I would love to know some about rugby.?

Question

Well you see I'm american born but I have background from England , Scotland , Ireland , and Italy. I know this has nothing to do with it but anyway one of the things I'd seen was that they play rugby in England and I was wondering if anyone can tell me more about it. I'm sure if they play it in the USA they call it something stupid and I figure I could get a real answer here.

Answer 1

As the rules have already been covered in great depth I can tell you that Rugby is alive and well in the states.  I myself play at the college level where Rugby is most prevalent.  There are also quite a few states that are real big on rugby.  On the East Coast it's Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New England, and on the West Coast it's California (And I'm sure there are others I just listed the biggest playing states I know of).  There are men and womens clubs all over the place though.

Answer 2

http://www.unc.edu/uncrugby/id140.htm

http://www.sportsknowhow.com/rugby/rules...

http://www.whatshappeningdaytona.com/rec...

Full review

The Union game, supposedly started by William Webb Ellis in the schools in Rugby, has many complicated laws and can only be played successfully when all, or most of these rules are learnt. Here, I will tell you about all of the rules of the game, and detail anything that you might want to know. I hope that it will be of some use to people.

Positions:

Full Back - The full back starts the game behind all of the other players. He must be quick, strong, a good tackler and a good kicker of the ball. When the team is attacking, the fulll back may move into the backs line to create an overlap, and maybe to come from a long distance at pace to break the defence and score a try. The kicking part comes into play when the opposition kick over the top. The full back must be fully aware of the rules that he can enforce on the chasing players, and he must be aware of the balls position at all times.

Winger - There are two winger on each team, left and right. If the play is due to move left, then the left winger must join on to the backs line at the end, if it goes right then the right winger must do the same. The winger who is not involved in this play, has two options. He can wait on the side he is on for a switch of play, or a kick over the top, or he could loop round the whole back line to add another player and create an overlap. This player must be very fast and have good stamina.

Centre - There are two centres on each team. They are the heart of the back line. They must be very good tacklers and very strong on the ball. The two centre are inside, nearest the scrum, and outside, nearest the wing. The inside centre will need to be a creative player, as they will have the ball a lot, and doing the same thing all the time will not break through a good defence.

Fly-Half - This player is usually the teams kicker. The fly-half, or stand-off as it is sometimes called, will take kick-offs, conversions and any kicks at goal. The fly-half a lso needs to be creative, and they will work closely together with the inside centre, and will in some cases, swap for short durations of a match.

Scrum-Half - Often the most creative player on the team. The scrum-half is usually a small man, but is also quick and strong. The scrum-half has the responsibility of following the ball carrier behind the forwards, and taking the ball out from a ruck or maul. If the scrum-half takes the ball on himself and gets tackled, then the fly-half must cover the position.

Number 8 - The number 8 is usually a big man, and he plays at the back of the scrum. The number 8 usually controls the play from a scrum, and can pick the ball up himself instead of letting the scrum-half pass it out to the backs. This law can be useful when a scrum is won close to the try-line, and the backs would not necessarily get through the defence.

Flanker - Works closely together with the number 8. There are two flankers on each team, blind and open. The flanker must be fairly quick and strong, and must be prepared to take the ball on a lot. The flankers are positioned on the flank of the scrum, hence the name of the position.

Lock - There are two lock forwards in each team. The locks are usually tall and strong, and they are a part of the 'tight five' in the scrum. The locks, also known as second-rows, play closely with the props and hooker, and play a big part in rucks and mauls. It is their job to prevent the opposition winning the ball from these plays. It is often the locks that are lifted in the line-outs, because of their height advantage.

Prop - There are two props in each team, and they are usually small, strong men. They must prop up the hooker in a scrum, and are usually responsible for lifting the jumper in line-out. The props are also part of the 'tight five', and must follow the ball carrier with the other forwards, although they might not be able to make each and every ruck, as pro ps generally have a lower stamina than the other players.

Hooker - The hooker is usually around the same size as the props, and his main job is to be in the centre of the scrum, and to hook the ball out when it is fed by the scrum half. The second job for the hooker is to throw the ball in to a line out when it is awarded to the team. The hooker is usually an influential player, and usually has a good stamina.

Rules:

Offside - A player is offside a) when they enter a ruck or maul from anywhere other than the back.

b) when a member of their team kicks the ball from behind them and they run after it. The player must wait until the kicker has run in front of him.

The punishment for offside is a penalty.

Penalty - A penalty is given to a team when a player breaks a rule. The most common rule that is broken is holding-on. This is when a player is tackled and does not release the ball. The rules state that the player must release the ball immediately and set up a ruck. The second rule that is often broken, is not releasing the player from a tackle, and preventing him from releasing the ball. Once the tackler has hit the ground, he must let go of the tackled player immediately. Any other rule that is broken may also result in a penalty, this includes fighting, or high tackles. A penalty can be taken quickly, from the mark shown by the referee. The opposition must be 10 yards from the player taking the penalty. If they tackle him before he has run 10 yards, then the penalty may be moved 10 yards closer to the oppositions try line. Another option for a penalty is to kick for position. The ball is kicked from the hand to the touch line. If the ball goes out, then the team who kicked get to throw in the ball at the line-out. If it do esn't make touch, then the opposition can pick it up and play on as normal. The third option for a penalty is to kick at goal. The kicker must kick the ball off the ground, or from a kicking tee, from the position indicated by the referee. The ball must go between the posts and over the crossbar, ie. through the goal. This results in 3 points.

22 Drop out - A 22 drop out is awarded when the ball goes over the dead ball line from an opposition kick, or if the ball is touched down by a player in their own try area. The 22 drop out is a drop kick from the 22 yard line. All opposition player must be behind the line, although two players can stand on the line to try and block the kick. The kick must go over the 22 line, and can not go into touch.

Scrum - A scrum is awarded when the opposition either pass the ball forward, or drop the ball causing it to move forwards. each teams 'scrum' has 8 players, two props, a hooker, two locks, two flankers and a number 8. The scrum half feeds the ball into the scrum in the middle, and the hookers must try and hook the ball towards the back of their scrum, where either the scrum half or number 8 pick it up. If the ball comes out of the scrum, the opposition scrum half can go round and play the ball. If the scrum half goes round too early, then he is penalised and a penalty is awarded.

Line-Out - A line out is awarded to a team when the ball goes over the touch line. If the ball is kicked, and goes out without bouncing, then the line out is moved back. If the ball bounces and the goes out, then the line is awarded at that position to the opposition. If a player is in position of the ball and gets pushed out, then the opposing team win the line out. If a ball is kicked from a penalty, then the team kicking it win the ball. The line out can be taken quickly, ie.like a tap penalty, but only if nobody has touched the ball, and is taken before any sort of line out is formed. A full line out features f rom 3, up to 8 of the forwards. The two teams form parallel lines a metre apart. The ball is thrown by the hooker, and a player may be lifted by two players, but not too early or the team can be penalised. A lifted player can not tug the opposing teams player down, and he can not lean across to take the ball.

This is, of course only a short version of the important rules, but it shows you all the information that you would need to watch a match, or play one, comfortably. If you have any questions about rugby, or would like to get involved in the game, a good place to start would be your local club. Most town and city clubs have mini, junior and senior teams, so there is a place for everybody. Look in your local telephone directory for a number to phone and get involved. For most mini and junior teams across the country, training and matches take place on Sunday mornings. The senior teams, which for some clubs include the first, second, third, fourth and fifth, along with colts (under 19's), usually train in midweek and play on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. In my experience, the first team had training on Tuesday and Thursday evening. I am a player at Dunstable Rugby Club in Bedfordshire, and currently hover between the colts and the fourth team. I play at number 8, details of this position can be found above. All sorts of people have a place in rugby, whether you are tall, short, strong, weak, fast or slow. If you have any questions about rugby in general, do not hesitate to e-mail me at [e-mail], or leave a comment and I will reply to you. Thanks for reading!!!!!!!  

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Answer 3

Yes - they play Rugby in the USA. As far as I know they call it Rugby. I think the USA team is called the Eagles. They did quite well in the last World Cup, but they are still an emerging team like the Canadians.

England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales play in the 6 nations along with Italy and France and every 4 years the British Lions tour - and this is a team made up of the best players out of Eng, Ire, Sco and Wales. Typically the Southern hemisphere are the best with New Zealand, Australia and South Africa (who compete in the Tri Nations) although England (Yipee) won the last World Cup.

I support England and the London Wasps for what its worth.

Answer 4

USA and Canada have a rugby team...Wales went on tour they're last year. Its not a very big sport in America but is catching on.

Answer 5

You have rugby league and rugby union.

Separate games altogether.

Rugby league hotbeds are England, France, Australia and New Zealand.

Rugby Union hotbeds are Great Britain,France, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

As a spectater sport Rugby league is better and is played in America, USA V's Ireland every St Patricks day in the states get to it if you can.

Rugby Union is played in the schools as part of there curriculum.

I support Saint Helens and they are on sky t.v tonight against the Salford city reds.

Hope I've been helpful.

Answer 6

Rugby union-played world wide, USA even has a team. World cup is next year in France.

Rugby League- played mostly in England, Australia and New Zealand. USA has a team called the tommohawks, and an Australian supported competition www.amnrl.com/.

Answer 7

The american team play in the "Churchill Cup". This is held in the USA and england play the USA. Go to www.rfu.com for more details you might be able to go see a game.

A little known fact is that the American team are the Olympic champions at Sevens rugby!!! The last time it was played in the Olympics was back in the 1920's I think and the USA won it!

Also if you are interested in playing, join www.myspace.com. There are loads of rugby teams in the USA and they are always looking for players. You might even have a local team you don't know about.

Answer 8

Well it looks like kirsty has answered your question pretty well but if you want to get know somebody who plays rugby in England, I do.

Answer 9

www.guinnesspremiership.com is a great place to get info on the english game.

www.ercrugby.com is another great source of info on the european club tournament (Heineken Cup)

Answer 10

well you call rounders baseball, and your version of rugby is american football, but the g*y version. i.e wearing protective armour taking steroids and being fat