THE GAME

    Rugby originated at a boys school in Rugby, England. Rumour has William Webb Ellis was playing soccer and got pissed off and picked up the ball and started carrying it. Naturally, he got the crap kicked out of him for not playing soccer right! Some of the boys enjoyed the beatings, and a new sport was born! Hence rugby's description - "A ruffians sport, played by gentlemen."

    The modern game has changed a lot since then, but the basics remain. The object is to get the ball across the opponents goal line and touch it down - a Try. It's achieved by carrying, passing, kicking, or grounding the ball in the In-Goal area (as if its that easy!). The defending team prevents the Try by tackling, holding, or shoving the ball carrier and gain possession themselves.  The pitch cannot exceed 100 metres long or 69 metres wide and the end zone is no longer than 22 metres.
               
    A Try is worth 5 points and a Conversion Kick after 2 points. The difficulty with the Conversion Kick is it has to be taken in line with where the Try was scored. Obviously, the closer to the posts, the better. Another way of scoring results from a penalty for a multitude of infractions. The non-offending team can chose to take a Penalty Kick at Goal. If the kick is between the uprights it's 3 points. A final way of scoring is the Drop Goal. A player must drop the ball onto the ground and kick it as it bounces back up. It's as difficult as it sounds, but worth 3 points if it's between the uprights.

    There are 15 players on each team, divided into 8 forwards and 7 backs. They typically set themselves up like the picture below. The forwards are typically strong, good-looking, and rugged, while the backs are quick, agile, and pretty boys. It takes both to score points. The backs run the ball down the field and when they're tackled, the forwards help retain possession of the ball.

    1 - Loose Head Prop
    2 - Hooker
    3 - Tight Head Prop
    4 - 2nd Row (Lock)
    5 - 2nd Row (Lock)
    6 - Blind Side Flanker (Wing Forward)
    7 - Open Side Flanker (Wing Forward)
    8 - Eight Man
    9 - Scrum Half
    10 - Fly Half
    11 - Blind Side Winger
    12 - Inside Centre
    13 - Outside Centre
    14 - Open Side Winger
    15 - Fullback
 

    Passing has an idiosyncrasy. The ball has to go backwards. If it goes ahead of the passer, it's called a throw forward. If the player receiving the pass fumbles it forward, it's called a knock-on. Both result in a stoppage of play and the other team gets possession to restart the game.

    The restart is by way of a scrum. The forwards bind themselves together and then interlock with the other team's forwards. When they get settled, the ball is fed into the scrum by the Scrum-half. The Hooker "hooks" the ball backwards with his feet. The ball is pushed to the rear of the scrum, where the Scrum-half picks it up and passes it out to the backs.

    If the ball goes out of bounds, play is restarted using a Line-Out. The forwards line up facing each other and the ball is thrown down the middle of the line. A few of the players are hoisted into the air and they try to catch the ball. When they come back down to earth, the ball is moved back to the Scrum-half, who passes it out to the backs.

    That's the quick and dirty explanation of the game. For more info on the rules, check out The Laws of Rugby.

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