Rugby For Dummies

Mathew Brown, Patrick Guthrie, Greg Growden

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9780470153277
• eBook ISBN: 9780470677087
• Edition: 2

Now updated–a practical guide to understanding rugby, North American—style

Filled with illustrations and photographs of drills and shape-up exercises, Rugby For Dummies tackles North American rugby rules, levels of play, and how to coach junior players as well as adults. This revised edition includes the scoop on the fall 2007 rugby World Cup in France, expanded coverage of women's rugby, and updated information on North America's best players and teams.

Part I

Rugby: Roots, Boots, and All

In this part . . .

To make you feel comfortable about everything rugby, this part provides an introduction to the game and lays out the basic parameters of the sport.

To start, we tell you why rugby is so awesome and one of the most widely played sports around the world. We explain what’s required to win, describe how the scoring system works, show the field on which the game is played, and spell out what goes on during a match. Finally, we tell you what gear you’ll need to have when you show up for that first training session.

Chapter 1

Rugby’s Beginnings, Allure, and a Basic Overview

In This Chapter

Exploring rugby’s illustrious past

Understanding how the game is played

Boning up on rugby’s laws

Going around with world with rugby

Calling the shots with coaches and referees

Staying in touch with the rugby world

Why do millions of fans around the globe watch 30 players chase an oval ball on a field of grass as if the world would end if they missed one pass, kick, or tackle? Because they’re hooked on rugby, a game of passion that’s full of action, excitement, beauty, unpredictable moments and dramatic resolutions on the field, and unique camaraderie off it. When played by the best exponents of the game, rugby union satisfies the soul like nothing else.

Rugby’s Roots — The Birth of the Game

The game gets its name from Rugby, a town in England’s Midlands, where it was first played at Rugby School. The legend goes that in 1823, a schoolboy by the name of William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball in the middle of a soccer game and ran with it, thereby breaking the old rules and setting the stage for an entirely new game (see the following section for the creation of this myth).

What is true is that the game was popularized and the rules codified at Rugby School. Its alumni spread it throughout Britain to other schools and universities like Oxford and Cambridge, and eventually to the far reaches of the British Empire.

The mythical pick-up ofWilliam Webb Ellis

William Webb Ellis was indeed a student at Rugby School in 1823, but that’s about as much historical fact as can be determined about him regarding his invention of the game of rugby. In reality, years after his death in 1872 the myth was created for a specific purpose — so the upper classes in England could justify their control of the game. Around the time the story was concocted, rugby was in the throes of a great battle between amateurism and professionalism that would eventually split the sport into two different codes.

Ellis’ posthumous anointment as father of the game was a significant event in that battle and his name lives on today as the embodiment of the sport’s crowning achievement, the William Webb Ellis Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the quadrennial World Cup (see Chapter 13 for more about the World Cup).

A century of amateurism

From its beginnings at English public schools, rugby was definitely an elitist pursuit that actively discouraged and prohibited the payment of players. In 1895, after the Rugby Football Union (RFU) refused to allow clubs to compensate players for missing work to play the game, 22 clubs broke away from the union to form the Northern Football Union. This forerunner of professional rugby league eventually adopted its own set of rules and began paying players — something rugby union wouldn’t do for another century.

Up until the 1990s, rugby union was a strictly amateur sport. While there were obviously numerous cases of cushy jobs, special treatment, and under-the-table payments, rugby administrators in both hemispheres diligently ferreted out cases of direct pay for play and banned those who were caught. Making the jump to rugby league meant no further involvement in union at any level.

That this prohibition against remuneration outlasted even the Olympic movement’s similar rule is a testament to the amount of control the game’s conservative governors exerted over a worldwide sport. By 1995, the pressures of money and television had become too great and, under threat of losing the best players to league or upstart union competitions, the powers that be capitulated and the sport entered a new era of professionalism.

Reasons why rugby is so awesome

We’ve been collectively around the game from club to international level for almost forty years, and have observed the following truths about the game. Here are the reasons we think rugby is the best sport in the world:

Anyone can play rugby. The game does not discriminate — rich or poor, male or female, young or old, every person can enjoy this fantastic game.

There’s a position for everyone. Whether you are 7 feet tall or 5 feet tall, 100 pounds or 300 pounds, fleet as a cheetah or slow as an ox, an appropriate position exists for every body type.

Rugby players share a global bond. The game is played in more than 100 countries, but its devotees nevertheless belong to a select group. No rugby player is ever without a friend as long as another rugby player is nearby.

Everyone participates fully. Although there are 15 different positions, each player has to possess a skill set that includes running with the ball, passing, tackling, rucking, mauling, and kicking.

Rugby has a unique ethos on the field. Rugby is a hard, aggressive game that attracts fierce competitors. Regardless of the intensity, however, gentlemanly conduct is expected of all participants and you won’t find the sort of trash-talking that pollutes most other professional sports in North America.

Rugby has a unique ethos off the field. The same players who do their best to legally smash each other for 80 minutes during a match will always shake hands and share a beverage and a chat afterward. Whether at a club game or the highest international level, socializing with the opposition is mandatory.

Rugby tests athleticism and courage. Fast running, towering kicking, and fearless tackling are all elements of the game that challenge players to reach their athletic potential in the face of danger.

Rugby is easy to follow. Although it looks chaotic at first, rugby is easy to understand and appreciate when you become familiar with a few simple principles of play.

Rugby people are cool. Rugby brings together a gregarious, intelligent, diverse group of characters who are fun to be around.

Rugby has a proud history. While it is new to many North Americans, rugby has a long and storied tradition of competitive excellence, fair play, and sporting spirit that transcends the game itself.

How the Game Is Played

At first glance rugby can look very complicated. Its field is covered in a myriad of lines and populated by 30 players running around and performing seemingly disjointed actions while weari...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Introduction
• Part I: Rugby: Roots, Boots, and All
• Part II: Getting Down and Dirty
• Part III: Welcome to the Oval Planet
• Part IV: Coaching and Refereeing
• Part V: Following the Game: The Informed Fan
• Part VI: The Part of Tens
• Appendix A: U.S. and Canada Tests
• Appendix B: Glossary