New to women's rugby?

Question

well my friend talked me into doing rugby, i had my first practice yesterday and the coaches said i have great potential.

she told me i'd be a foward, what does that mean? and what are the responsibilities of a foward?

Answer 1

If your new to the game don't worry about what you should & shouldn't do just enjoy tackling your opponents and running at them with the ball in hand. If you score a try then great and if you stop someone from scoring that is just as good. The most important thing is to enjoy the game, never give up and don't lose your temper no matter what.

After a while you will know what to do in a real game & your coach will be able to give you all the information it takes to encourage you to play better.

It can take years for someone to be good at a sport so don't be afraid if you don't 'get it' straight away.

Good luck

T

Answer 2

Well Done! Forwards are the more physical players in the game. The forward positions are loose-head prop,hooker,tight-head prop,lock,blindside flanker,open side flanker and no.8. forwards do a lot of tackling and rucking wheras the backs do the running and passing. Good luck playing rugby!!!

Answer 3

Forwards and backs in rugby all need a good degree of fitness (specifically, endurance as well as power), fearlessness, and tenacity. Forwards tend to specifically require that you're comfortable being VERY close to your teammates (have you seen a scrum?); and strength endurance, because pushing and lifting and supporting your teammates all over the field takes some stamina!  Good luck to you; you've been introduced to the best game ever!! And, you have a woman coach. That's awesome.

Answer 4

Congratulations.  You're pretty d**n lucky to have the privilege to be selected as a forward.  The good news is that you get to do all the fun physical stuff in rugby, and the downside is that you'll probably leave every practice and game tired, sore, and dirty.

The forwards job is to provide the muscle that wins games.   Thats something that you should never ever forget when you're jealous that the backs get to do the majority of the scoring and flashy plays:  Forwards win games, and backs tell you by how much.

You're overall responsibilities will be to ruck you're little heart out.  That means that you should be willing to fight for the ball at the breakdown.  In addition, you'll have to tackle and be able to put down players who may be bigger and stronger than you, although as a forward that shouldn't be many girls.  When one of your players gets tackled you'll be expected to drive over your teammate to maintain possession of the ball.  At first, it'll be tough to gage when to go to a ruck and when to hang back because it's easy to over-commit, but have faith with time you'll be able to feel when it's right to jump in and poach the ball.

When it comes to offensive running you'll primarily be using your size and strength to bully other players so you can gain positive yards.  Make sure that you run low, and when you're tackled place the ball in a way so that your body is between the ball and the opposing team, and the ball is facing your team.  That way your body protects the ball and makes it more difficult for the opposition to steal.  A word to the wise: STAY OUT OF THE 9-10 CHANNEL AND THE 10-12 CHANNEL.  It took me quite some time to figure this one out because it's tempting to drift into the back line where you can get the ball in some space and bulldoze a smaller player, but it's vital to keep the passing lanes open since these are the primary ways that the backs move the ball, engage in set plays, and attack the opposition.  when you're really close to the opposition's try line you'll be expected to run "heavy balls" which means taking short passes and slowly inching your way forward till you score, it's slow and tedious but it wins games.  Also never ever ever kick the ball.  That's the job of the backs.

There are two special things that forwards do that backs do not: Scrums and line-outs.  These are set plays that provide great attacking opportunity for your team, and if you're in trouble, they provide a great way to relieve pressure.

The scrum is the signature of rugby.  All the forwards come together and bind up as a unit, and the scrum-half (#9) feeds the ball into the channel.  The two teams then try to push each other off the ball while the hooker (#2) tries to hook the ball back.  Personally, this is my favorite part of the game, because it embodies everything that rugby is about, strength and teamwork.  If the forwards don't act in a coordinated manner, the scrum will be A) weak and B) dangerous both of which will make it a long game..  Depending on where you are in the scrum you may want to do special neck exercises to insure that you don't strain your neck (basically the front row).  If you're a flanker (#6 and 7) you're job is to push the props' (#1 and 3) hip in so that they are square and can get more strength in the scrum.  The flankers are also the first off the scrum and are expected to make the first tackles on the opposition.  The Locks (#4 and 5) are expected to provide most of the power for the scrum and are behind the props.  The props are the front corners of the scrum and bind onto the hooker to form the front row (prop-hooker-prop).  The props and hooker have the most dangerous job on the field, and it's vital to avoid having the scrum collapse otherwise you'll have serious and dangerous neck injuries.  The hooker uses his or her feet to hook the ball back towards the 8-man who then keeps the ball at his feet until it's decided what the play is.

The line-out is how the game starts after the ball has gone out of play.  Since rugby is about contention the line-out becomes an aerial battle between the two teams for the ball.  The two teams line up next to each other at the spot where the ball went out, with a 1m channel between them.  Since the hooker is traditionally the shortest forward he or she will throw the ball down the channel and the locks, who are traditionally the tallest players will jump up and try to catch the ball.  The props will help the locks get more height by lifting them up.  The ball must be thrown straight down the middle of the gap between the two teams otherwise the ref will award a free kick.  The line-outs are divided into "pods" which consist of a jumper and two lifters.  The first pod traditionally brings the ball to ground and drives forward in a maul.  The second pod usually passes the ball out to the backs via the half-back.  The last pod is usually made of the 8-man and he'll just take the ball and try to get some quick meters.  When you're within the 22m zones (either yours or your opponents) you'll probably go to the first pod.  Outside the 22m you'll most likely go to the 2nd or 3rd pods.

As a forward, and mostly as a result of line-outs you'll be forced to maul.  This is when a player takes the ball into contact with the opposition, but instead of being tackled and going to ground, the player stands up and keeps moving forward.  Team players then bind on to the first player and the ball is slowly moved towards the back to provide safety and power for the drive.  Defending against mauls can be tricky because it's tempting to simply pull it down, however this is a very dangerous and serious penalty, so instead you need to bind players on where the pressure is coming from.

Whew, i'm sure that seems very long and complicated, but have faith because it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.  Don't be embarrassed and definitely ask other players questions because they'll be a great resource for you.  Admittedly, the first game you'll probably run about like a chicken with it's head cut off but have faith that quickly wears off and you'll fall in love with the sport.

Answer 5

Responsibility of a forward is as same as the responsibility of every player in the side. To play as best as you can within the spirit of the game, be an asset to the team...............and enjoy the game while you're at it.

For your info forwards will be the Props (loose & tight head), hooker, locks or 2nd row, flankers (open & blind side) and No-8.

Don't worry about all that now. Start enjoying the game first and then all of that will come to you naturally.

Good luck!