Beginner's Guide To Rugby - How to play Rugby.

hi I'm James Haskell and welcome to my beginner's guide to rugby with 2015 being such a huge year for British rugby I've noticed influx and people wanted to understand what is seemingly a complex sport which actually when broken down is not as confusing as you might think I'm here to take you through everything from the history of the game The Players their positions on the field the playing of the game scoring match officials and much more so let's get started the history of rugby has always been something of a legend it is believed that in

1823 a young boy by the name of William web Ellis at a game of school football picked up the ball and started running toward the opposition's goal line it was at this moment the sport was born although this story was never officially told until after William's death he recognized as the founder of rugby and a statue was erected in his honor in the town of rugby in 1997 rugby is a game played by people of all shapes and sizes making an incredibly accessible sport as a result in 20 3 a set of core values were

developed to enable people to understand the character of the game and what makes it different to other sports the core values identified were Integrity passion solidarity discipline and respect rugby kit for players is pretty simple let's start at the bottom and work our way up rugby boots differ slightly from football boots in that they have better toe protection higher ankle support and for those using screw in studs as opposed to molded blades you have the option to increase the length of your stud slightly for better traction depending on the position you're playing moving up we

have knee length socks like football shim pads can be worn however it is less common and certainly not mandatory as part of the game we move up to the shorts and onto the shirt nothing special to really tell you here what you might be surprised to know is that there's actually body protection available to rugby players that goes under the shirt depending on things like the position you play or maybe if you're carrying a slight injury you may choose to wear this we then come to the gumshield and this is probably one of the most

essential pieces of equipment for the rugby player being tackled constantly clashing heads with one another tackling others all put you at risk of getting a knock to the face so having a good quality gumshield is absolutely essential and finally we come to the scrum cap now being such a physical sport you're constantly taking knocks on your head and are asked to put your head in difficult contact areas so scrum cat offers you some protection from this as well as protecting you against the dreaded cauliflower ears so let's have a look at who's on the team

and how the formation Works a rubber Union team is comprised of 23 players 15 on the field and eight Subs one thing that is unique about rugby is that it takes all shapes and sizes to make up a team and often this will help determine the position you play Within the team the 15 players can be split into two categories the forwards and the backs numbers 1 through to eight are the forwards and 9 through to 15 are the backs each number represents a unique position within the field so let's have a look at those

positions we'll start with numbers one and three players wearing these shirts are known as props their primary role is to Anchor the scrummage and provide lifting strength and support for the line out jumpers they are also pivotal in rocks and malles as a prop you need upper body strength to provide stability in the scrum endurance mobility and safe hands to maintain continuity of play the number two is known as the hooker these guys have two very unique roles on the field the first is the player who wins possession in the scrummage and the second is

the player who usually throws the ball into the lineup in this position great strength is needed to withstand the physicality of the front row coupled with the speed to get around the pitch a good throwing technique numbers four and five are the locks it's the locks job to win the ball from line outs and restarts the dve for momentum in the scrum rocks and Ms providing a platform for attack a key characteristic for these players is height the locks are the Giants of the team and combine their physicality and Mobility numbers six and seven are

your flankers their key objective is to win possession through turnovers using physicality in the tackle and speed to the breakdown these guys have no fear in their approach to winning the ball when going into a tackle combination of speed strength endurance and handling is essential to playing this position finally for the forwards we have what is known as the number eight number eight must secure possession at the base of the scrum carry the ball in open Play provide the link between the forwards and backs in attacking phases and defend aggressively they must have power and

Pace over short distances to be able to gain territory and field position for a quick release the backs during an attack now let's move onto the backs starting with the number nine we have our scrum half there are goal is to provide the link between forwards and backs at the scrum and lineups a true decision maker the scrum half will judge whether to distribute a quick ball to the backs or keep it close to the forwards it is a multifaceted position scrum half must be powerful have explosive speed all round handling and kicking skills a

great scrum half is often a highly confident player with excellent game understanding our number 10 is the fly half this crucial player orchestrates the team's performance they receive the ball from the scrum half and will choose to kick pass or make a break based upon a Split Second interpretation of the phase of Play It's essential they have the ability to kick well out of hand ideally off either foot they also must have great handling skills Pace Vision creativity communication skills ability to perform under pressure numbers 11 and 14 are your wings they're on the pitch

provide injection of pace needed to outrun an opponent and score a try as well as being solid in defense Wings will often find themselves in open space and their priority is to press forward at speed and run for the line strength and good handling skills are a big Advantage here but speed is the key to success next we have the 12 and 13 and they are known as your centers they are key in both defense and attack in defense they will attempt to tackle any attacking players and whilst in attack they will use their speed

power creative flare to breach defenses the modern day Center is lean strong and extremely quick the position demands great attacking prowess coupled with an intensity in contact to either retain or steal possession and finally we have our number 15 or fullback this is your last line of defense the fullback must be confident under a high ball have a good boot to clear the lines and not be intimidated by the physicality required to make try-saving tackles a fullback must have great handling skills Pace in attack and Power in defense they need the ability to join the

line at PACE to create an overlap and provide TRC scoring opportunities for the Wingers it is very much a tactical role with burst of flare throughout the game with the team completed you can see the number of different positions and roles available within the rugby team there's literally something for everybody and each role has its own set of core attributes that contribute to making up a successful rugby team so we've looked at the history of rugby we've taken a quick look at the kit you need to play and we' identified the different roles within the

team now let's look at how the game is played there are a few terms you will want to familiarize yourself with when understanding the game of rugby but before we do that let's have a look at the Rugby field itself a Rugby field is typically between 94 and 100 m in length from goal line to goal line beyond the goal line at each end we have the TR scoring areas which range from 10 to 22 m in depth a full rugby pitch is typically 68 to 70 m in width the line running down either side

of the pitch is known as the touch line and anything outside of this line is known as in touch working from the center we have the halfway line the 10 m line the 22 M line and various other markings such as the 5 and 15 M line which are used in plays such as scrums and line outs now we're familiar with the pitch let's take a look at how we play the game we'll start with a kickoff each half of the match it starts with a drop kick from the center of the halfway line the

non-kicking team must be 10 m back from the ball when it is kicked and the kick must travel 10 m towards the opposition goal line before hitting the ground from here the game moves into open play the term open Play refers to any phase in the match where the ball is being passed or kicked between teammates and both teams are contesting for the ball in open play the team in possession tries to get the ball to players in space who can make forward progression towards the opposing goal line alongside running toward the opposition's goal line

there are two main techniques to put the ball into open space passing and kicking we'll start with passing as many people find this part a little confusing a player may pass or throw the ball to a teammate who's in a better position to continue the attack it must travel either directly across the field or passing the ball backwards to advance forwards if a forward pass is made the referee will stop the game and award a scrum with a throwin going to the team which was not in possession at the time of the pass in this

way a forward pass is punished by that team losing possession of the ball but we will look at that more when we focus on scrums the second method is kicking a player May kick the ball instead of passing and the ball can travel forwards but any teammates in front of the ball at the moment the ball is kicked are out of play until either they retire behind the kicker or played on side by a teammate retaining the ball after kicking can be challenging so there are three main strategies when kicking the ball the first is

kicking into space so that teammates have time to run on the ball before an opponent can get to it the second is kicking out wide at an oblique angle to the field so that the wing or outside Center can catch the ball we call this a cross field kick the third is kicking the ball to touch or off the field of play resulting in a line out with the throwin going to the opposition we'll look more at line outs later but what's important is that although this concedes possession of the ball it allows the kicking

team to contest the ball in a much more advantageous position on the field close to the try line of their opposition now that we have looked at Open Play Let's look at what happens between this we are familiar with a rugby tackle but many are not familiar with what can result from a tackle and often why the game is stopped we'll start by looking at the tackle itself only the ball carrier can be tackled by an opposing player a tackle occurs when the ball carrier is held by one or more opponents and is brought to

ground the player being tackled must either have one or both knees on the ground be sitting on the ground or be on top of another player who is on the ground to maintain the continuity of the game the ball carrier must release the ball immediately after the tackle the tackler must release the ball carrier and both players must roll away from the ball this allows other players to come in and contest for the ball thereby starting a new phase of play a familiar sight in the game of rugby is a rock a game of pushing

and shoving where both teams are trying to contest and win possession of the ball a Ruck is formed if the ball is on the ground and one or more players from each team on their feet close around it players must not handle the ball in the Rock but must use their feet to move the ball or drive over it so that it emerges at the team's High most foot at which point it will be picked up and they have taken possession another familiar scene is what is known as the mole the mole needs at least

three players it occurs when the ball carrier is held by one or more opponents and one or more of the ball carrier's teammates holds on or binds as well the ball must be off the ground at the time the team in possession of the ball can attempt to gain territory by driving their opponents back to their own goal line the ball can then be passed backwards between players in the mall and eventually passed to a player who is not in the mall or a player can leave the mall carrying the ball and run with it

we've looked at open play and how the team works together to advance the ball or defends when the ball is being Advanced towards them but during this open Play infringements of the laws occur resulting in set plays such as the scrum the scrum is a means of restarting play after a stoppage which has been caused by a minor infringement the scrum serves to concentrate all the forwards and the scrum harves in one place on the field providing the opportunity for the backs to mount an attack using the space created elsewhere the ball is thrown into

the middle of the tunnel between the two front rows at which point the two hookers can compete for the ball attempting to hook the ball back in the direction of their team the team who throws the ball into the scrum usually retains possession because the hooker and scrum half can synchronize their actions once possession has been secured a team can keep the ball on the ground and in the scrum an attempt to drive the opposition downfield alternatively they can bring the ball to the highmost foot of the scrum where the ball is then passed into

the back line and open Play resumes again the key player at the scrum is the scrum half this player throws the ball into the scrum moves the highmost foot of the scrum and is usually the player who picks the ball up and passes out to the fly half who then distributes the ball to the back line as soon as the scrum half picks the ball up the opposite May contest the ball and attempt to tackle whichever player is in possession another option at the scrum is for number eight to pick up the ball and either

pass it to the back line or carry the ball into the opposition waiting for his support to clean the rock the line out is another means of restarting play after the ball has gone into touch or off the field of play at the side the line out concentrate selection of forwards in one place near to the touch line so the backs have the rest of the width of the field in which to mount and attack the key for the forwards is to win possession and distribute the ball effectively to the back line the forwards assemble

in two lines perpendicular to the touch line one meter apart the hooker throws the ball down the corridor between these two lines of players because the throw's teammates know where the throw is like to go that team has an advantage in retaining possession however with the speed of thought and movement the opposition can contest for the ball and the line out frequently results in a turnover of possession an important part of the line out is the line out lifters to allow players to catch High throws in the line out it is permissible for the catcher

to be supported by teammates while jumping to catch the ball safety is a prime concern here and any player who is off the ground must be supported until that player returns to the ground a player may not be tackled while in the air and holding shoving or all offenses punishable by penalty kick we've spoken about various plays positions and restarting the game the most important aspect of rugby is scoring a try scoring rugby is actually pretty simple and there are four key numbers to remember if you score a try you get five points if you

score a conversion from that try you score an additional two points and if you score a drop goal you score three points and if you score from a penalty you score three points let's take a look at each one of these scoring methods a try is scored when the ball is grounded over the opponent's goal line in the goal area a penalty try can be awarded if a player would have scored a try but for Foul Play by the opposition he was stopped a try is only scored when the ball is put down over the

line with downward pressure If a player loses control of the ball then there is no try after scoring a try that team can attempt to add two further points by kicking the ball over the crossbar and between the posts from a place in line with where the try was scored a drop goal is scored when a player kicks for goal in open Play by dropping the ball onto the ground and Kicking It On the Half volley as it bounces from the ground when awarded a penalty after infringement by the opposition position a team may choose

to kick a goal to secure three points before the match the referee will usually speak to the front row players the props and hookers from both teams to run through the scrum engagement procedure this helps to focus the minds of all concerned on this essential phase of the game the referee then organizes the coin toss with the captains prior to the match to decide who kicks off during the match itself the referee is the sole judge of fact and of law it is essential that all players respect the referee decisions at all times two judges

one on either side of the field of play assist the referee in matters of when and where the ball goes into touch and any other issues as required by the referee such as Foul Play The Touch judges also adjudicate on the success or otherwise of kicks at goal Foul Play is anything a player does which is contrary to the letter and spirit of the laws of the game including obstruction unfair play dangerous play and misconduct the referee must sanction appropriately for found play Advantage can be applied to either minor infringements such as a KnockOn for

example or offenses which would result in a penalty so something like offside the decision has to be made by the referee as to whether there may be more benefit to the non-offending team if play continues if no Advantage occurs the referee will blow the whistle and bring play back to the place of the original infringement which occurred prior to the advantage being played sometimes an attack which seems to be heading towards a Trine will be stopped by the referee's whistle if a pass has gone forward or handy error has resulted in a knock on a

scrum will have been awarded to the non-offending team you will often hear when players are handling the ball the term knock on this is where a player mishandles the ball so they may drop it or they allow it to rebound off a hand or arm and effectively the ball travels forward this is punishable by a scrum to the opposition and therefore a turnover of possession Rugby's off side rule restricts where players can be on the field to make sure there is space to attack and defend meaning that players are given a fair chance to play

the ball in general a player is in an offside position when that player is further forward than a teammate who is carrying the ball or in front of the high and most foot of a breakdown in play I.E a rock or a mole after a tackle the tackler must immediately release the ball carrier and the ball carrier must immediately release the ball failure on either of these counts limits a fair contest for possession if release does not occur within a reasonable time frame the referee will award a penalty to the non-offending team any players on

the ground when a rock or mall is formed must immediately roll away from the ball so as to allow continuity of play for the team in possession failure to do so will result in an award of a penalty to the non-offending team when joining a rock or M all players must do so from behind the hindmost foot of their highmost teammate we call this going through the Gat if they join from the side they are in an offside position and taking part in the game and this will immediately be penalized with the award of a

penalty if the ball becomes unplayable a rock for example under players who are on the ground the referee will award a scrum to the team going for forward before the ball became unplayable for a mall the scrum goes to the team not in possession when the mall began when signaling for a scrum the referee will form a scrum with his hands and point either left or right to which team has possession for minor infringements the referee will award the team a free kick they have three options available to them they can either form a scrum

they can either tap and go or they can kick the ball out on the full or kick the ball in play if they kick it out on the full the opposition will get the ball I hope you've enjoyed my beginnner guide to rugby and got a better understanding of this amazing game please comment below and if you have any questions then contact us using the email address info@ James has.com we'll back soon review comment and make sure you subscribe