Rugby football
Rugby football, often simply referred to as rugby, is a highly regarded full-contact sport that has evolved from various ancient forms of football. It is played on a rectangular field where two teams, each consisting of fifteen players, aim to score points by carrying or kicking a ball across the opponent's goal line. There are two primary codes of rugby: rugby union and rugby league, each with its own set of rules and competitions. The Rugby World Cup and the Rugby League World Cup are the sport's premier international tournaments, showcasing teams from around the globe and attracting enormous audiences.
Rugby has deep historical roots, tracing back as far as the 2nd century BCE, and its modern form was popularized in England in the 19th century. The sport became a symbol of social divides, leading to a split within rugby that created the two distinct codes we see today. The rules vary between the two, especially regarding scoring methods and play strategies, which influence the style of the game. Notably, rugby is known for its intense physicality, with scrums being a critical aspect of play, often resulting in significant physical confrontations.
Rugby has a strong following in traditional strongholds like England, Australia, and New Zealand, but its popularity is expanding into new territories, including parts of Africa, Eastern Europe, and the United States. The sport is celebrated for its community and sportsmanship, and it continues to attract new players and fans worldwide, especially among university athletes in the U.S. looking for alternatives to American football.
Rugby football
Overview
Rugby (also known as rugby football) is one of the most popular full-contact sports in the world. Rugby is one of several modern manifestations of the centuries-old game of football. Rugby’s rules are relatively simple—players attempt to move a ball across a field and over a goal line. The sport has also introduced to the world a unique set of terms, such as “scrum,” “ruck,” and “Parramatta Wall.” There are two types of modern rugby—rugby league and rugby union—both of which have distinct rules and regulations. The former of these forms of rugby culminates in the Rugby League World Cup, during which teams of the Rugby League International Federation converge for a two-week tournament. The latter also features a championship tournament known simply as the Rugby World Cup, in which teams compete every four years for the William Webb Ellis Cup.
Rugby has long been popular in England and in the nations of the British Commonwealth (most prominently among these countries are Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa). However, in recent years, rugby has seen increasing popularity in Africa, eastern Europe, and the United States. The game is also one of the most popular spectator sports. The 2023 Rugby World Cup accumulated 1.33 billion viewing hours across all linear and non-linear programming.
Origins and History
Like American football and association football (soccer), rugby owes its own evolution to a rudimentary form of football. Evidence of this game can be traced as far back as the second and third centuries BCE to a military exercise called Tsu’ Chu during the Han dynasty in China. This exercise involved passing a leather ball through a small, one-foot-wide opening using only the feet, chest, back, or shoulders while other players attempted to block the target. Various incarnations of the game have appeared throughout history in societies around the world, including the Romans, Celts, and Vikings. All of these games differed slightly in manner of play, but the general theme was consistent: move a ball toward the opponent’s end of the field while navigating through the opposing team’s defense.
Over time, the rules of the game were formalized, and rugby football began to diverge from association football. According to popular legend, the game of rugby was invented in Warwickshire, England. According to the story, in 1823, a local boy named William Webb Ellis was playing this game when he decided to pick up the ball, run it to the other end of the field, and score. By 1830, running with the ball became an accepted play. The Rugby School played a role in the development of the sport, as the sport’s first written rules were established there in 1845, and several rugby unions in England at the time were founded by Rugby School alumni.
In the late nineteenth century, rugby became a symbol of the disparity between socioeconomic classes in England. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) of England did not allow working-class players to be compensated for time missed from work to play football. Middle-class players, however, were given highly generous reimbursements for expenses incurred while traveling to games, prompting a rift between predominantly working-class teams and the RFU. In 1895, twenty-two clubs broke away from the RFU to form their own organization, the Northern Union. The Northern Union was initially distinctive because it paid its players (whereas RFU play was strictly amateur). Over time, the Northern Union created its own rules of play, many of which were different from union play. The break from the RFU is known as rugby’s “great schism,” leading to the creation of two different codes of rugby —rugby league and rugby union. Since the great schism, rugby’s increasing global popularity has applied to both codes of play.
Rules and Regulations
The rules and regulations of rugby vary between the two codes of play (league and union). In general, the game is played on a rectangular field no longer than one hundred meters and no wider than seventy meters. The field (also known as the “pitch”) is marked by a center line, two lines marking the twenty-two-meter points on either side of the field, and two goal lines at the ends of the field. In the center of each goal line is a goalpost that measures 5.6 meters wide and less than 3.4 meters tall. Beyond each goal line lies an in-goal area.
Rugby is played between two teams, which each sends fifteen players onto the field: eight forwards and seven backs. Each player has a position to play, such as the hooker (a front-row forward) or the eightman (who stays in the back to pick up any loose balls and otherwise control the ball at the back of the scrum).
The object of the game is to score more points than the opposing team. There are four different ways to score in rugby. A player can earn five points for a try by carrying or kicking the ball across the goal line of the opponent. After a try, the scoring team is given the chance to earn two more points by kicking the ball through the goalposts from the line where the ball was originally grounded; this is called a conversion kick. Teams may also earn three points via a drop-goal, or dropped goal, by kicking the ball through the uprights of the goalpost while running with it during play (the ball must hit the ground before the kick). Furthermore, if a serious penalty is committed, a team may be awarded a penalty kick, which is worth three points if successful.
One of the most recognizable aspects of the game of rugby is the scrum (which is short for scrummage). A scrum takes place after play is stopped and is a way of resuming play. During a scrum, three rows of a team’s eight forward players hook arms opposite three rows of the opposing team. The team that has possession as a result of the stoppage looks to its scrumhalf to throw the ball in between the two converging packs of players. Typically, the scrumhalf works to put the ball into a position where his or her teammates can retrieve the ball and begin moving upfield. The rules and significance of the scrum vary based on whether the game played is union or league rugby. For example, in union, scrums are more common than in league (a product of the different rules governing play stoppage); union rugby, therefore, places more value on winning scrums than in league play.
There are a wide range of differences between union and league rules and such regulations influence the style of play. For example, union rugby places greater emphasis on kicking than carrying, making players more likely to pursue a drop-goal rather than the try. Additionally, in league play, scrums involve such a distance between the two teams that they are less contested and less violent than the more traditional, union-style scrums.
Strategy and Tactics
Rugby is characterized by violent plays. The most successful teams are the ones who both hit opponents the hardest and endure the worst hits. Still, although painful tackles are an essential feature of rugby, so too is effective strategy. For example, in union play, teams frequently pursue drop-goals rather than tries, opting for a smaller number of points without as much risk for turnover.
The scrum is one of the most pivotal plays in a rugby match. It presents a potential opportunity for the team that did not throw the ball into the scrum to win possession after a play is stopped. The scrum is thus highly contested and one of the points of the game in which the most physical injury occurs (often through illicit punches, head-butts, and other forms of contact that may go unnoticed by the referee, who cannot see into the scrum). Given the importance of a successful scrum put-in, teams must prepare themselves not only for how to succeed in the scrum but in how to defend against certain tactics employed by the other team’s players. This fact is particularly important for those players at the front line of the scrum, as they will be directly in contact with the front line of the opposing team as they attempt to retrieve and move the put-in.
Professional Leagues and Series
There are two main codes associated with the sport of rugby. The older of the two codes, rugby union has been governed by the International Rugby Board (IRB) since 1886. In addition to sanctioning official union matches, IRB and national union teams offer a wide range of educational and training programs designed to generate interest and participation among young people in the sport.
The highest echelon of rugby union is the IRB’s Rugby World Cup, which was instituted in 1987. This event takes place every four years, pitting twenty of the world’s top union rugby teams against one another over a two-week period. Each team is assigned to one of four pools, based on the teams’ respective qualifications in comparison to one another. The Rugby World Cup is a highly popular event; 2.4 million tickets were sold for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. Over the course of the event, an estimated 1.33 billion viewing hours were accumulated across linear and non-linear programming.
The other main type of rugby is league rugby. League rugby also has player advocacy organizations, such as the Rugby League Players’ Association, that help mediate player-team issues and contracts. The governing body for international-level league rugby is the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF). Through two main confederations, the Rugby League European Federation (RLEF) and the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Federation (APRLF), this organization oversees affiliates around the world, including associate members such as Jamaica, Serbia, Lebanon, and Russia in addition to full members such as Ireland, England, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
In addition to the myriad regional league matches, the league rugby international championship game, the Rugby League World Cup, takes place every four years. Fourteen teams took part in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup (hosted in England, Wales, France, and Ireland). The event included Tonga and the United States in addition to more established national teams. Like the Rugby World Cup, the Rugby League World Cup is a well-attended event. At the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, held in London in 2022—due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic—thirty-two teams participated across three events.
Popularity
Since it was first developed in England in the mid- to late nineteenth century, rugby has consistently been one of the most popular international sports. To be sure, however, its popularity has until recently been most evident in the nations of the former British Commonwealth as well as Western Europe. Both league and union codes are equally popular in these areas, although increased success on the international level by countries such Russia and countries in the Pacific region (such as Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea) has given both league and union rugby a more cosmopolitan appearance than in years prior. Since union rugby went professional, an increasing number of players switch from league rugby to union and vice versa.
Union rugby became increasingly popular in the twenty-first century in one of the largest untapped rugby recruiting resources: the United States. Countless Americans, mostly playing at the university level, are seen by union rugby officials as potential recruits into the sport. The fact that so many American college football players have an interest in playing rugby (especially when the National Football League only drafts about 2 percent of candidates to its teams) means that a large pool of athletic, skilled players are available who require few dramatic changes to adapt their skills to rugby. An increased number of American rugby players can generate a corresponding increase in American rugby fans and, therefore, add to the continued growth of the sport’s international popularity.
Popularity continued to increase when the rugby sevens form of rugby was added to the Olympic Games in 2016.
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