Rugby Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-11-2023

Whether it’s the World Cup or a local club game, playing rugby satisfies the soul like nothing else. This Cheat Sheet explains key rugby terms, rugby positions and scoring, and the laws of rugby, along with listing important tournaments worldwide. Rugby is a game of passion that’s full of action, excitement, and beauty, as well as unpredictable moments and dramatic resolutions on the field, but making sense of it can be intimidating for the first time viewer or player

Article / Updated 09-29-2022

The International Rugby Board controls the game of rugby union worldwide, and part of their job is to determine the laws of the game. The key laws are Offside: A player is offside in general play if he is in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball, or in front of a team-mate who last played the ball. Forward pass: An illegal pass to a player who is ahead of the ball; a player isn’t allowed to pass the ball forward to a team-mate. Knock on: If a player drops the ball ‘forward’ — that is, towards the opposing team’s tryline — or loses possession of the ball and it goes forward, a scrum is set, with the non-offending team getting the scrum feed. What goes on at the tackle: A tackle occurs when the ball carrier is held by one or more opponents and brought to the ground. Any opponents of the tackled player who go to ground are known as tacklers. Foul play: Play deemed by the referee as being dangerous, obstructive, unfair play or misconduct. The offending player is penalised, possibly sent to the sin bin or even sent off.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Want to watch a rugby match and actually have some understanding of what’s going on? Want to impress people with your background knowledge of the game? Print out and pin up this basic information and you’ll always have the essentials at hand.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Australia and New Zealand are mad for rugby, and the hype for each Rugby World Cup — and each addition of another Super Rugby team — furthers the influence of the game. But watching rugby can be a little confusing if you don’t know the rules, or who the main teams are. Here are some tips for what to look for the next time you’re at the field or watching on TV.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Struggling to follow what’s happening on the pitch in rugby? Use these handy pointers to get to grips with some of the basic rules and terminology of the game: Offside: A player is offside in general play if he is in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball, or in front of a team-mate who last played the ball. Forward pass: An illegal pass to a player who is ahead of the ball; a player is not allowed to pass the ball forward to a team-mate. Knock on: If a player drops the ball ‘forward’ – that is, towards the opposing team’s tryline – or loses possession of the ball and it goes forward, a scrum is set, with the non-offending team getting the scrum feed. What goes on at the tackle: A tackle occurs when a standing player (the tackled player) is held by one or more opponents and brought to the ground, and/or the ball touches the ground. Any opponents of the tackled player who go to ground are known as tacklers. Foul play: Play deemed by the referee as being dangerous, obstructive, unfair play or misconduct. The offending player is penalised, possibly sent to the sin bin or even sent off.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

While the basic aim of rugby is to score a try, players can get points on the board in many different ways. You can score points as follows: A try is worth five points, which is the most number of points you can score at once. A penalty try is worth exactly the same as a normal try — five points. A converted try is worth seven points: Five points are awarded for the initial try and two more are awarded when the goal kicker kicks the ball over the crossbar. A field goal earns the goal kicker’s team three points. A penalty goal is worth three points.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Sometimes it can be tricky for rugby players — and spectators! — to understand the slight difference between a ruck and a maul. But here’s a simple explanation that should help: In a ruck, the ball is on the ground. In a maul, the ball is generally in the hands of a player. To put it simply: Off the ground, it’s a maul; on the ground, it’s a ruck.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Super Rugby revolves around a 15-team format. A points system that encourages attacking play makes the competition even more attractive to the viewing public. The 15 Super Rugby teams are The Blues: The Auckland Blues hail from the North Island of New Zealand. The Brumbies: The ACT Brumbies have their home ground in Canberra Stadium in the Australian Capital Territory. The Bulls: The Northern Bulls come from the South African city of Pretoria. The Cheetahs: The Cheetahs are based in the South African city of Bloemfontein. The Chiefs: The Waikato Chiefs are based in the city of Hamilton on the North Island of New Zealand. The Crusaders: The Canterbury Crusaders are based in Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. The Force: The Western Force come from the Australian city of Perth. The Highlanders: The Otago Highlanders are based in the city of Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand. The Hurricanes: The Wellington Hurricanes hail from the city of Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand. The Lions: The Lions hail from the South African city of Johannesburg and were formerly the Cats. The Rebels: The Melbourne Rebels hail from the Australian city of Melbourne. The Reds: The Queensland Reds hail from Brisbane, Queensland. The Sharks: The Sharks are based in the South African city of Durban. The Stormers: The Western Stormers are based in the South African city of Cape Town. The Waratahs: The NSW Waratahs are based in Sydney, New South Wales.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

For the first time rugby player or viewer, the sport can appear to be a chaotic collection of indecipherable movements and haphazard collisions. In reality, rugby is highly technical and organized with specific laws governing all aspects of play. To get you on the right track early, here are the four most important parts of rugby to familiarize yourself with before watching a match. Lineout: Looks somewhat like a jump-ball in basketball, with both teams lining up opposite each other, but one team then throws the ball down the middle of the tunnel. Line-outs restart play after the ball, or a player carrying it, has gone out of bounds. Maul: Occurs when a player carrying the ball is held by one or more opponents, and one or more of the ball-carrier’s teammates bind on the ball-carrier. All the players involved are on their feet and moving toward a goal line. Open play has ended. Ruck: One or more players from each team, who are on their feet and in contact, close around the ball on the ground. Once a ruck has been formed, players can’t use their hands to get the ball, only their feet. Scrum: A contest for the ball involving eight players who bind together and push against the other team’s assembled eight for possession of the ball. Scrums restart play after certain minor infractions.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Rugby is governed by laws, not rules. The laws of the game are designed to produce an entertaining and free-flowing contest for possession in an attempt to score the most points. The laws of rugby are constantly evolving and are the same all over the world, wherever the game is played. In general, the laws governing play are straightforward about what’s allowed, but three crucial parts can be somewhat confusing: the tackle situation, advantage, and offsides: In a nutshell, when a tackle is made in rugby the requirements are that the tackler releases the tackled player, who then releases the ball so that players who are on their feet can use it. Advantage simply means that when one team makes an error the other team can try to capitalize on it, instead of the referee immediately stopping the action. If the players can’t capitalize on the error, play restarts where the original mistake took place. Specific offsides laws exist for different phases of play, but essentially players can’t be involved if they’re in front of a teammate who last played the ball or are behind the ball when the opposition has it.