What is Rugby?

Rugby is a global Olympic sport and one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States.  Rugby is played in over 120 countries by 9.1 million people worldwide, including 2.4 million women and girls. Worldwide, rugby has 405 millions fans, including 45 million in the United States.

All players play both defense and offense at any given time during a game. Similar to the game of soccer, rugby is a continuous game where the ball is constantly moving and play will not stop unless a team has scored, the ball goes out of bounds, or a penalty is given.

Most appealing is the fact that there is a position for everyone who wants to play – short or tall, big or small, boy or girl. Above all, rugby is a social sport that praises competition but demands respect and good sportsmanship.

How it Started: The story goes that a student at the Rugby School in England, William Webb Ellis, was playing soccer in 1823 when he picked up the ball and ran down the field to score. From that point, the game of rugby was developed. 

Scoring: There are four ways to score points in a rugby game. 

• Try – When the ball is grounded over an opponents’ goal line in their ‘try zone’ it is worth 5 points. 

• Conversion – After scoring a try the scoring team gets an attempt to kick the ball over the crossbar and through the posts of the rugby uprights. A conversion is worth 2 points. 

• Penalty – If the opposition commits a penalty, a team can choose to kick at the goal. A penalty kick is worth 3 points. 

• Drop Goal – During play a team may drop the ball on the ground and kick it over the goal, this is called a drop goal. This is worth 3 points. 

Number of Players: Traditional rugby consists of 15 players on each side. Other versions of the game include 10 players on each side and seven players on each side, called Sevens. Rugby Sevens was recently added back into the Olympic Games for 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. 

Duration: Traditional rugby with 15 players on each side consists of 40 minute halves and a 5 minute half time. 

Field: Rugby is played on a field not exceeding 100 meters in length (excluding two try zones) and 70 meters wide. 

Passing: The rugby ball can only be passed laterally or backwards. There are no forward passes in rugby. If a forward pass is made it is an infringement of the rules and results in a scrum awarded to the other team. 

Tackling: Rugby is a continuous, full contact sport. What this means is that once a tackle is made, play continues. A tackle occurs when the ball carrier is taken to the ground by a member of the opposition. Once tackled, a ball carrier must release the ball. Once a player makes a tackle, he/she must roll away from the play. 

Ruck: Once a player is tackled to the ground, a ruck is formed when one or more players from each team close around the ball. The ball then emerges and play continues. 

Maul: When the ball carrier is held up by a member of the opposition and by a member on his/her own team, it is called a maul. The ball can either be removed from the maul or taken to the ground, which then forms a ruck. 

Scrum: A scrum is used to restart play after a minor infringement occurs (i.e. forward pass). The scrum consists of eight of the 15 players, called forwards. These eight players bind together and come head to head with the eight players of the opposition. The ball is thrown into the middle of the scrum on the ground and the players work with their feet to hook the ball behind them, making it available to play. The ball is then collected by the scrumhalf and passed out to the back line. 

Lineout: When the ball goes out of bounds, play is restarted with a lineout. Two lines are formed with opposing teams. The ball is thrown in the air in the tunnel between the lines. Teams will lift players to contest for the ball.

Rugby Indiana

Note: CDC Youth Rugby teams play with some rules accommodations based on age level, including field size, number of players and modified scrums. See the chart below.