).

The teams are divided into forwards and backs (roughly analogous to football linemen and skill players). The forwards can/do/should actually run with the ball, however, unlike football. Generally, the forward pack is used to bulldoze the opposition and then, when the defense has broken down, the ball is passed out toward the sides of the field to be run in space by the backs to exploit any holes in the defense. This can certainly also be reversed just as you set up the pass by running the ball in football and vice-versa.

When a tackle is made the tackled player must release the ball and his teammates should either pick it up and run with it (if there is room) or, more likely, set a ruck which means physically driving any opposing players off of and away from the ball so that the team can maintain possession. Once a ruck has been formed the offense can generally pass the ball out again to its backs or forwards. In this way the ball is cycled through various phases of play.

Typically, an offense will begin with a set or designed play and subsequent phases are then in response to what is available from the defense. For example, if they've all crowded in around a tackle and ruck, the ball may be spun out quickly to the backs to try to attack the edge of the defense.

There are more potential penalties than I would care to discuss, but the offsides rule is the one that is most applicable to an overview of the game. Essentially, on a north-south field, you can't be on the north side of the ball, if your team's goal line is on the south side of the ball. This is remains true wherever the ball goes on the field. You'll routinely find yourself offsides in tackles, etc., but to re-join active play, you have to get back "behind your line". For example, if I make a tackle that knocks the ball loose and to the side toward my own team, if my team gains possession, I either have to wait for them to pass me as they gain territory or I have to run back and get on sides before I can do anything else with the ball.

Tries are worth 5 points and conversion kicks are worth 2 points. The kicks are taken from a point out at an angle from where in the tryzone the ball was touched down. If possible, you want to touch it down in the middle between the posts.

There you have it, sort of. Hopefully, wadc45, Steve19 and others can set this right. :biggrin:
 
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RugbyBuck said:
Very nice, Deet. Check out the USA Rugby site, DB, should be some links there. There are also some fairly good youtube clips, but I'm not sure how much of an overview they give. Just b/c I should be doing other things, but would rather talk rugby, I'll give you my two cents. Hopefully, wadc45 or others will jump in and correct it at some point.

Rugby is played with 15 on either side for 80 minutes with a running clock. In official matches there is a limit to substitutions and once a player goes out (unless he's bleeding and the blood is stopped) he can't come back in. A regulation pitch is the size of a soccer field, but typically we wind up playing on more narrow football fields in the US.

Rather than a set of downs a team maintains possession as long as it can. It is like basketball in that you play offense and defense. No one likes turnovers, but it's a regular part of the game. You can routinely go from offense to defense and back in a matter of seconds.

The goal is to get the ball over the opponent's goal line (tryline) and touch it down (a try). In order to move the ball forward, you can run it or kick it, but you can only pass the ball behind you (lateral passes are typically called back as forward).

The teams are divided into forwards and backs (roughly analogous to football linemen and skill players). The forwards can/do/should actually run with the ball, however, unlike football. Generally, the forward pack is used to bulldoze the opposition and then, when the defense has broken down, the ball is passed out toward the sides of the field to be run in space by the backs to exploit any holes in the defense. This can certainly also be reversed just as you set up the pass by running the ball in football and vice-versa.

When a tackle is made the tackled player must release the ball and his teammates should either pick it up and run with it (if there is room) or, more likely, set a ruck which means physically driving any opposing players off of and away from the ball so that the team can maintain possession. Once a ruck has been formed the offense can generally pass the ball out again to its backs or forwards. In this way the ball is cycled through various phases of play.

Typically, an offense will begin with a set or designed play and subsequent phases are then in response to what is available from the defense. For example, if they've all crowded in around a tackle and ruck, the ball may be spun out quickly to the backs to try to attack the edge of the defense.

There are more potential penalties than I would care to discuss, but the offsides rule is the one that is most applicable to an overview of the game. Essentially, on a north-south field, you can't be on the north side of the ball, if your team's goal line is on the south side of the ball. This is remains true wherever the ball goes on the field. You'll routinely find yourself offsides in tackles, etc., but to re-join active play, you have to get back "behind your line". For example, if I make a tackle that knocks the ball loose and to the side toward my own team, if my team gains possession, I either have to wait for them to pass me as they gain territory or I have to run back and get on sides before I can do anything else with the ball.

Tries are worth 5 points and conversion kicks are worth 2 points. The kicks are taken from a point out at an angle from where in the tryzone the ball was touched down. If possible, you want to touch it down in the middle between the posts.

There you have it, sort of. Hopefully, wadc45, Steve19 and others can set this right. :biggrin:
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so like i said? score more points than the other team?
 
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Excellent. That was gold for rugby in the U.S. to be on ABC on a Saturday. Sevens is definitely easier to watch and is a better format for the Olympics than 15s (the standard game) which is what rugby is pushing for FINALLY.

Sevens is played in the summer here in a much less formal atmosphere than 15s. You go to a tournament (often at or near a beach), play 3 to 5 matches and drink in between. The USA 7s that was on tv is one stop on the International Rugby Board's 7s tour. There are tournaments all over the world and it's a MUCH more professionally done thing than amateur tournaments.

It's called 7s because there are only 7 players per side (as opposed to 15). It's played on the same size field, though, so there is much more running involved (half the players in the same size space) and it's easier for spectators to tell what's going on. You don't really have to know about rugby to be able to enjoy it. The ball moves pretty fast, there's plenty of passing (rather than a grind it out style of play) and there are fewer penalties. Rather than playing the same team for 80 minutes, you play two seven-minute halves and several matches during the day. Seven minutes may not seem like a lot, but it's hot and the pace is much faster than in 15s (where there are enough other people that you can sneak in a break here and there). In 7s there is no place to hide.

As a player and spectator it's also great because you get to see/meet other teams. The largest I've ever played in was at the Cape Fear 7s in NC and there were 72 teams. The Chattanooga team puts on a tournament called the Pitch-A-Tent every year that has around 60 teams on a farm and everyone camps out and gets drunk (it is rugby, after all). At the USA 7s in San Diego there were 24 of the best teams in the world and the format gives smaller countries a chance to compete. I saw a 7s final a couple of years ago b/w Fiji and Samoa that was incredible.

Enough rambling, but check out 7s on youtube or the USA Rugby 7s site. Plenty of scoring and hits.
 
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RugbyBuck;1418720; said:
Excellent. That was gold for rugby in the U.S. to be on ABC on a Saturday. Sevens is definitely easier to watch and is a better format for the Olympics than 15s (the standard game) which is what rugby is pushing for FINALLY.

Sevens is played in the summer here in a much less formal atmosphere than 15s. You go to a tournament (often at or near a beach), play 3 to 5 matches and drink in between. The USA 7s that was on tv is one stop on the International Rugby Board's 7s tour. There are tournaments all over the world and it's a MUCH more professionally done thing than amateur tournaments.

It's called 7s because there are only 7 players per side (as opposed to 15). It's played on the same size field, though, so there is much more running involved (half the players in the same size space) and it's easier for spectators to tell what's going on. You don't really have to know about rugby to be able to enjoy it. The ball moves pretty fast, there's plenty of passing (rather than a grind it out style of play) and there are fewer penalties. Rather than playing the same team for 80 minutes, you play two seven-minute halves and several matches during the day. Seven minutes may not seem like a lot, but it's hot and the pace is much faster than in 15s (where there are enough other people that you can sneak in a break here and there). In 7s there is no place to hide.

As a player and spectator it's also great because you get to see/meet other teams. The largest I've ever played in was at the Cape Fear 7s in NC and there were 72 teams. The Chattanooga team puts on a tournament called the Pitch-A-Tent every year that has around 60 teams on a farm and everyone camps out and gets drunk (it is rugby, after all). At the USA 7s in San Diego there were 24 of the best teams in the world and the format gives smaller countries a chance to compete. I saw a 7s final a couple of years ago b/w Fiji and Samoa that was incredible.

Enough rambling, but check out 7s on youtube or the USA Rugby 7s site. Plenty of scoring and hits.
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Thanks for the response. I definitely have taken a liking.

Wadc said that there was more hitting in the 7's as well. Is that because there's more space to get solid licks in or is it because the time is short and people go all out? Or a combination of things?

Btw, when are penalties actually enforced? When I was watching the 7's, I distinctly remember the announcers saying that penalties were being called, but I never saw a stoppage of play nor did the official touch the ball. It also seemed like it never changed possession due to penalties.
 
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meerkat.jpg
 
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muffler dragon;1418906; said:
Thanks for the response. I definitely have taken a liking.

Wadc said that there was more hitting in the 7's as well. Is that because there's more space to get solid licks in or is it because the time is short and people go all out? Or a combination of things?

Btw, when are penalties actually enforced? When I was watching the 7's, I distinctly remember the announcers saying that penalties were being called, but I never saw a stoppage of play nor did the official touch the ball. It also seemed like it never changed possession due to penalties.
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Excellent questions, MD. I'd say it's a combination with the hitting. I don't think there's actually more hitting in 7s, but the tackles are definitely more apparent. They aren't happening in a crowd of ten or twelve other people. You're generally setting up the tackle in space from 8 to 10 yards away. The game is played at a higher intensity level b/c there are fewer players and less time on the clock than in 15s. You can't take time to get into a rhythm, you have to play all out from the beginning or you'll get left behind and there isn't much time to catch up on the scoreboard. Also, if you can make a big hit and jar the ball loose, your team may be able to pick it up and score b/c there are simply fewer defenders out there.

As for penalties, usually in 7s the ref will make the opposing team back 10 meters away from the ball which allows the offense to then run into that space with momentum. You can also kick for points (like a field goal), but that's relatively rare in 7s.

The 7s World Cup is March 5-7 and at least some of it will be on Setanta USA. Most pubs and other places where people watch soccer get Setanta.
 
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DB, you can find a good link that will introduce you to the basic rugby concepts here: link

A really good site is here: link There are some really good links at this site, although the links to the BBC archives evoke laughter down here where real men play rugby.

I don't really like the sevens game. The 15's game requires far more strategy and toughness. Think what football would look like with six players per side and you get an idea of why sevens rugby isn't taken very seriously in the rugby playing nations.

Oh, and a clarifying point. Just check out RugbyBuck's eye in his avatar and you get an idea of what the guys often look like after games. It is a really brutal game that is not for anyone afraid to take a knock.
 
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