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Rugby
Basics
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| Basic 1 | Basic 2 | Basic 3 | Basic 4 | Basic 5 |
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This saying already tells a lot about Rugby. "Aren't you those guys with helmets on and shoulder pads?" is a common question. "No, we're not!" - "But then you are completely unprotected. Isn't that very dangerous?" |
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No, it is not. International injury statistics show, that Rugby,
considering severity and frequency of injuries, lies far behind
other kinds of sports like soccer, handball, basketball, and even
volley ball. Usually there's the objection: "But there are
not as many rugby players." Wrong. There are at least as many
rugby players worldwide as there are soccer players. |
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| What causes such good statistics? Short answer: Each player learns
in training sessions how to behave in certain situations, and if he
trains on a regular basis, thus he is physically in a good shape,
so that normally nothing happens. Some situations look worse for the
layman watching it as felt by the players involved. |
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Besides in Rugby, against a common opinion, almost nothing is legal - no pushing, no jostling, no body checks and no kicking. Especially the attacks at the feet of the other players do not occur in Rugby, because the ball is not controlled by the foot. The only thing that's legal is called "tackling". This means, the player who's carrying the ball, and only him, can be held underneath the shoulders, and thus brought to the ground. Normally one would try to grab the other players legs to stop him. Also, there's the referee who usually is quite rigid. Although, in soccer, much has changed for the better for the active players, if a rugby referee was leading a soccer game the way he would a rugby match, almost certainly only ¾ of the players would remain on the field. |
| Now some things about the game itself. Following some
of the most important basic rules are explained: |
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The most important difference to other kinds of ball
sports is, that the ball may only be thrown (passed) backwards. The
ball will only come forward by carrying or kicking it. |
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The target of the game is to carry the
oval ball into the other teams In-goal (the area behind the rugby
posts) and put it on the ground there. A legal try is only achieved,
when the ball at the same time has contact to the hand of the player
who's carrying the ball und the ground. This scores five points. |
| Additionally, there the chance of a kick (conversion)
over the cross bar, between the two rugby posts. One can use a kicking
tee to fix the ball on the ground so that it does not fall over. If
successful, this means two extra points. |
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The two other ways of gaining points are on one hand the penalty
kick, which is carried out from the spot where the other team fouled.
It is done the same way like the conversion and counts three points.
On the other hand there's the possibility of a drop goal, which is
done by a drop kick (the player lets the ball fall out of his hand,
drops it on the ground and finally the kicks it) out of the normal
flow of the game. This also gains three points. |
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Each team consists of 15 players. Eight forwards and
seven backs: two halfs, two wingers, two centers and the fullback.
The forward's task is to conquer the ball in standard situations and
try to concentrate the other teams defense on one point if possible.
That should gain room for the backs, who get the ball from the two
halfs and by clever passing and fast sprints try to score tries. |