Rugby anyone?
8/7/2008 11:26 PM   0 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friend



By MIKE GELLATLY

Staff writer

Played in the United States since about 1870, rugby is the precursor of what Europeans call "American football."

A 15-on-15 contact sport that originated in England is played on a 110-yard by 80-yard field, known as a pitch. Rugby is similar in its basic tenants to that game played on the gridiron.

Scoring

As in football there are two basic ways to score - with the ball in your hands or projected from a foot.

Gameplay

Rugby differs from football in that rugby is played at a fast pace, with few stoppages and continuous possession changes. It is played in two 40-minute halves with extra time added on for stoppages. All players can run, pass, kick, catch the ball, tackle and defend with very limited personnel changes in the game. There is no offensive or defensive players or special teams.

Rugby can best be thought of as a game of football that kicks off but keeps going from that moment like soccer. Players run the ball until they are tackled, they step out of bounds or they run beyond the goal line. The ball can be passed laterally or backward but never forward. Any player can kick the ball and typically does so to advance it, to get out of poor field position or an attempt to wrong-foot the opposition.

The game only stops if a penalty is committed, the ball goes out of the field of play or the ball is knocked forward.

If the ball goes out of bounds, it's restarted with a line-out. Both teams form a line perpendicular to the touchline one meter apart. A player from the non-offending team calls a play and throws the ball into the air between the two lines and players from each team try to gain possession of the ball.

Perhaps the most misunderstood rugby formation is a scrum. This is a method to restart the game after the referee determines the ball has been passed or knocked forward. A bound group of players from each team forms a tunnel with the opposition. The non-offending team puts the ball into the tunnel by rolling it into the middle. Each team pushes forward until one player is able to hook the ball with the feet and push it to the back-row players of his team. Rugby has 15 players on each team. Everyone on pitch plays offense and defense, and the number of each player signifies that player's specific position. Players number 1 through 8 are forwards; these are the bigger guys on the field. Players numbered 9 through 15 are backs and the smaller, quicker members of the team. Forwards are running back/linebackers and more likely to take the ball into contact, tackle and protect the ball. Backs are the corners/wide-recievers. With quick hands and speed, they play more in the open field.

Who plays?

Unlike football, rugby is not male-dominated. Almost 40 percent of all U.S. players are female. In the last decade, women's rugby has been at the top or close to the top of fastest growing sports.

Locally, Columbia, Charleston and Augusta have men's and women's club teams that compete regionally and nationally. Most colleges have rugby programs, and 17 high school teams participated in a state championship last year. Georgia has a similar high school tournament.

Though thought of as a game played by foreigners, rugby has been around and played by many well-known individuals.

Over the past 16 years, the commander-in-chief has been a rugby player. George W. Bush played at Yale, while Bill Clinton played while attending Oxford. They join the ranks of other leaders including Pope John Paul II, Che Guevara, Jacques Chirac and Idi Amin.

Other famous American ruggers include singer Meatloaf, Sen. Ted Kennedy, former Secretary of State Jim Baker, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban and late comedian Chris Farley.

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