Rugby union (short for rugby union football) is an outdoor sport played with a prolate spheroid-shaped ball by two teams of 15 players each. It is one of the two main codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league. In both codes, there is also a seven-a-side variant, called rugby sevens, which is played under modified rules and is faster. Rugby union is often referred to as simply rugby or rugger. It is sometimes known as football, or, in countries where rugby league is also played, as union.
Rugby league football is a full-contact team sport played with a prolate spheroid ball by two teams of thirteen on a rectangular grass field. Rugby league is one of the two major codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union. The league code is most prominent in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and France, where the sport is played professionally. Rugby league is also popular in Papua New Guinea where it is considered the national sport, Russia, the United States, Lebanon. and many national players figure prominently in the Australian Rugby League. The game is played to a lesser extent in several other countries, such as and
Rugby league takes its name from what was initially a breakaway faction of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) known as the Northern Union when established in 1895. Both unions played rugby football under the same rules at first, until similar breakaway factions occurred from RFU-affiliated rugby unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, and formed associations known as rugby football leagues, introducing modified Northern Union rules to create a new form of rugby football. The Northern Union later changed its name to the Rugby Football League in 1922 and thus, over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league". Over the following decades, the rules of both forms of rugby were gradually changed, and now rugby league and rugby union are distinctly different sports.
RUGBY GLOSSARY
Drop kick: A kick made when the
player drops the ball and it bounces off the ground prior to being kicked. Worth
three points if it travels through the goalposts. Drop kicks are also used to
restart play after a score.
Forward
pass: A violation that usually results in a scrum
to the defending team.
Infringement:
A violation of a law.
Knock on: The accidental hitting
or dropping of the ball forward. The infringement is the same as that for a
forward pass: a scrum to the other team.
Non-Contact Rugby: A Version of
rugby designated to introduce the game to first time players (touch rugby). Two
hand-tag replaces the tackle.
Penalties: Penalties occur
regularly in rugby. Unlike other sports, there typically aren't yardage
penalties and only occasionally do teams have to play short handed. Instead, the
non-offending team is usually awarded a choice to kick the ball to gain field
advantage. Some of the more important penalties are listed
below:
Penalty Kick: Awarded after
a serious infringement of the law. Offenders are required to retreat 10 yards
while the opposing team is given the opportunity to restart play unopposed.
Teams will often kick the ball up field and out of bounds to gain field
advantage. When they do this, play is restarted as a lineout where the ball goes
out of bounds. If in range, they may attempt a kick at the goal posts, worth
three points. Finally, they may simply tap the ball with their foot and run with
it.
Free Kick: This is awarded after a less serious infringement
of the law. The free kick is similar to the penalty kick except a player cannot
attempt a kick at goal to try to score three points. A player must restart with
a tap kick or attempt to kick the ball out of bounds. If the kick is made from
in front of the 22 meters (25 yards) line and goes directly out of bounds, the
lineout occurs back where the kick was first kicked. If the ball bounces out of
bounds, or if the kick was taken from behind the 22 meter (25 yards) line the
resulting lineout is where the ball crossed the touch line.
Sin
Bin: On occasion, the referee will send a player to the Sin Bin (behind one
of the in goal areas) for a specified period of time, for serious and/or
repeated infringements. The team is required to play short-handed until the
referee permits the player to return. This penalty is fairly rare, but used by
the referees to maintain control of the game.
Send-Offs: In
extreme cases a referee may send a player off the field for dangerous or
reckless play. A player who has been sent off is banned from that game and is
not permitted to return or be replaced.
Put
in: Rolling the ball down the center of the scrum
tunnel by the Scrum Half.
Sevens:
An abbreviated game of rugby that follows the same laws
except a 7's team consists of only seven players and each half is seven minutes
long. Much like a game of three-on-three full court basketball, it's a wide-open
contest. Because of its wide-open style of play, the Seven's version of rugby is
a very entertaining game to watch.
Set
piece: A term for scrums and lineouts because
these are the only choreographed plays of the game.
Support players: Players who
position themselves to increase the ball transfer options of the ball
carrier.
Tap and play kick/ move: A gentle kick to oneself, followed by a pick up, used to
restart play after either a penalty or free kick is awarded.
Throw in: Throwing the ball down
the middle of a lineout.
Touchline:
The side boundary of the field
(sideline).
Try line: The end boundary of the field (goal line).
22-Meter line: Is a line 22
meters (25 yards) from the try line. If a kick is made from behind the "22", the
opposing team gets a lineout where the ball went out of bounds. If the kick was
made in front of the "22", the resulting lineout is from the point of the kick
if the ball goes directly out of bounds.
