Rugby: A Man’s Sport

Rugby as it exists today is one of the most exciting contact sports in existence, a perfect mix of the speed and movement of soccer and the hard hitting physical nature of American football. The Rugby World cup is the third most watched sporting event in the world, trailing close behind the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics. While Americans love our football, the rest of the world loves their rugby. Indeed, the 2003 World Cup had a collective audience of over 3.5billion, and was broadcast in 205 different countries. Maybe it’s time we Americans see what all the fuss is about…

The following will serve as a basic introduction to the game of rugby, from the history of the game to its objectives and main rules, and will also have some tips on where you can find opportunities to play yourself.

Before going into the details on how to play rugby, a distinction should be made as to what kind of rugby we’re talking about here. There are two main styles of play, known as Rugby Unionand Rugby League. While they have many similarities, they are essentially very different games. This article will focus on Rugby Union, which is the more prominent of the two.

Field and Equipment

A rugby ball is most similar to an American football in size and shape, although it is larger and most modern versions have no laces.

As far as personal equipment goes, there really isn’t much. A mouthpiece is mandatory in regulation play, and there is an optional soft-padded head gear known as a scrum cap, the main purpose of which is the protection of the pack player’s ears in the scrum. Scrum caps are very similar to the old leather helmets of American football.

Known as the pitch, a rugby playing field is a large grassy surface 100 meters long and 70 meters wide with uprights on each end. Behind the uprights is the goal area, which has to be 10 meters deep at minimum and is usually 22 meters in depth. Line markings are illustrated in the diagram below.

Two teams are represented on the pitch, with 15 players per side. The players on a team are broken down into two separate groupings, the pack and the backs.
Generally speaking, the pack consists of larger, more physical players who are equivalent to defensive lineman in American football. The backs are usually the faster, more maneuverable players comparable to the backfield and receivers in American football. Jersey numbers 1-8 represent pack players, and 9-15 are the backs.

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