Rugby union

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Rugby union

South Africa take a line-out against New Zealand in 2006.
Highest governing body International Rugby Board
First played Early 19th century (early forms)
1845 (first written rules)
Characteristics
Contact Full Contact
Team members Fifteen
Categorization Team sport
Equipment Rugby ball
Olympic 1900, 1908, 1920 - 1924

Rugby union is a full contact team sport, first originating in the early 19th century.[1] It is played outdoors on a field, 100 m long and 70 m wide. At each end of the field is a goal area and a "H" shaped goal post where the ball,[2] which is a prolate spheroid shape,[3] is used to score points for your team. To score points you can either score a try (5 points) or kick a conversion (2 points), penalty (3 points) or drop kick (3 points),[4] while one team attempts to score points, their opponents try to stop them by defending their goal line, the team with the most points at the end of regulation time is deemed the winner. A full rugby team consists of 15 players on the field at any time and 7 substitutes to bring on during the game.[5] Players in a team are split up to Forwards and Backs based on their individual attributes. Forwards are big and strong and do most physical duties during the game while Backs are generally smaller but faster, more agile and the main point scorers for the team.

Rugby Union is often categorized along with Rugby League as Rugby Football. William Webb Ellis is often credited with the idea of running with the ball in hand,[6] when, in 1823, at Rugby School he caught the ball, while playing football, and ran towards the opposition goal. Ellis was immortalised at the school with a plaque (left) commemorating his innovation. 25 years later the first rules were written out by pupils,[7] this was one of recognized events in the early development of rugby, others include the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, and in 1895, Rugby Union and Rugby League were acknowledged as separate sports.

Rugby Union has been governed by the International Rugby Board since its formation in 1886 and currently has 115 unions under its governance from separate nations. It was the IRB's decision to turn Rugby Union, which was famously amateur, professional in 1995, removing restrictions on payments to players.

Rugby Union today is popular in the UK and Western Europe in countries like England, Wales, France and Ireland and in countries like New Zealand, Australia and South Africa popularizing the game in the southern hemisphere.

The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, is the ultimate goal for rugby nations; held every four years, the winner of the tournament receives the Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis who is credited with invention of Rugby Football. Many domestic competitions are held throughout the world including the Top 14 in France, the Guinness Premiership in England, the Super 14 in the southern hemisphere and many others.

Contents

[edit] History

Main article: History of rugby union

The origin of rugby is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School, Rugby, England, in 1823 when William Webb-Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it. Although this tale is apocryphal, the trophy played for every four years at the Rugby World Cup is named after him. Rugby football actually stems from a game played at Rugby School, Rugby, which old pupils carried to football clubs such as Blackheath, and with the first official set of rules written at Rugby School, the code was officially recognised.

Significant events in the early development of rugby were the production of the first set of written laws in 1845, the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the The Football Association in 1863 and the formation of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The code was originally known simply as "rugby football"; it was not until after a schism in 1895, which resulted in the separate code of rugby league, that the name "rugby union" came to be used for the game itself.

Rugby union was famously an amateur sport until the IRB declared the game 'open' in 1995, removing restrictions on payments to players.

[edit] Governing bodies

See also: International Rugby Board and Timeline of foundation of national rugby unions

The international governing body of rugby union (and associated games such as sevens) is the International Rugby Board (IRB). The IRB headquarters are located in Dublin, Ireland.

Six regional associations are members of the IRB; these are:

National unions oversee rugby union within individual countries. These are affiliated both with the IRB and with their respective regional association.

[edit] Rugby around the World

Germany playing Belgium

Rugby union has established itself as a popular sport for both spectators and participants, particularly in Australia, Argentina, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue, Namibia, Romania, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga and Wales.

Other places with lasting traditions in rugby, albeit as a minority sport in most cases, include the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Barbados, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Morocco, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. For example, the United States are the most recent Olympic gold medalists, winning the event at the Paris Olympics in 1924, which was the last year rugby was played at the games. There are now moves to have rugby reinstated as an Olympic sport, in the sevens format. Large numbers of players are active in North America, and the national teams of Canada and the USA regularly qualify for World Cups. Japan, also a country with many registered players, unsuccessfully bid to host the 2011 World Cup, narrowly losing a vote to selected host New Zealand. Japan will again bid to host either the 2015 or 2019 events. They will be joined in the bidding process by Italy, where the sport has gained in popularity following acceptance into the Six Nations in 2000. Neither country has hosted a World Cup to date, and are viewed by some fans of the game as opportunities for rugby union to extend its reach. Part of the sport's appeal is that it is played in many different styles in these diverse countries. This is partially due to the varying interpretations of the laws of the game, but perhaps the greatest influence is the playing environment created by local climates.[8]

The International Rugby Board (IRB), founded in 1886, governs the sport worldwide and also publishes the game's laws and rankings. There are currently 95 full members and eight associate member countries. According to IRB figures, rugby union is played in over 100 countries spanning six continents by men and women of all ages. The IRB controls the Rugby World Cup, the Women's Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup Sevens, IRB Sevens World Series, Junior World Championship, Junior World Trophy, Nations Cup and the Pacific Nations Cup. It holds votes to decide where all of these events shall be held, except in the case of the Sevens World Series. For that competition, the IRB contracts with several national unions to hold individual events.

[edit] Rugby in Asia

Rugby union is a growing sport in Asia and is governed by the Asian Rugby Football Union. Although it is growing in popularity in Russia and Georgia, both are considered part of the European rugby fraternity, and compete in the European Nations Cup. The Japanese national team is the powerhouse of Asian rugby, the only Asian nation to have qualified for the Rugby World Cup, and the only one to have representation on the International Rugby Board's executive council. Their main rivals are South Korea and Hong Kong, the latter team no longer consisting almost entirely of Anglo-Saxon ex-pats with more than 50% of the current National squad either being born in Hong Kong or being of Chinese nationality.

Currently, Asia has one guaranteed berth in the Rugby World Cup and one repechage place (i.e. via a play-off).

[edit] Women's Rugby

Records of women's rugby go back over 100 years - the first mentions of the game being in New Zealand in 1891 and France ten years later. In the past 30 years the game has grown in popularity among female athletes, and, according to England's RFU, is now played in over 80 countries.

Ireland playing Georgia in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

[edit] Major international competitions

For more details on this topic, see List of rugby union competitions.

The most important tournament in rugby union is the Rugby World Cup, a men's tournament that takes place every four years among the elite national rugby union teams. South Africa is the current world champion, winning the 2007 tournament held in France. They beat England who, having won it in 2003, were attempting to become the first country to retain the title. England were the first team from the Northern Hemisphere to win, the previous champions being New Zealand (1987), Australia (1991 and 1999), South Africa (1995). The fact that four different countries have won the World Cup confirms the level of competition in the tournament, creating intense interest from supporters, the media and major sponsors. Major international competitions in the northern and southern hemisphere are the Six Nations Championship and the Tri Nations Series, respectively.

Exterior of the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, where Wales play all their home games

The Six Nations is an annual competition involving the European northern hemisphere teams England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Each country plays the other five once. The modern tournament traces its roots to the first ever international game, when England lost by one goal to Scotland at Inverleith Park, adjacent to Raeburn Place, Edinburgh in 1871. In the 1880s, Wales and Ireland joined to create the Home International Championships. France joined the tournament in the 1900s and in 1910 the term Five Nations first appeared. However, the Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) excluded France in 1931 amid a run of poor results, allegations of professionalism (rugby union was officially amateur until 1995) and concerns over on-field violence. France then rejoined in 1939-1940, though World War II halted proceedings for a further eight years. France has played in all the tournaments since WWII, the first one of which was played in 1947. In 2000, Italy became the sixth nation in the contest and the Stadio Flaminio, where their games are played, is the smallest venue in the tournament. Ireland are the reigning Six Nations champions, winning their first Grand Slam in 61 years by beating Wales in Cardiff on March 21, 2009. [9] Argentina have long been rumoured to be interested in joining the 6 Nations but their geographical location and various other factors combine to make it look extremely unlikely, in the near future anyway. Since their strong performances in the 2007 World Cup a number of commentators believe they should join the Tri-Nations with New Zealand, Australia and World Cup champions South Africa.

A postcard of the rugby event at the 1924 Olympics.

The Tri Nations is an annual international rugby union series held between the southern hemisphere teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The series was initially played on a home and away basis with the three nations playing each other twice. In 2006 a new system was introduced where each nation plays the others three times rather than two. In 2007 the teams played each other only twice, as it was a World Cup year. The IRB had been brokering a deal which could have seen Argentina admitted to the competition in 2008,[10] but it was later confirmed that the Tri Nations would not be expanded until at least 2010.[11] Amidst all the rugby union competitions are also the autumn and summer Tests, which take place between September to December and June to August. These are played by the major rugby union nations on a home or away basis. New Zealand has been the dominant team in the Tri Nations winning the easily the most titles.

Rugby union was played at the Olympic Games in 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924. As per Olympic rules, the nations of Scotland, Wales and England were not allowed to play separately as they are not sovereign states. Rugby Sevens has been played at the Commonwealth Games since 1998.

[edit] Women's international rugby

Women's International Rugby began in 1982. Over six hundred women's internationals have been played by over forty different nations. As well as the women's World Cup event (which takes place every four years), there are also other regular tournaments, including a Six Nations, run in parallel to the men's competition. The New Zealand Women's team are the current World Cup holders.

[edit] Variants

Main article: Playing rugby union

Besides the full-contact, 15-a-side code, two major variants exist:

  • Rugby sevens, in which there are only 7 players per side, and each half is normally 7 minutes.
  • Touch Rugby, in which 'tackles' are made by simply touching the ball carrier on the waist, with two hands.

[edit] See also

Rugby union portal
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rugby union
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Mini rugby is a variant used to teach young children the sport.

[edit] Sources

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Origins of Rugby - Codification - "The innovation of running with the ball was introduced some time between 1820 and 1830."
  2. ^ Field Regulations
  3. ^ Ball Regulations
  4. ^ Points values
  5. ^ Number of Players
  6. ^ [1] This story has been questioned but it is known that Rugby School were playing variations of football, including ball-in-hand sports during Ellis' time.
  7. ^ Early Rules
  8. ^ Garth Hamilton (18 June 2007). "Black and white and grey". theroar.com.au. http://www.theroar.com.au/2007/06/18/black-and-white-and-grey/. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  9. ^ ticketbooth.org.uk
  10. ^ Cain, Nick (2007-02-25). "Ambitious Argentina poised to secure TriNations place". The Sunday Times. http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article1434537.ece. Retrieved on 2007-02-26. 
  11. ^ "Pumas will stay crouched until 2010". RugbyRugby.com. 2007-08-13. http://www.rugbyrugby.com/tournaments/tri_nations/story_13807145000.php. Retrieved on 2007-10-11. 

[edit] Notations

[edit] External links

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