Rugby Rules - Rugby History

Rugby is a very popular game, quite similar to football, played by people as young as five to people over fifty years old. In most countries, rugby is a national sport.

Rugby

Rugby is played in over 120 countries around the world. The popularity of rugby lies in its rich history, traditions, camaraderie, and community involvement in the sport. Young children can enjoy the non-contact versions of the sport. Generally, there are 15 players per team, though 7-players per team are also popular. Sometimes, there may also be 10-players per side. Many players continue to play rugby well into their adult years. Others coach players or become referees.

The International Rugby Football Board (I.R.F.B.) commonly referred to as the IRB, is the governing body for rugby. It was founded in 1886. The IRFB is responsible for deciding international fixtures, revising the laws of the game and other general matters related to rugby such as amateur status of players. The IRFB typically meets twice a year, normally in March and October.

For additional pertinent information on the Rugby World Cup 2007 click on the adjacent link.

Basic Rules of rugby

The objective, as in any game, is that each team must score as many points as possible. In rugby, carrying, passing, kicking and grounding the ball score points for the team. The team with the greater number of points is the winner of the match. Rugby is classified as an "end-zone invasion game". Each team focuses on gaining possession of the ball, taking it into the opponent's territory, and placing it in the in-goal area or the end zone.

Rugby is a game of continuous flow. Acording to basic Rule of rugby there should be two categories of players, the forwards and the backs. In a 15-player game, the forwards, or the pack, consist of the first 8 players. The remaining players are called the backs. If a player is tackled to the ground, they must release the ball, which usually results in a ruck. If a player is held while standing, a maul will usually be formed. The purpose of the ruck or maul is to ensure there is no stoppage in play.

The line-out and scrum are two key distinguishing factors of the game of Rugby Union. A scrum occurs when there is an accidental infringement and a line-out occurs when the ball goes out of bounds. The line-out and the scrum are methods of restarting the game.

A try is scored when a player places the ball in the opposition's in-goal area. A try is counted as 5 points. It can be converted to an additional 2 points if there is a successful place kick or drop kick. Points could be awarded from a drop kick in general play and a penalty kick, both worth 3 points.

History of Rugby League

History of rugby league had started as follows. An interesting legend explains how the game originated. During a game of soccer in 1823, William Webb Ellis, then a 16-year-old boy at Rugby School in England, caught the ball and ran with it towards the opponent's goal line. Thus the game of Rugby was born. A stone commemorates William Webb Ellis's deed on the Rugby school grounds with the inscription that reads:

" THIS STONE COMMEMORATES THE EXPLOIT OF WILLIAM WEBB ELLIS WHO WITH A FINE DISREGARD FOR THE RULES OF FOOTBALL, AS PLAYED IN HIS TIME, FIRST TOOK THE BALL IN HIS ARMS AND RAN WITH IT, THUS ORIGINATING THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE RUGBY GAME A.D. 1823".

In 1864, the first Australian Rugby Football Club was established at Sydney University. The first international match was played in 1871 between England and Scotland. There were 20 players on each side, with 13 forwards, 3 halfbacks, 1 three quarter, and 3 fullbacks. Tries received major recognition in the game in the year 1875. The International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) met in 1887, and in 1890, the IRFB drew up an international code of laws. Rugby League was established in 1907-8 as a professional variant of the game of Rugby Union in New South Wales and Queensland. The Bledisloe Cup was presented in 1931, by the then Governor General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe, for competition between New Zealand and Australia. The inaugural competition was won by New Zealand two games to one.

Rugby League and Rugby Union are two separate games that have their roots in a common rugby origin. The split in 1895 was over the issue of paying the players. Rugby Union stayed a strictly amateur sport whereas Rugby League became professional. Rugby Union authorities stuck to their principles and steadfastly refused to permit player payments for many years. In August 1995, the IRFB finally relinquished and Rugby Union became fully professional at all levels.

Though both the Rugby League and the Rugby Union have common origins and both games are now professional, they have evolved far apart that now they are regarded as different sports. Rugby League teams have 13 players (with two substitutions permitted) whereas Rugby Union has 15 (no substitutions, except for injury). The rules are also quite different. Rugby League play stops after every tackle and can be easily distinguished from Rugby Union play. The Rugby League does not use the lineout to restart play after the ball goes out.

Rugby USA

The first recorded Rugby game in America was on May 5, 1874, when Harvard University hosted Montreal's McGill University at Cambridge, Massachusetts. There are no records of the match and no one remembers who won, but the game sparked an interest in the college campuses nationwide. Rugby was soon included as a sport in four Olympic Games (1900, 1908, 1920, 1924), and the United States won in both the 1920 and 1924 Games.

Shortly after the 1924 Olympics, however, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) removed rugby as an Olympic sport. The United States of America Rugby Football Union (now known as USA Rugby) is the national governing body to represent the USA in the International rugby community. USA Rugby is made up of seven Territorial Unions (TUs) and 37 Local Area Unions (LAUs),and supports more than 50,000 members.

USA Rugby fields several national teams, nicknamed the Eagles. The National Men's Team was formed in 1976 and the National Women's Team was founded in 1987. USA Rugby also fields both Men's and Women's 7s National Teams and a National Women's U-23 squad and a National U-19 Men's squad.

Rugby Canada

The history of Rugby football in Canada dates back to its initial appearance in the 1860's. The first game of rugby recorded in Canada took place in Montreal among artillerymen in 1864. In the same year, Trinity College in Toronto published the first set of rules for the game of rugby in Canada. In 1868, the first club, the Montreal Football Club was formed.

Rugby Canada has been prominent on the global rugby scene. Rugby Canada is a regular on the IRB Sevens Circuit. Canada's National Junior Team was born in the fall of 1982. Their first international test was against the touring Japanese Junior Side. Canada was successful in the test, defeating the Japanese 18- 6.

Rugby Canada offers Men's and Women's National Programs at various age levels including Under 19, Under 21 and Under 23. Rugby Canada provides players opportunities to compete on the international stage, in various age categories and for both men and women.

Rugby 2004

Rugby 2004 is an action-packed video game based on the sport of Rugby. Rugby 2004 links over 1500 authentic Rugby players from around the world through intuitive controls. Rugby 2004 provides intense graphics, realistic motion, and all many other details of the sport for rugby lovers. Through 67 distinct stadiums and 62 international teams, Rugby 2004 covers all the bases and scrums in all the competition in 50 fps.

The exciting features of Rugby 2004 are:

• The teams can be customized
  
• Players can work their way through various levels - the Tri-nations, the Six-nations right up to the World Cup
  
• Game design, graphics, easy game play
  

• The music
  
• The commentary
  
• No set league for beginners

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