Rugby is a continuous sport. Once tackled, the ball carrier must immediately release the ball. Soon after, a ruck will ensue to gain possession of the ball. A ruck is the big pileup that you see form right after a tackle has been made. These are both of the opposing teams' forwards trying to "ruck" or shove each other off the ball. A penalty will be called if a player is tackled and does not make an attempt to release the ball.
A team is allowed to have a maximum of 4 in jury-substitutions (6 in U.S. domestic games) to players that are physically unable to continue, if this number is exceeded, the team must play a player short.
Each team starts with 15 players and the match begins with a kickoff, and as in football, the ball must travel 10 yards before the kicking team can play it. Unlike football though, it is winner's ball as the team that scores gets to receive again. The most common technique in kicking off is a team that kicks the ball high in the air 10 yards and make a play on the ball or the player about to catch the ball.
In general, during the "loose" phase of the game, there are only two
positions in rugby. Players 1-8 are forwards, often referred to as
"the pack". These are the workers on the rugby pitch (aka grunts) that
are responsible for trudging through the mud, winning the ball and presenting
a clean ball to the backs. Backs (numbered 9-15) smoothly and deftly cut
through the opponent's defensive line, occasionally performing a brilliant
"switch."
The Object of the Game:
The object of the game is to move the ball down the pitch across the
opponent's try line and physically touch the ball down (Hence the
word touchdown that is used in football which is a derivative of rugby).
Supporting the ball carrier is very important in this game, especially
since the ball carrier must release the ball once tackled. When you
are on the ground, you are considered a part of the ground. If a team is
providing sufficient support, their player will get tackled and there should
be 2 or 3 other players around him ready to shove or ruck the tackler and
any other opposing players off the ball and their teammate or to take the
ball and continue pushing up field.
At any time a player may kick the ball towards an opponents goal and try to regain possession up the pitch. This has it's advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, you have a chance to gain better field position but on the negative aspect, if you do not chase down and recover the ball, you lose possession to the other team.
Set Pieces:
Set Pieces are the formations that are set up
to resume play after a penalty, a knock-on, or if the ball travels or is
carried out of bounds. Teams often set up plays to run off of these
set pieces which are a lot more technical then they look.
Kickoff: Kickoff, of course is what starts
a game, and resumes play after a team has scored. The only thing
to remember, especially for all of you American football spectators, is
that the team that scores gets to receive again. But just
like American football, the players must be behind the kicker until he
kicks the ball off and the ball must travel 10 yards in order for it to
be played by the kicking team.
Scrumdown: In most cases, the referee
will call for a scrumdown if a player commits a knock-on (described below
in the penalties section) and award the put-in to the other team.
Each team will lock their arms and bodies with each other and create a
"pack." A perfect example of what this looks like can be found on
our photos page
under the pic with the caption "Scrum at The Battleground of Fredricksburg."
When the ref calls engage, the two packs will come together and the team
awarded the put-in will have their scrumhalf roll the ball in (usually
on some signal given by his teammate in the pack) and the hooker, who is
in the middle of the pack will attempt to "hook" the ball back with his
leg. The scrumhalf must roll the ball in straight so both teams can
equally contest for the ball, but the advantage is still gained with the
fact that the scrumhalf puts in the ball when he knows his team is ready.
The other team's pack will either have their hooker try to steal the ball
or to simply just try to push the team off the ball. If all goes
well, the ball will be hooked back through the pack's legs and presented
behind the formation for the scrumhalf to pick up and put the ball into
play to the backline. There are numerous other scenarios that cause
and can be played out with the scrumdown, but this paragraph is getting
too long and you get the gist.
Lineout: Lineouts are performed to resume
play when the ball has traveled out of bounds. The team that is awarded
the throw-in can use up to 8 players in their lineout, but regardless of
the number, the opposing team must have less or equal to the number of
players that the throw-in team presents for the lineout. Each team
lines up in a straight line parallel to the goal lines and 1 meter apart
from each other, with the first person in each line standing at least 5
meters from the sideline. The player that is throwing the ball in
must throw the ball in straight so that both sides can equally contest
for the ball either by jumping for the ball or lifting their players up
to contest for the ball. Again the advantage lies with the team that
puts the ball into play because any man in the line can jump or be lifted
and movement parallel to the goal lines is legal. Whenever, wherever,
and whichever man jumps or is lifted for the ball is usually dictated through
the same type of calls used by a quarterback in American football right
before he hikes the ball. Whichever team seizes the ball in the lineout,
will usually form a maul, which again is demonstrated in a pic off our
photos page labeled,
"driving the lineout against the opposition...." A team can also
do a number of other things off the lineout, but explaining those would
entail writing a novel.
Free Kicks and Penalty Kicks: Free kicks
and penalty kicks are awarded to a team, when the opposition commits a
penalty or an infringement. Depending on the circumstances, these
kicks may be taken on the quick tap for example, which is to immediately
resume play, hopefully catching the other team off guard dusting themselves
off from the penalty. Or a set play, where play is resumed as soon
as a player moves the ball with his foot. Free kicks can be traded
for scrumdowns in some situations. Penalty kicks allow for the non-offending
team to try and place kick for goal, quick tap, or kick for touch.
A kick for touch is usually performed if better field position is desired
by the non-offending team by kicking the ball as far down field as possible,
but out of bounds so they can retain possession for a lineout. Regardless
of the circumstances, the team that committed the penalty must hustle
back 10 yards from the spot of the foul. If a penalty kick is
attempted, then the ball is still in play if the kicker misses the attempt.
The miss usually puts the other team in its own goal, which in all likelihood
would touch the ball down for what it similar to a touch back in American
football. Play resumes with a 22 drop kick, which is attempted anytime
a team touches the ball down in their own goal. The ball must hit
the ground first and be taken from behind the 22 meter line.
Scoring:
There are four ways to score in rugby. A try, worth 5 points,
is scored when a player carries or physically touches the ball down in
the opponent's goal. A 2-point conversion place kick is attempted
after each try from a point directly out from where the ball was physically
touched down. Hence, if a player touches the ball down in the corner of
the try-zone, a rather difficult place kick will be attempted from near
the sideline. If the ball is touched down in the middle, an easy
conversion from the middle of the field is awarded.
The other two methods of scoring are also for kicking the ball through the uprights. Penalty goals are worth 3 points. A penalty situation comes about after a serious violation of the laws, and the victimized team is awarded a penalty kick from the point of the infraction. Drop kicks can be attempted at any time during the game and a drop goal is worth 3 points but the ball must hit the ground first, which makes this a very difficult option.
Most Common Penalties in rugby:
**These are the penalties that can cost a team
a close game.**
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Knock-on: Hitting or dropping the ball forward with your
hands. This results in a scrumdown for the other team.
Forward Pass: The ball must be passed laterally or behind, never forward. This again would result in a scrumdown for the other team.
Offsides: Defensively, a player must stay behind the last foot of their teammates trying to ruck over and win the ball. On offense, if you kick the ball during anything other than a set piece, you must run ahead of all your teammates to put them onsides. Your teammates cannot advance towards a ball that you kick unless you are ahead of them first. They must make the attempt to retreat. This usually results in a penalty to the other team.
High tackle: You will know when you see it. This tackle is often involving a backline player just being a squirmy little...person that sometimes looks like a Bradshaw clothesline from the WWF. Basically, this is any tackle that is above the collar. Penalty to the other team.
Failure to release:
The ball must be released immediately upon being tackled.
Playing the ball on the ground: This is usually called because
a player was tackled, released the ball, but continued to play the ball
afterwards or anytime a player lying on the ground tries to play a loose
ball. Penalty to the other team.
