I had a free channel on my television and decided to watch a rugby game. It was the U.S. vs Russia. The americans won but I could not understand what in the world was happening. How many points to a goal? Is the kick afterward an extra point? Could someone please tell me the basics....the rules.
The objective is to get the ball into the end being defended by the other side. Call it the end-zone if you like. The ball must be firmly placed on the ground, breaking the plane isn't sufficient. This is called a try - 5 points. A player can also score by drop-kicking the ball over the bar and between the uprights of the goal. Penalty goal is scored the same way but it is from a fixed position and can be kicked from a ground position or by a drop kick. 3 points. A kick at goal after a try is worth 2 points. The ball is moved forward by kicking. It can't be moved forward by a handpass, instead it has to be passed back from the person currently in possession of the ball. Each person who is in possession of the ball tries to run it forward and if they are about to be tackled then they can dispose of the ball by kicking it forward (which risks loss of possession); passing to another player (there are no "eligible receivers", if you're upright you can receive a pass) or by kicking it into touch (over the sideline). The primary objective is to get distance without losing possession of the ball. It looks like a rabble but it's got some complex rules. http://www.rugbyunionrules.com/ Please don't ask me about cricket. I don't have a week to explain
basically if youre too clumsy, fat and overly-aggressive to play football, real football not american nonsense, then you take up rugby. also helps if you like feeling other mens sacks.
What happens when a player is tackled? If I were on the white team and tackled a player on the blue team how would this be addressed? And what If I got in between a pass from the other team and caught the ball could I run for the try line and score? I could never tell when the ball was down...In Americal football its easy.
When someone is tackled then it depends on what happens to the ball as to what follows. The idea of a tackle is to stop the forward momentum of the ball. There is no right to block or otherwise tackle a player who is not in possession of the ball. So what happens is that the defending team tries to stop the forward momentum of the attacking team and to either get possession ("turnover" in American Football) or otherwise cause the ball to be neutralised so that both teams can then contest for possession via a lineout if the ball goes into touch or a scrum. If you intercepted the ball then you could - as in American Football - make a dash for the line and score. If you do you will be a hero and entitled to free pints in the pub until you fall down terribly drunk
I may be wrong but it seems teams in possesion would get tackled and hand the ball off to another player and they would keep on moving. It confuses me...in American football when you are down the play stops. Another question...how is the ball neutralised? Sorry about the stupid questions....but it is all new to me.
Sorry - got to this a little late! Yup - play doesn't stop in Rugby (Union - there is another game, Rugby League, which is more like American Football). The tackled player can try to pass the ball to one of his own team as he is tackled, but once he is down he can only lay the ball back on the ground towards his own team as a 'ruck' is formed over him. He has to let go of the ball, and the player that tackles him has to let go of him to allow him to do that - the teams then contest for the ball by pushing over it (standing up - they have to stay on their feet, and have to enter the ruck from behind the back foot of the last player in it, and in the middle not the side) and picking it up. Usually the team in possession of the ball regains it, because it has been laid back on their side of the player on the floor. Sometimes, though, the other team manages to get it, or at least contest well enough to prevent them from getting quick possession (giving their team time to organise their defensive line better). I hope that helps - it sounds more complicated than it is, really! The result of having the ball remain 'in play' after a tackle is that the game doesn't stop, start and reset all the time like American Football - it all keeps flowing. Players don't always try to avoid contact/tackles - sometimes they try to punch through the opposition's defensive line with brute strength to push them backwards, then set the ball back in the ruck to get quick ball to attack with straight away before the other team is fully organised. It's one way of creating spaces and gaps in the line for other players to try to run through. The players have to play what's in front of them more in Rugby, rather than having the coach tell them which set moves to play - not only is the play continuing so there isn't time for the coach to do that, but what is happening on the field is constantly changing in front of the players. There's no pause for the attack and defence to regroup, rethink and plan their next move.
The rules of any game you don't follow sound like the grammatical rules of another language. Rugby is the best game there is, Union mostly, but league has a better notion as to line-outs, which are causing rugby players to look like hefty basket-ball ones. Cenydd - I wan't to get back to using our flag, and I don't know how.
Rugby sounds like a fun game to watch. I love American football, and there's not a hell of a lot of difference between the two.
Watch rugby league code. This is far easier for Americans to understand since it is so similar to gridiron football. Also watch 7s - a short but very exciting game.
The line-outs are interesting now. I haven't played rugby for many years, since schooldays, haven't really kept up with it due to living in an Aussie Rules state and playing and following Rules, but I see now that they are lifting players in the lineouts, if I remember rightly that was never allowed - or did it just develop as a tactic and has been incorporated into the game?
No, you are right - lifting previously wasn't allowed. The problem with that was that the team with the tallest player (as long as he could jump a bit) had an unfair advantage. With lifting it's all about the timing of the lift and throw (and positioning of the catcher), not just about the height of the reach of the individual player, so the team throwing in always gets the advantage (which is how it should be).
I'll have to find a team to support. I would like something with a cool name. Since we don't play much Rugby here in LA (lower Alabama) the choice is wide open.
I suggest you guys forget about all forms of rugby and watch some Aussie Rules...now theres a game we can all enjoy, not like the boring, predictability of rugby (league/union)....yawn yawn, wake me up when its over....
I watched Kenya play New Zealand and then England. They were pretty good games. I even missed part of the Super Bowl watching England win over Kenya. The rules had to be different than the other game I saw because these two games actually held my interest. Its a shame Kenya lost to England...I was pullin for the boys. better watch out...those black men from Africa are going to be awesome. They all looked like NFL running backs!
If you saw part of the superbowl, you can catch the rest of the game to-day or even tomorrow....live..I mean, not replays...!!!
In case anybody has missed it, for those who can see BBC America, the Wales v France game from the 6 nations championship is being shown live (I assume!) from 12 o'clock (eastern): http://www.bbcamerica.com/six-nations-rugby-championship/ Should be a fascinating encounter - two potentially excellent sides (France were pre-tournament favourites, and Wales are defending tournament champions) both of whom failed to perform to their potential last weekend, and lost their opening games.
