Rugby Union

Rugby union is a type of football, supposedly invented during a football game by William Webb Ellis at Rugby School in 1823. Two teams, each of 15 players have the task of outscoring the opposing team. Players clutch the ball in their hands or arms, and may pass it backwards or laterally across the pitch, or kick it in any direction. The opposing players attempt to halt the ball-carrier by tackling him or her with their arms and bodies. On being tackled, the ball carrier must release the ball, at which time a contest for possession of the ball commences (either a ruck or a maul).

The International Rugby Board, founded in 1886, governs the sport and also publishes the game's laws (http://www.irb.com/laws_regs/laws/index.cfm).

Method of play
The aim of rugby is to score more points than the opposition. Points are scored in several ways:

Scoring
touching the ball down over the opponents' goal line (a try, currently worth 5 points).
After a try has been scored, the scoring team attempts a conversion. A kick at goal is taken in line with where the try was scored. Scoring the goal earns 2 points.
kicking the ball above the crossbar and between the uprights of a large 'H'-shaped set of posts. This may either occur from a place kick following a law infringement (a penalty goal) or kicked from the hand, providing the ball strikes the ground before being kicked (a drop goal). Both types of goal score 3 points.

Positions
A rugby team consists of 15 players, eight forwards numbered 1 to 8, and seven backs, numbered 9 to 15. Depending upon the competition, there may be up to 7 replacements.

The main role of the forwards is to gain and retain possession of the ball. They take part in set pieces of the scrum and the line-out. Generally, forwards are larger than the backs, which makes them stronger but slower. Forwards also have a role in taking the ball forwards, but generally do so by driving into the opposing forwards.

The role of the backs is to move the game forward by running or kicking the ball. The fly-half controls how to do this. The backs tend to score more tries. The backs tend to be smaller than the forwards and as a result more agile and faster, but less strong.

The match is refereed by a referee who is usually assisted by two touch judges.

Set-pieces
There are various set-pieces at which play, principally:

Kick-off

At the start of each half, one side kicks off. The ball is placed on the centre spot and one team kicks the ball forwards at least ten metres. There is then a contest for possession.

Similarly, there is also a 22 metre drop-out.

Tackle
A player in possession may be tackled by an opposing player. The opposing player overbalances the man in possession. Once the tackled player hits the ground, he must release the ball and allow a ruck to form. Alternatively, the player may be held up in the tackle, in which case a maul may form. Players will often deliberately go to ground once tackled rather than form a maul.

Ruck

A ruck is a contest for possession. Once a player has been grounded by a tackle, he must place the ball on his side. The first players arriving from either side may pick up the ball, but after two or more have arrived, they must bind to each other and push the opposing players off the ball, using their feet to hook the ball backwards towards their own scrum-half.

The ruck is where most infringements occur. Players may seek to slow down the speed of the recycling of the opposition's ball or speed up their own by using their hands illegally, or lying over the ball. Such infringements result in penalties.

(Rolling) maul
If a player is held up, other forwards may bind onto him and push him forwards. Similarly, the opposition may push against this. If the maul is stopped and a team cannot retrieve it, then a scrum is awarded to the opposition. A rolling maul is a tactic whereby mauls are set up, and the ball is passed backwards through the forwards, who roll off the side to create new mauls.

Scrum
Scrums are generally called for knock-ons, where a player drops the ball forwards, or other accidental mismeanours.

When a scrum is called, the forwards of each side bind together in a particular way. The scrum-half puts the ball into the scrum, and the hooker, who is in the middle of the front row, hooks the ball back to the feet of the number eight. The opposition hooker may contest for possession, though rarely does he win it because the scum-half often feeds the ball crookedly, and he is aware because of tapping from the scrum half, when the ball is about to be put in.

The ball is then played by the team; either picked up by the number eight who drives forward, or passed by the scrum-half to the fly-half or one of the other backs.

Line-out

Line-out in ParisWhen the ball goes into touch a line-out is called. The forwards of each team line up a metre apart between 5m and 15 from the touchline. If the ball went out from a penalty, the side who gained the penalty throw the ball in, if not the other team do so. Both sides compete for the ball, and some players may lift their team mates.

History
Rugby originated in England, and games occur throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. As a result of the British Empire, it has also become popular in many former colonies such as Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, where it helped to build a sense of community amongst colonial men. Rugby Union has also become popular in southern France and northern Italy, as well as in many countries of the South Pacific.

In fact, in the isolated and rugged Southern hemisphere outposts, the popularity of the sport developed to a much greater extent than on continental Europe: Europeans largely viewed rugby as a violent and uncultured game. These European countries have therefore always tended to prefer association football. However, the saying often goes that "Football is a gentlemen's game played and enjoyed by louts, rugby is a game for louts played and enjoyed by gentlemen".

Nowadays, most European mainland countries play rugby - although only at a significant level in France (especially in the south, notably the southwest) and Italy, who now both compete in the Six Nations Championship. Rugby has also become popular in the Pacific Islands (Tonga, Samoa and Fiji), as well as in Japan, and has gained ground in South America, with Argentina regularly defeating European teams, and Uruguay having won a game at the two most recent Rugby World Cups. As of October 2003 the International Rugby Board had 94 members. The rugby-playing world often sees a distinction between the Northern hemisphere and the Southern hemisphere teams (traditionally, play takes place in the winter), and the Southern hemisphere has often dominated international tournaments.

After decades of domination by New Zealand, South Africa, and most recently Australia, England in 2003 achieved the pinnacle of success as the best team in world rugby with a dominant 2002 and 2003 culminating in a nailbiting extra-time win against Australia in the final of the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup. New Zealand and France also reached the semi-finals.

In North America, rugby developed into American football and into Canadian football.

Six Nations Rugby Tournament
The first steps towards the modern day Six Nations tournament took place in 1871 when England played Scotland. In the 1880s, both Wales and Ireland joined and the Home International Championships emerged. France joined the tournament in the 1900s and in 1910 the term Five Nations first appeared. However, the Home Nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) excluded France in 1931 amid a run of poor results, allegations of professionalism (Rugby Union officially remained an amateur sport until 1996), and concerns over on-field violence. France then rejoined in 1939-1940, though the Second World War halted proceedings for a further eight years. Very recently (2000), Italy also joined the tournament, leading to the modern-day Six Nations competition that takes place annually. If a team wins all five of their games this is termed a Grand Slam; if one of the Home Nations beats the other three, this is called the Triple Crown. Ireland won the Triple Crown most recently with a 19-13 win against England.

In 2004, the 15 of France won the Six Nations, achieving the Grand Slam in the process.

The schism
A group of Northern English clubs separated from rugby union in the 1890s to form (the game of) rugby league, which though similar has a very different flow of play to rugby union. The split largely differentiated the industrial north of England from the more white-collar south and stemmed from charges that the northern teams had started to become professional (i.e. playing as a career, rather than as a game). A major league change from the rugby union format involved the reduction of the number of players from 15 to 13 by removing the two flankers.

Team positions
The following diagram locates the various positions in the 15-man team. All members of the starting 15 wear jerseys numbered from 1 to 15 and keyed to their positions (though there are alternatives).The first eight players, known as forwards or the pack, play in the scrum. The remaining seven players are as the backs.

Loosehead Prop (1) Hooker (2) Tighthead Prop (3)
Second Row (4) Second Row (5)
Blindside Flanker (6) Number 8 Openside Flanker (7)
Scrum Half (9)

Fly Half (10)
Inside Centre (12)
Left Wing (11) Outside Centre (13)
Right Wing (14)

Fullback (15)

Some positions have alternative names, in New Zealand in particular:

Scrum Half is known as Halfback
Fly Half is known as First five-eighths
Inside Centre is known as Second five-eighths
Outside Centre is known as Centre
Second Row players are more often called locks throughout the English-speaking world
The flankers are sometimes referred to as wing forwards

Other player terminology
Front row Collective term for the props and hooker
Tight forwards Collective term for the combined front row and second row
Loose forwards or Back row Collective term for the flankers and Number 8
Back three Collective term for the fullback and wings


International teams
The major international teams (represented on the IRB) are:

Argentina (nicknamed The Pumas)
Australia (nicknamed The Wallabies)
England
France
Ireland
Italy (nicknamed The Azzuri)
New Zealand (nicknamed The All Blacks)
Scotland
South Africa (nicknamed The Springoks)
Wales
List of International Rugby teams
See also:

Tournaments
Men's and women's versions of the Rugby World Cup are held every 4 years.
Six Nations Championship - England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Italy
Tri Nations Series - Australia, South Africa, New Zealand
Super Powers Cup - Canada, Japan, Russia and United States
Churchill Cup - Canada, United States, England, and New Zealand
In this competition, England and New Zealand do not send their full men's national sides. England sends its "A" team and New Zealand sends the New Zealand Maori. However, both send their full women's national sides.
World Sevens Series
Super 12 - teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
Heineken Cup - European club, provincial and regional teams
Zurich Premiership - English clubs
Currie Cup - South African provincial tournament
National Provincial Championship (NPC) - New Zealand provincial tournament
Ranfurly Shield - New Zealand provincial challenge trophy
Celtic League - provincial/regional teams from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales

International Trophies
Antim Cup - Georgia and Romania
Bledisloe Cup - Australia and New Zealand
Calcutta Cup - England and Scotland
Cook Cup - Australia and England
Gallaher Cup - France and New Zealand
Hopetoun Cup - Australia and Scotland
Lansdowne Cup - Australia and Ireland
Mandela Challenge Plate - Australia and South Africa
Millennium Trophy - England and Ireland
Puma Trophy - Argentina and Australia
Trophée des Bicentenaires - Australia and France