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Hi All:

Just watched my first Rugby match and it was the Rugby World Cup between the New Zealand All Blacks and the French national team. It is one hellish game and while I still am not sure about the touch, ruck and how the scrum works to ones advantage, I feel for the poor SOB’s on the field as it is full contact football without any gear to protect themselves.

From the commentary and half time discussion, New Zealand and their All-Blacks are Rugby and Rugby is New Zealand. One of the French guys said the following:
“We have 60 million people and we do not like Rugby that much. New Zealand has 4 million people and everybody loves it.”
In other words, it is almost a religion and is apparently why the New Zealanders are so good at it?

Crazy game and I am now looking forward to catching anther game next year some time. Fricken crazy how the guys hold one another up while pushing as hard as they can into a pile of other guys in order to move the “ball” (is that what it is called?) a few feet only to have a pileup and something called the ruck occur again?

I hope the game was live or I just wasted 2 + hours of my life on a game that was played out hours, days, weeks ago???

Wayne

Rugby (Union) isn't the most accessible game for spectators. ;) I'm not really a big fan. Rugby League is much more accessible, since that's a more open game.

In France those who play Rugby mostly play Union, but Rugby League has more popularity in the south, since it was the working-man's game due to allowing professionals from the start, which allowed poor people to play to a high level.

Rugby is New Zealand's national sport and with the Maoris being, um, large people you could say it helps. ;) I've read that many white parents have their children play soccer instead. Part culture, part racism, part fear of their children being smashed to a pulp by the larger Maoris.

First thing to note is that there is normally no blocking in Rugby. That is obstruction. Contact only occurs around the ball.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_rugby_union#Ruck

Typically, a ruck is formed after a tackle when opposing players are in contact with each other. It's like it sets a virtual wall with the only gap coming straight over the ball. The players are trying to push forward over the ball and "ruck" it backwards to their team with their foot or heel. Players can't pick up the ball in the middle of a ruck: it must be at the rear of the ruck.

In general, when a ruck forms after a tackle the team that had possession will keep the ball because their man who had the ball will turn his* body to protect the ball, which makes it harder for the opposition to ruck it back. Generally, if the ball is lost in a ruck it's because the player was isolated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_%28rugby_union%29

The scrum is a set play after a minor infringement. The players in the scrum aren't meant to push until the ball is put in, which is why you'll have seen lots of stoppages trying to get the scrum right. Players in the scrum are also not meant to stand up.

The advantage in the scrum is with the team with possession because they have the advantage of timing. (Rather like the snap count in football.) The scrum-half puts the ball in (it's meant to go in straight) and the man in the center of the front row (the hooker) can quickly hook the ball back to the back of the scrum.

Generally scrums only overturn possession when one side has a great weight and strength advantage.

Given the advantage of possession there is another advantage: offside. The scrum establishes a line beyond which the other players cannot stand, which gives space to play.

Touch:

A ball is in touch if it lands on or outside the lines of the pitch, or if it is touched by player who is standing on the line or on the ground outside the touchlines. Play is restarted using the line-out.

Kicking for touch is like using a punt in football. Of course, possession is more fluid and the other difference is that in Rugby, when a penalty occurs, instead of being awarded a set distance the team may kick for touch from hand or place-kick for points. If they kick for touch from a penalty, they get possession in the line-out.

The line-out works in some senses like the scrum: the team with possession has the advantage of timing and location, the ball must be throw in straight and it opens space by establishing lines of offside and encroachment. However, there are generally many more turnovers in a line-out than a scrum.

It used to be a penalty to lift a player at a line-out (you could support but not lift), but they simplified things and reduced the importance of height by allowing it.

* There are more women playing Rugby now (and from my college experience they're just as loud when drinking after a game), but it's predominantly a male sport.

My wife an I have been following rugby for over 5 years now, and once you learn how it works, you won't want to go back to American football. Rugby Union is the rules of the World Cup and many/most rugby is played with the older/traditional set of rules. Rugby League is limited to 6 tackles (and there are probably other differences) and this is the precursor of American football.

We watch many matches leading up to the final that was shown on broadcast TV. The Wales v Ireland quarter final match was particularly good. And there were at least 6 or 8 other outstanding rugby games during this World Cup.

I like that the coaches do *not* run the game, other than deciding on substitutions. There are only 7 subs per team allowed, by the way. So, 8 of the 15 starting players *must* play the entire 80 minutes. The team captain and the #10 player decide on the play strategy.

I like that all players play both offense and defense. The try conversion kicks must be taken on the plane of where the ball was touched down in the try zone. The kicks are not "gimme's" so they earn 2 points, and the tries are worth 5 points for 7 total. (Which is familiar...) The ball must be touched down (again, a familiar name!) on the ground with force (and control) in order to score.

The referee is the final arbiter, and only the captain is allowed to speak to him. He tells the captain to discipline his team. Yellow cards put a player in the "sin bin" for 10 minute penalties, and red cards eject a player for an egregious offense. Football (both American and world) would benefit from this kind of discipline authority.

Kicking 3 point penalties and drop kicks add a very interesting dimension to the game. Understanding rucks and mauls and what is supposed to happen during tackles is the most difficult part to understand. I think that this World Cup had weak enforcement of the offside rules.

The "set pieces" of scrums and lineouts are a bit less cryptic, though there are still quite a few subtle rules governing these. Free kicks and penalty kicks are fairly clear, I think.

I hope you get to watch more rugby. The All Blacks are a great team, as are France, South Africa, Australia, Wales, Argentina, and at times many other teams have been serious contenders. Scotland, Fiji, England, and even the USA have had very good games -- England is usually much better than they were this time around.

The referee is the final arbiter, and only the captain is allowed to speak to him. He tells the captain to discipline his team. Yellow cards put a player in the "sin bin" for 10 minute penalties, and red cards eject a player for an egregious offense. Football (both American and world) would benefit from this kind of discipline authority.

The discipline in Rugby (both Union and League) is something other sports dream of.

Not only the fact that the ref won't take any verbals, but dealing with violent conduct.

Not only will violent conduct result in immediate ejection, but it'll very likely get you a month ban.
Violent, dangerous conduct has seen people banned for a year.

The "sin bin" is a fairly recent rule and was introduced to prevent deliberate penalties where a team wants to score try a rather than take an easy kick for 3 points. The effect is more severe than in hockey since you don't come back on when there's a score. That 10 minutes can see a large point swing. (Rugby League allows the referee to award a penalty try where a deliberate penalty offense is otherwise preventing an easy score: football equivalent would awarding a touchdown on a blatant pass interference where a catch would result in an obvious touchdown).

Personally, I prefer football to Rugby Union. But the stop-start nature of some sports doesn't bother me, I just loathe time-outs.