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In about 5 days’ time, the next big world cup is going to get underway in the United Kingdom. After the FIFA World Cup for football last year, and the ICC Cricket World Cup earlier this year, it's time for the Rugby World Cup 2015.
Rugby? “What’s that?” one might be tempted to ask, but in most people’s eyes it is a game where a bunch of people end up running up and down the field in order to gain possession of the ball. However, it isn’t as amateur as that.
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Rugby is a very technically sound game with great use of strategy and organization. However, before we get to things like strategy, we thought we will bring you up to speed on some of the basics about the game so that when the action starts in a few days’ time, you can involve yourself in the game.
How long is a rugby game?
A rugby match runs for 80 minutes in total divided into two halves of 40 minutes each. Like in football, the teams switch sides at the break.
How many players on each side?
There are 15 players in total on each side in a rugby game. We shall give you a run-through of each position in a future article.
The different plays in a game
In football, there are stoppages in play during the game which result in something called set-pieces such as corners, free-kicks, penalty kicks and the like. Similarly, in rugby too, there are four predominant plays that occur during the course of a match.
Scrum – You must have seen a pack of players from each team huddling together cohesively and sort of going at each other like two bulls. That particular play is called a scrum when eight players from each team combine and engage in something of a pushing contest to see who can gain possession of the ball. Sometimes, if there are infractions of any sort, then the scrums are retaken.
Maul – Rest assured, this particular play does not involve the physical mauling of an opponent. A Maul happens when the ball carrier is held by one or more opponents and teammates of the ball carrier join up with the ball carrier to bulk up as a unit and charge towards the goal line.
Ruck - A Ruck technically occurs when a player with the ball is tackled/brought down by one or more of the opposing players and a teammate/teammates of the ball carrier converge on him to protect the possession and ensure that he/she hands it off to a teammate. These converging players will stay on their feet and in contact with each other. Once a Ruck is formed, opposition players can no longer use their hands to try and steal the ball, but only their feet. A particular possession will, in fact, have many Rucks as a team tries to progress to the end line.
Lineout – A lineout is like a throw-in in football. Except, players don’t run around the pitch trying to get free and get the ball. Instead, the two teams line-up next to each other and the team that has won the lineout gets a player to throw the ball from the sidelines and each team can hoist a player up to try and snare the ball as it is thrown. A lineout, just like a throw-in in football, is used to restart play once the ball or the player carrying the ball has gone out of bounds.
Now that you’re acquainted with the major plays that happen during a game, its also a good time to get to know how the scoring works in this sport.
Scoring in rugby
Try – A try is said to have been scored when a team successfully manages to get one of its players to touch the ball down in the opposition goal line area after managing to evade the many tackles. The ball has to be grounded for the try to be awarded. Every Try is worth 5 points to the team that scores it and on top of that, the team earns a Conversion Kick.
Conversion Kick – After the try has been scored, if the Conversion Kick is also scored, the team earns a bonus two points. So for every Try, a maximum of 7 points can be earned – 5 from the Try and 2 bonus points from the Conversion Kick.
Penalty Kick – Unlike in football, a penalty is not a rare thing in rugby. Penalties are awarded whenever and wherever an infraction happens. It could range from a player not releasing the ball on time to an unruly tackle. The penalty will be awarded as such and the team receiving it can decide whether to opt for a Penalty Kick or continue the play with an advantage.
That should serve as a neat starter pack for now. We will have more articles in this series as we build up to the start of the 2015 Rugby World Cup to help improve your viewing experience of the tournament.
