About Rugby

[carsonshepherd]

I need some info on rugby for a friend who's writing a hot male/male boarding school story and wants the two main characters to play rugby. Half naked guys rolling around in the mud and tackling each other... full contact without pads... What's not to like?

Explanations and/or links much appreciated. Meantime, I'll be over here in the corner making images in my head.... *drool*

 

[Dar~]

The basic premise:

Rugby union pits two teams against each other, each vying to score more points than the other. This can be achieved by carrying, passing or kicking the ball. Unremarkably, the team scoring the most points wins the match, but the qualities participants call upon include strength, discipline, technique and passion - traits that have seen rugby gain and maintain global status. Indeed, it has been frequently described as "a game for ruffians, played by gentlemen". However, the game is being played by men and women, young and old as it continues to grow. Other elements of the game are easily learnt, and the following delineates some key points. Each team usually consists of 15 players, divided into backs and forwards.

The Forwards:

Their collective role is to gain possession of the ball and get it to their backs, who should try and develop a running play. There are eight forwards in a team, and they are regarded as the heavyweights of the team.

The Backs:

They should be more mobile, typically with the pace to translate the possession provided by the forwards into tries. Of course, as fitness and skill levels have improved (particularly in the Professional era) the roles performed by the backs and forwards are not only interdependent but also frequently interchangeable.

Introducing the match officials:

A game is controlled by a referee and two touch-judges, who interpret the laws of the game fairly. The referee is the most senior, and also takes note of the time and score. He is the sole arbitrator, whose decisions are final. Below are illustrations of how the referee will indicate his ruling regarding certain aspects of the game.

The match begins:

Play commences with the toss of the coin between the two captains, with the winner being afforded the choice of kicking off, or choosing which end to defend in the first half. The game lasts for eighty minutes, excluding stoppages, and therefore each half consists of two halves of forty, with an interval for half time. However, if the fixture is a Sevens game then there are some distinct differences. As one might infer, it is a seven a side game, played on a full pitch each half lasts seven minutes, although major finals such as the Middlesex Sevens last ten minutes. In all matches, play commences with a kick-off. This is a place kick from the centre of the halfway line. At the start of the second half the other team will kick off. If, from the kick-off the ball goes directly into touch, lands directly in the in-goal area,or directly over (or on) the dead ball line then the opposing teamhas the choice of either 1)accepting the kick 2)asking for it to be re-taken, or 3)asking for a scrummage at the centre spot. At the kick-off,the kicker's team must be behind the ball at the time of the kick. If not, the referee can order a scrummage (scrum) at the centre.

Points on the board:

There are four ways of scoring points

1 Try worth 5 points
2 Conversion worth 2 points
3 Penalty worth 3 points
4 Drop goal worth 3 points
5 Penalty Try worth 5 points

A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition goal area. The ball can be placed on the try line (in line with the posts) or beyond, but no further than the dead ball line. For the ball to be grounded, the player must be holding it in his hand(s) or arm(s) when he brings it into contact with the ground. The ball can also be deemed to be grounded if a player falls on the ball, but the front of the body, from the waist to the neck must make contact with the ball. Every try is further rewarded with a kick at goal, and can increase the score by another two points. This is called a conversion. The kick is taken from a point level with where the try occurred. It can be either a place kick or a drop kick, and all the players on the kicker's team must be behind the ball at this time. Meanwhile, the defending team must stand behind their own goal-line. Once the kicker commences his run-up, the defenders can run forward in an attempt to put the kicker off, and perhaps even charge down his kick. A penalty kick is awarded against the offending team following an infringement of the rules. The rules concerning a penalty are very much the same as those for a conversion, with the exception that the kick must be taken at or behind the point where the infringement took place. There is also the option for a scrum, in which case the team awarded the penalty have the put in. Viewers of the last Lions' tour of South Africa will recall the efficacy of the drop goal. A player can, at any time during open play, attempt this. The ball is dropped onto the ground and kicked just as it bounces, and must pass through the posts without bouncing. Moreover, re-starts occur via a drop-kick, as well as at half time.

When and why - halts in play:

Throw forward - the ball must always be passed sideways or backwards. If it is thrown forward, then the player committing the offence will be penalised. If the throw forward is intentional then a penalty is awarded from the point where the infringement took place. If it was unintentional, then a scrummage shall be formed at the place of the infringement. Knock-on - the ball must always be gathered cleanly. If a player loses possession of the ball, and it travels forward towards the opposing goaline, or it strikes a player's hand and travels forward, then it is a knock-on and is penalised in the same way as the throw forward, unless the player can recover the ball before it has touched the ground or another player. The tackle - when tackled, the ball must be released immediately and get up or move away; you cannot touch the ball again or interfere in play until you are back on your feet. Failure to comply with this will incur a penalty for the other side. After the ball is released from a ruck, or maul, often forms around the ball. This is like an impromptu scrum with at least one player from either side closing around the ball, which is somewhere between them. When the ball becomes unplayable or stationary, a scrummage shall be ordered and the ball inserted by the team who were not initially in possession. The line - out - if the ball goes into touch during the normal course of play, play is re-started with a line-out, the equivalent of a throw-in in football. The line-out is a way of gaining possession of the ball and at least two players from each side line up in single lines and at right angles to the touch-line. The number of players in the line-out is determined by the team taking the throw, and the throw is taken by the team which did not put the ball in touch originally. Physical contact is not encouraged, and the players must stand so that a clear space of 1m separates the two lines. The line-out starts from a point 5m from the touch-line where the throw is being taken, and stretches to a point 15m away. Any player beyond 15m is not deemed to be in the line-out. The ball must be thrown straight between the two lines of players; you cannot try to gain an advantage by throwing towards the side of the line-out containing your own players. Once the ball has been thrown, the two sets of forwards jump and try to get possession of the ball. Mark (fair catch) - a player can make a mark by catching the ball from a kick, knock-on or throw forward by one of his opponents, and shouting "mark". Significantly, the player must be on his side of the 22 m line. After making a mark, the player has the option of a free-kick which can be either a place, drop or tap-kick. A goal cannot be scored direct from a free-kick. Drop-out - the drop-out is a drop-kick taken by the defending team. The kick is taken from anywhere on or behind their own 22m line. If taken from behind the 22, the ball must reach that line from the drop-out . If it does not, the opposition can request it to be re-taken or choose a scrum - formed at the centre of the 22. The scrum - the object at the scrum is to gain possession of the ball and get it out to your own scrum half so that he can engineer an attacking move. Once the scrum is formed, the ball is put in by one of the scrum-halves, and the hooker attempts to hook the ball back to his team-mates, who in turn gradually hook it out to the scrum-half who will have taken up a position at the back of the scrum. The most effective way of gaining advantage is by pushing the opposing forwards backwards (a tug of war in reverse). When formed, the scrummage shall occur at the place where the infringement took place (or as near as possible). The line of scrummage - the imaginary line between between the two sets of front-row forwards - should always be parallel to the goal-lines. The scrum is used to re-start play after certain infringements and can only be formed on the field of play - it cannot be formed in the in-goal area or within 5m of the touch-line. If any infringement by the defending team takes place in their own in-goal area, or within 5m of the touch-line. If any infringement by the defending team takes place in their own in-goal area, and the penalty would be a scrum, then the scrummage must be formed 5m from the goal-line on the field of play. A minimum of eight players are required from each team to form a scrum. Of those, three players MUST form the front row. The player putting the ball into the scrum must make sure the ball bounces on the line of scrummage beyond the feet of the nearest player. The ball MUST be put into the scrum in a straight line.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Quick, someone wake up The Earl!

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Quick, someone wake up The Earl!

Yeah. This is the question he's been living for.

 

[Dar~]

http://www.geocities.com/akron_rugby/mud2.jpg

 

[Dar~]

http://midwestrugby.com/template.php?sid=124&sub=224&area=468

 

[yui]

The Earl.

Edited to add: I love it when they form a scrum.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

The Earl.

Edited to add: I love it when they form a scrum.

swoon

 

[TheEarl]

I'm here, I'm here. Dar's explained the basic premise very well, but the thing to understand about rugby is that it's a club game. People join a club and it's a community, complete with drinking games and fun. It's not a sport where you just meet up for training and for matches and then go home again. Elder members tend to tutor younger members in the arts of their position and the senior players are often 'taken under the wing' of an experienced old stager.

Your 'friend' is writing about a college rugby match, so that means there's not quite the same community spirit, but still the camaraderie. Lots of drinking.

It's a very broad subject to write about the generalities. If your 'friend' needs to know anything specific, like training sessions, or matches, then drop me a PM.

The Earl

 

[carsonshepherd]

Elder members tend to tutor younger members in the arts of their position and the senior players are often 'taken under the wing' of an experienced old stager.



The Earl

*purrrr* Now I want to write a story about rugby too, dammit....

 

[TheEarl]

http://www.barbarianfc.co.uk/videogallery.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/default.stm

The essence of good rugby: Fijian rugby videos:

The Earl

 

[carsonshepherd]

Your 'friend' is writing about a college rugby match, so that means there's not quite the same community spirit, but still the camaraderie. Lots of drinking.



The Earl

Actually, the friend is writing about a private boy's academy filled with barely legal lads...

 

[TheEarl]

Actually, the friend is writing about a private boy's academy filled with barely legal lads...

There'll still be drinking. If you're setting it in England, then the age limit for drinking is 18, sex is 16 and people will drink waaay before the legal limit.

The Earl

 

[Huckleman2000]

I'm here, I'm here. Dar's explained the basic premise very well, but the thing to understand about rugby is that it's a club game. People join a club and it's a community, complete with drinking games and fun. It's not a sport where you just meet up for training and for matches and then go home again. Elder members tend to tutor younger members in the arts of their position and the senior players are often 'taken under the wing' of an experienced old stager.

Your 'friend' is writing about a college rugby match, so that means there's not quite the same community spirit, but still the camaraderie. Lots of drinking.

It's a very broad subject to write about the generalities. If your 'friend' needs to know anything specific, like training sessions, or matches, then drop me a PM.

The Earl

I had a mentor who was English and played Rugby, and we were having one of our UK/US differences discussions once, and the subject of Rugby came up.

I explained that, to me it seemed that Rugby in the US was an intramural sport that was mainly an excuse for fraternity boys to drink a lot and push each other around in the mud for awhile, under the pretense of aristocratic British heritage. He said, "So what don't you understand about it?"

 

[carsonshepherd]

There'll still be drinking. If you're setting it in England, then the age limit for drinking is 18, sex is 16 and people will drink waaay before the legal limit.

The Earl

People never dribnk before the legal age limit here in the States. Nope. Never.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

People never dribnk before the legal age limit here in the States. Nope. Never.

and if they did, it certainly wouldn't be Olde English 800 malt liquor.

 

[carsonshepherd]

and if they did, it certainly wouldn't be Olde English 800 malt liquor.

Hey, in England, 18 is legal!

 

[minsue]

and if they did, it certainly wouldn't be Olde English 800 malt liquor.

PMSL!

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Hey, Carson, it looks like your friend is on to something!
Gay Rugby!

 

[TheEarl]

I had a mentor who was English and played Rugby, and we were having one of our UK/US differences discussions once, and the subject of Rugby came up.

I explained that, to me it seemed that Rugby in the US was an intramural sport that was mainly an excuse for fraternity boys to drink a lot and push each other around in the mud for awhile, under the pretense of aristocratic British heritage. He said, "So what don't you understand about it?"

Was he a football supporter?

The Earl

 

[snooper]

One or two minor corrections:

.... In all matches, play commences with a kick-off. This is a place kick from the centre of the halfway line.

Now a drop-kick.

.... If, from the kick-off the ball goes directly into touch, lands directly in the in-goal area,or directly over (or on) the dead ball line

It must also go 10 metres nearer to the non-kicking team's goal line, or be playeed first by a member of the non-kicking team.

.... There are four ways of scoring points

1 Try worth 5 points
2 Conversion worth 2 points
3 Penalty worth 3 points
4 Drop goal worth 3 points
5 Penalty Try worth 5 points

That's five!!!

.... It can be either a place kick or a drop kick, and all the players on the kicker's team must be behind the ball at this time.

Not a requirement for a conversion.

.... A penalty kick is awarded against the offending team following an infringement of the rules.

Only for major offences; minor offences are only a scrum.

.... When the ball becomes unplayable or stationary, a scrummage shall be ordered and the ball inserted by the team who were not initially in possession.

Not if it is a ruck; then it is the side going forwards. A ruck is when the ball is on the floor, a maul is when the ball is held by a player on his feet.

.... After making a mark, the player has the option of a free-kick which can be either a place, drop or tap-kick.

Not a place kick.

.... The scrum ... cannot be formed in the in-goal area or within 5m of the touch-line.

Or within 5m of the goal-line. Incidentally a line-out cannot be formed within 5m of a goal line.

.... A minimum of eight players are required from each team to form a scrum. Of those, three players MUST form the front row. The player putting the ball into the scrum must make sure the ball bounces on the line of scrummage beyond the feet of the nearest player. The ball MUST be put into the scrum in a straight line.

SInce the middle man of the front row is the only one who can hook the ball (and only with his foot, and only after it is put in) the Laws of Rugby and human reaction times and the Laws of Physics combine to make a legal scrum impossible!

Still a pretty good summary, and I refereed the game for 31 seasons.

What was omitted were the sly offences, and probably the must important one for carsonshepherd's story is "bag-snatching".

 

[TheEarl]

Don't listen to him! He's Welsh, knows nothing about the game.

<sits back and waits>

The Earl

 

[oggbashan]

The thing that might help the story is that the players wear minimal protection and there is a lot of physical contact.

When I played rugby xx years ago the only protection any of us had was the shirt and the shorts. Sometimes the clothing didn't last the whole match. Shorts were usually replaced at a convenient break such as a lineout.

Injuries were common and because I was playing in Australia and Australian Rules had influenced our thinking only injuries that actually prevented us from playing were considered worth seeking attention for.

A broken leg counted as incapacitating. A broken thumb, arm, or nose did not. Blood didn't count. Guts did.

I played for probably the worst school first XV in my state because my school played Australian Rules and Rugby was a minority sport. We had barely 15 people who knew what Rugby was so we had to fill the team with Rules rejects. Some of the 'rejects' were playing rugby while under suspension for Australian Rules.

In one season we played only 8 matches because of lack of opponents. We lost 5. We drew one. The other two were abandoned. One because our scrum had pushed over the posts, the other because the referee decided not to continue the match when injury (see above for definition) had reduced both sides to a total of 17 out of 30 who started.

I am now living with the consequences of playing rugby when young.

Og

 

[yui]

What was omitted were the sly offences, and probably the must important one for carsonshepherd's story is "bag-snatching".

Surely it's not what I'm thinking...

 

[oggbashan]

Surely it's not what I'm thinking...

It probably is. Some players wear plastic boxes to protect their bags.

Og