History of Rugby

Developed from the rules of soccer, modern rugby originted in England in 1823. Historians question the story of William Webb Ellis changing the rules of the game to involve handling the ball, but is the most commonly known origin of the sport. This new found game, rugby, grew popular throughout England schools. The 'gentlemen' of the Rugby Football Union clashed with the working class's Northern Rugby Union, eventually forming two versions of rugby. In 1895, the Northern Rugby Union became known as Rugby League. Today, there are minimal differences between Rugby League and Rugby Union. The differences basically included the number of players on the field, scoring and roughing. The first international match between England and Scotland was played in 1871. Rugby is now played in over 100 countries across the globe.

Rules and regulation

Rugby is a game played by two teams, 13 to 15 players on each side, who try to score as many points as possible by carrying, passing, kicking and grounding an oval shaped ball. The object of the game is to gain possesion of the ball and take it to the opposition territory to place it in the in-goal area.
A Try is scored when a player grounds the ball in his opponents in-goal. After scoring a try, a player from that team will attempt a conversion.
A Conversion is a kick from a spot on the field that is in-line with where the try was just scored.
A Goal is scored from either a conversion after a try or from the spot where the referee has awarded a penalty.
A Field Goal can be scored at any time during general play by drop-kicking the ball over the cross-bar.
The team that has scored the most number of points at the end of play is the winner.
Time: The game is played over two 40 minute halves.
Basic Premises: Players are divided into backs and forwards. There are eight forwards whose job is to gain possesion of the ball and get it to the backs. The Backs will develop a running play and work together to score tries (goals). The backs are more mobile, but the positions are very interchangeable.
The game of Rugby football includes strength, discipline, technique and passion. There are not many differences in Rugby League and Rugby Union.