A game of rugby consists of two halves of 40 minutes with injury time added
on at the end of each half. This is not as long as you might expect because
physiotherapists are often allowed onto the pitch while play continues.
Each side consists of 15 players, divided into eight forwards and seven backs. A total of seven substitutes are allowed for international matches. (There are also seven and 10-man versions of rugby union, played almost exclusively at tournaments.)
There is one referee assisted by two touch judges, who mark where the ball goes out of play, adjudge kicks at goal and inform the referee of foul play. A fourth official controls replacements and substitutes. Video referees have recently been introduced to Super 12 and Tri-Nations rugby, but will not be used during the Six Nations championship.
The object of the game is to score more points than your opponents. There are a number of ways to achieve this.
Garvey scores a try for Gloucester1Marcel Garvey gave a short interview with the Gloucester Citizen :
“Well, it were a team effort really, squire. Henry Paul passed the ball to me and I had to shift it like to get round the other winger. But I made it!”
A try is worth five points. It is scored when a player places the ball on the ground with downward pressure in the in-goal area between the try line and dead ball line of the opposition's half. Tries can be scored in a number of ways, other than running over the try line and putting the ball down. They include the pushover try, scored by driving the opposition's scrum back over its own line; the momentum try, where a player slides into the in-goal area; and the penalty try, awarded when a team illegally obstructs the opposition to prevent a certain try from being scored. There is no such thing as an "own try". If you touch the ball down in your own in-goal area, it results in a kick or a scrum
If a team scores a try, they have an opportunity to "convert" it for two further points by kicking the ball between the posts and above the crossbar - that is, through the goal. The kick is taken from a point level with where the try was scored.
If a side commits a serious offence, a penalty is awarded and the opposition can take the option of a place kick at goal from where the infringement occurred. If successful, it is worth three points.
A drop goal for three points is scored when a player kicks the ball from hand through the opposition's goal. But the ball must touch the ground between being dropped and kicked.
All passes in rugby must travel backwards. There are different varieties of pass, including the flat, direct spin pass; the short, close-quarters pop pass; and the floated pass - a long pass which an advancing player can run onto at pace.
Kicking
forms a major part of rugby and is used to start and restart the game, score
points, win territory, launch an attack or get a team out of trouble (known
as a clearance kick).
If the ball is kicked directly into touch by a player from behind his own 22m
line, the resulting lineout is taken where the ball crossed the touchline. But
if he is outside his 22, the lineout is taken level with the place from where
the ball was kicked (except in the case of penalties).
Players must be behind the kicker for all set-piece kicks, such as kick-offs.
But if a kick is made in loose play, then players can be in front of the kicker,
although they must not advance towards the ball until the kicker has put them
onside by moving in front of them. Players use a wide range of kicks, such as
the high, hanging up-and-under/garryowen/bomb; the end-over-end grubber kick;
or the speculative chip-and-chase.
Only
a player in possession of the ball can be tackled. American football-style blocking
is not allowed. A tackled player must release the ball after he hits the ground.
Neither he nor the tackler can play the ball until they are on their feet. It
is illegal to high tackle above the shoulders, or to "spike" a player
by deliberately upending him onto his head. The same goes for the late tackle
- taking the player after he has passed or kicked the ball. It is also illegal
to punch, gouge, stamp on or kick another player. Heavy tackles are colloquially
known as dump tackles, while an attempt to prevent the ball being released quickly
is sometimes called a smother tackle.
Hand-off - a player in possession of the ball fends off a tackler with the
flat of his hand; dummy - sending a defending player the wrong way by faking
a pass;
sidestep or jink - escaping a tackler by stepping around him.
A coin is tossed and the winning captain elects to take or receive the kick.
Both halves of the match are started with a place kick from the centrepoint
of the halfway line. The kick must cross the opposition's 10-metre line, which
the opposition are not allowed to encroach beyond until the ball is kicked.
If the ball does not travel 10 metres, goes straight into touch, or goes over
the dead ball line at the end of the pitch, the receiving team can opt for a
scrum or a kick again. After a score, the game is restarted from the same place
under the same restrictions, with the conceding team drop-kicking the ball to
the scoring team.
A drop kick is taken from the 22m line if a team touches down in its own in-goal area but did not carry the ball over the try line, or if the ball is kicked over the dead ball line from any other play other than the kick-off. The ball only needs to cross the line, but if it goes directly into touch a scrum is awarded to the receiving team at the centrepoint of the 22m line.
George Gregan - Aussie scrum half and captain
The eight forwards from each team bind together and push against each other. The scrum-half from the team that has been awarded possession feeds the ball into the centre of the scrum from the side most advantageous for his hooker. The ball must be fed straight down the middle of the tunnel and the hookers must not contest for the ball until it is put in. If they do, a free-kick is awarded for "foot up". The scrum is taken again if the ball comes straight out of the tunnel or if it collapses. If the scrum wheels more than 90 degrees the scrum is reformed and awarded to the other side.
Aussies vs All Blacks at the Line Out
A maximum of seven and a minimum of three forwards line up parallel with each other between the five-metre and 15-metre lines. The hooker of the team in possession throws the ball in while his opposite number stands in the "tramlines" - between the touchline and the five-yard line. All players not involved in the lineout, except the scrum-half, must retire 10 metres. The ball must be thrown in straight down the middle of the lineout and the hooker must not cross into the field of play while throwing in. Jumpers can be lifted by their team-mates below the waist, but the opposition's jumpers must not be obstructed, barged or pulled down.
| Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 23, 2002 |
||||||
| P | W | D | L | PTS |
||
| 1 | France | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | England | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Ireland | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Scotland | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | Wales | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 6 | Italy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
1. link for Garvey scores try http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/2273814.stm