by Marina Shemesh

Created on: March 10, 2009   Last Updated: March 24, 2009

The most obvious difference between soccer and rugby is that a rugby ball is oval shaped and a soccer ball is round. The second big difference is that rugby is a contact sport. In soccer a player gets penalized if he touches another player. In rugby the players are have to engage in physical contact to try and get the ball from each other and to prevent each other from scoring.

Players can intercept the ball in the air during a throw, or the players may tackle each other. This means that a person who is holding the ball can be brought down to the ground and have the ball taken from him. Other times a tackle is used to prevent the opponent from reaching the goal line to score a try.

Any rugby player, devoted fan or just somebody using his common sense can tell you that it is better to tackle your opponent from as low a point as possible. A player will lose his balance much easier if tackled from under his center of gravity.

In a rugby tackle it is best to impact the other player with your shoulder. For your own safety keep your head behind the targeted player. As your wrap your arms around the opponent, keep your feet apart and firmly on the ground while pushing forward with your legs.

Hold on to your opponent legs as hard as you can to prevent him from slipping out of your grasp before you have managed to topple him over. As soon as your opponent is down, get up and continue to play.

The professional rugby players execute beautiful flying tackles to prevent a player from the opposing team to score a try. A try is one of the ways to get points in a rugby score. A player has to run with the rugby ball and put it down behind the goal posts of the other team.

It happens in rugby that one of the players break free from all the others and run as fast as he can to score a try. They are usually very fast runners and nearly the only way to stop them is with a flying tackle. It can make for very exciting viewing to see if the player with the ball will be stopped in the nick of time or if he will manage to escape by a hair's length to and score.

Tackles can be done from the side, front or the back. It is better to tackle low, but it is not against the rules to tackle someone around his chest or shoulders. It is however illegal to tackle a person around his neck and any person doing so will be harshly penalized. It is very dangerous and may cause a broken neck.

Rugby is an exciting game and the right tackle at the right time, done properly will not only impress the crowds but also win or lose you the championship.

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