Insight into Rugby Rules. Guide from A to Z for Beginners

Rugby is an Olympic kind of sport, the main goal of which is to make as many successful actions as possible. In other words, teams should either hit the opponents’ goal or deliver the ball into the dead ball area. Unlike football, rugby players are allowed to touch the ball with their hands. The given article is going to present a comprehensive guide into the given kind of sport.

Main Rules

A rugby match consists of two 40-minute halves with a 5-10-minute interval between them. The opposing teams should switch ends after the interval. If there is a tie after the end of the regulation time, two additional 10-minute periods are awarded. This phenomenon is known as extra time.

Every team is represented by 15 players simultaneously (8 attackers and 7 defenders). It is a coin toss that helps to determine a team to start a match. In rugby, the match begins with kicking the ball.

The most important rugby rule is that players are not allowed to pass the ball ahead to their partners. Thus, the only possible way to move the ball closer to the opponents’ goal is to run with the ball in hands. It is this peculiarity that contributes to such a high number of tough physical contacts in the given kind of sport.

Rugby implies a peculiar scoring system, according to which a certain successful action results in a certain number of points being gained. So, it is as follows:

• Try (5 points) – an attacking player delivers the ball into the opponents’ dead ball area and downs it within the zone. If the player fails to make the ball touch the ground, no points are earned.
• Penalty try (5 points) – this occurs when a try was prevented by an opponent’s violent actions.
• Conversion (2 points) – once a team has managed to make a successful try, it obtains the possibility to earn 2 more points; for this, it is necessary to send the ball over the crossbar and between the posts; the position of the ball depends on the previous scenario of the match.
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• Penalty kick (3 points) – this kick can be awarded by a referee after certain fouls; the ball is placed on the place where the rules were violated, and the player should send the ball over the crossbar and between the posts.

• Drop goal (3 points) – a player should hit the goal ‘from the play’; for this, any player should release the ball from his hands and kick it only after the ball touches the ground; kicking the ball before it touches the ground is prohibited.
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Fouls

As soon as there are the rules, they can be violated. So, there can be recorded various kinds of fouls.

Blocking. According to the official rules:

• a player who is running for the ball may not attack or push another player who is also running for the ball;
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• a player who is offside may not intentionally run or stay in front of his partner with the ball possession if this situation results in various obstacles for opponents;
• no player is allowed to take the ball after a set piece and try to go ahead through his partners;
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• no player is allowed to prevent any of his opponents to move around a scrum.

All the actions above are punished with a free kick.

Foul play. This term is used to describe any intentional violation of any of the rules. Such violations are followed by free kicks. If the same player keeps making fouls, he can be sent off.

So, the examples of foul play include:

• beating opponents with a hand;
• sweeping the leg or stepping on lying opponents;
• prohibited tackling;
• attacking or blocking an opponent who has just tapped the ball with his foot;
• pushing, attacking, blocking or tackling an opponent who does not have the ball in his possessions (set pieces are not included).
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A referee may not stop the match if a suffered team has an advantage (either territorial or tactical).

Offside. This term denotes that a player is in a position, in which he is not allowed to participate in a play. Otherwise, his team will be punished with a free kick.

There are different types of offside depending on a state of the play. For example, the offside in an open play occurs when a player is in front of the ball when the ball is in his team’s possession. Also, the offside can be recorded in each of the set pieces. Thus, it is obligatory to know these rules for every single case.

Set Pieces

In rugby, there are a few set pieces, each of which results in a peculiar development of the further play.

Scum. The main goal of the scum is to resume the game after a minor foul or a game stoppage. The scum is the battle among eight players from each team. The players clasp one another with their hands forming three lines and are going to interlock with the opponents who follow the same pattern. In this position, there is a so-called tunnel, in which a particular player throws the ball in such a case that the players of the front lines can touch it with their feet.

The scum starts at the place where the violation occurred but no closer than 5 meters from the goal line or sideline. The ball is introduced either by a suffered or attacking team. The scum is said to be over when the ball leaves it in any direction (excluding the tunnel).

Ruck. It is a set piece when one or several players of each team stand on their own legs and are in physical contact to group around the ball that lies on the field. In this case, an open play is over. The players who participate in the ruck tries to kick the ball with their feet either to send it in a certain direction or keep it in their possession.

The ruck is said to be over when the ball is sent or crosses the goal line. If there are such conditions when the players are not able to play further, the referee awards the scum. It should be mentioned that the referee should wait for a long time prior to awarding the scum.

Maul. This set piece is formed when one or a few players from each team stand on their legs and are in physical contact to group around the player who has the ball in his possession. This is done to move this player towards the opponents’ goal. To form the maul, at least three players are necessary: one player with the ball and two players from the opposing teams.

The maul is said to be successful when the ball falls on the ground or when the player with the ball leaves the maul. However, if the ball being within the maul crosses the goal line, the maul is also said to be over.

Mark. It is believed that a player is dealing with the mark when he stands within his own 22-meter zone and catches the ball kicked by the opponents. As soon as the player attempts to catch the ball, he should shout ‘Mark!’. After it is done, a free kick is awarded.

Tackle. It is a situation when a player with the ball in his possession is tackled by one or several opponents, which makes him fall or the ball touch the ground.

Line-out. The ball is thought to be out of play when it crosses a sideline after kicking; it touches a sideline; a player with the ball in possession steps on a sideline or crosses it at all; a player who is going to catch be ball steps on a sideline or crosses it. A throw-in is done through the line-out. Attacking players from both teams form lines that are perpendicular to a sideline with a distance of 1 meter between the opponents. Then the ball is thrown between the lines from the sideline, and the players start battling for it. The players can lift their partners to increase the chances of catching the ball. It is prohibited to tackles such a player, while the shoulder-to-shoulder contact is allowed.

Field

The rugby field is of a rectangular form with the dimensions of 100*70 meters. However, it should be mentioned that the length above does not include the dead ball areas. With them, the length can reach 144 meters. The field marking includes two goal lines, two sidelines, and corresponding lines that are parallel to the sidelines. They are the central line and 22-meter lines. The field should be covered with grass.

Rugby goals are H-shaped formations consisting of two parallel posts with a distance of 5.6 meters between them and the crossbar that is fixed 3 meters above the field.

Equipment

The rugby ball has the shape of an elongated spheroid and is made of leather or synthetic materials. As a rule, the ball surface is covered with a special mixture that repels mud.

Every player should be equipped with a shirt, shorts, boots, and corresponding protective equipment including knee pads, elbow pads, finger-free gloves, shin protectors, and mouth guard.

Referee

Every match should be served by a referee and two touch judges. Highly popular and important events can be also served by a video assistant who gets in touch with the referee through wire-free communication devices. It is up to a referee to punish players either with red or yellow cards. With this, the red card results in a constant sending off the player, while the yellow one means the player who has violated the rules should be a certain amount of time out of play.

International Competitions

In certain countries, rugby is a very popular kind of sport. As a result, there are various tournaments and leagues organized by various bodies in different places and attended by different teams. Below are the most popular and the most prestigious among them:

World Championships – the most prestigious rugby competition that is held every four years. Teams from all over the world try to do all their best in order to show a good performance during the given event.

Six Nations Rugby – an annual international competition between the best European rugby teams: England, Ireland, Italy, Wales, France, and Scotland.

Rugby Championships – an annual rugby tournament that is organized to identify the best team among four representatives of the Southern hemisphere: Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and the Republic of South Africa.

History

Webb Ellis is said to be the creator of the sport because he took the ball in his hands and started running with it during a usual football match. It happened in the town of Rugby (England). There were different soccer variations in those times, and some of them even allowed players to touch the ball with their hands. As for the case with Ellis, however, he was allowed to touch the ball rather than hold it and move with it. Although the given opinion has not been officially proved, it is generally accepted by the public and Webb Ellis is said to be one of the symbols of the sport.

In 1845, young men made the first attempt to develop the rugby rules, while 1848 saw as the students from the University of Cambridge offered their rules. The following matches were organized according to these rules. Blackheath was the first rugby club to appear in 1863. 1871 saw the English Rugby union appear. The game itself was called ‘Rugby-football’.

The late 19th century witnessed the split in the English rugby society. The problem was caused by the fact that some teams from the Northern regions of the country wanted to pay some money to their players because the latter ones were forced to cut the work because of the matches. Since the rugby of those times had an amateur status, the intention above was not satisfied. As a result, some teams left the union and created the new rules for the new game modification – rugbyling.

The first international rugby match was organized between England and Scotland in 1871. Later, Ireland and Wales also contributed to creating their national teams, which resulted in the emergence of the Home Nations Championships. In 1886, the International Rugby Board (IRB) was created, and it was not until the late 20th century when the Board became really international.

The first Rugby World Championships was organized in 1987, which contributed to a much greater popularity of the sport around the world. The team from New Zealand was the first winner of the tournament above. Finally, it happened in 1995 when rugby obtained a ‘free’ status, and all the salary limitations were canceled.