by Matthew Zipple

Created on: October 25, 2009   Last Updated: October 26, 2009

Due to the daily coverage of baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and other "American" sports, Americans often forget the father-sport of modern American football; rugby. The following is a crash course in the rules and mechanics of rugby:

The Field

The field that rugby is played on is known as a pitch, and measures 110 yards long, and 75 yards wide, similar to the dimensions of a football; excuse me, soccer field. At the ends of the pitch there are two 24.2 yard (22 m) long end zones, and two goal posts that are similar in dimension to American football goal posts.

The Ball

The leather rugby ball is similar in size and shape to that of a football, and comes in three sizes based on age group. Unlike footballs, rugby balls do not have laces. Also, the rugby ball is less pointed on its ends in order to prevent the unpredictable bounces that are so common in football.

Moving the Ball

Gameplay is similar to a punt return in football. The ball is kicked away, and any member of either team may gain possession of the ball. The ball controller can run until he is tackled or steps out of bounds. He may also perform a lateral, but may not throw the ball forward. Finally, he may kick the ball up field to a teammate. If the controller is tackled, he must immediately role away from the ball, and a member of the other team takes control.

Scoring

If a team advances the ball into the opponents end zone, the advancing team scores a try, worth five points. A conversion attempt follows a try, which is equivalent to an extra point attempt in football, and is worth two points. At any time, a player may attempt a drop goal in which he performs a drop kick from any where on the field, trying to put the ball through the goal posts for three points. Finally, a team may attempt a penalty kick for three points following any major rule violation.

Penalties

As there are many penalties, I will not belabor you with all of them here. Rather; I will describe only the most common penalty, the offsides penalty. A player cannot affect a play if his team is in control and he is up-field from the ball carrier, a similar rule to soccer. If a violation occurs the offended team may either attempt a penalty kick or take possession. If they choose to take possession, then the players line up in a formation similar to that of football, and the ball is hooked backwards to a player by his teammate.

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