Useful Notes / Rugby Laws

“Football (Soccer) is 90 minutes of pretending you’re hurt. Rugby is 80 minutes of pretending you aren’t”

—Anonymous

Rugby union is a form of football played around the world. It tends to play second fiddle to Association Football, except in New Zealand and Wales where it is the official national sport, but both the Six Nations and Rugby Championship annual tournaments gain the undivided attention of their respective hemispheres when they take place and the quadrennial Rugby World Cup is one of the most-watched events in global sport. The name, according to legend, comes from the English town of Rugby, where the sport was (allegedly) invented. In reality the sport is arguably the purest modern version of the sport played throughout Europe for many centuries and which was generally known as “football” before the Football Association was formed. It is arguably therefore the oldest of all European sports.

The laws of rugby union (referring to them as “rules” is likely to draw ire from dedicated rugby fans) are simple in concept and devilishly complex in execution (and it is not unknown for Rugby referees to actually *be* lawyers off the field), but we will attempt to summarise the important elements you will see in a game of rugby here.

The basic principle is simple: two teams, each consisting of 15 players (plus 8 substitutes), compete against each other for 80 minutes, broken into two 40 minute halves. The aim is to score more points by the end of the match than the opposition, and scoring is achieved in two main ways:

• By scoring a try (similar to a “touchdown” in American Football) in the opposition’s goal area. This area is referred to as the in-goal area and occupies the area between the dead-ball line (i.e. the line marking where the pitch stops), the try-line, and the touchlines which run parallel up either side of the pitch. To score a try, a player must ground the ball within this area. A try is worth 5 points.
• By kicking the ball through the posts. Rugby posts are set up like an H, with two uprights and a crossbar, and to score points player must kick the ball between the uprights and over the crossbar. This is (usually) worth 3 points, and is most commonly attempted as a result of the opposition conceding a penalty through a rules infringement of some kind (penalties are a significant aspect of rugby, and will be covered in detail later). However, a player may also attempt a drop-kick (so called because the player must literally drop the ball onto the ground before kicking it for the kick to be legal) which if successful also awards 3 points for a drop goal, and after a try is scored the team’s kicker is given an attempt to convert the try for an additional 2 points (so a converted try is worth 7 points).

The Pitch

• The official dimensions for a rugby pitch are that the area of open play (try-line to try-line) should be no longer than 100 metres and no wider than 70 metres. The size allotted to the in-goal areas is variable, but should be equal for both teams, and between 10 and 22 metres long.
• In addition to the try-lines, touchlines (i.e. the lines marking the width of the pitch) and half-way line, rugby pitches have a number of other lines marked on them, with a line marked 10 metres (the ten) from the half-way line on each side, and another 22 metres from each side’s try-line (the twenty-two). There are also dotted lines running parallel with the touchline 5 metres in-field, which denote where players can and can't be involved during a line-out, which is covered in more detail later.
• The other thing to bear in mind about the pitch in a game of rugby is that, in rugby, all lines are considered part of the area they denote. Therefore a player who touches the touchline is considered in-touch (i.e. out of play), and a player who grounds the ball on the try-line is considered to have scored a try.

Rules of Play

There are three main forms of play in rugby, open play, the setpiece, and the breakdown.

Open Play

• Open play in rugby is fairly simple. The team currently in possession of the ball attempts to make their way towards the opposition’s try-line, while the team not currently in possession attempts to stop them and, usually, reclaim possession of the ball for themselves. “Open play” generally consists of slightly under half a rugby match’s play time (so the ball is in open play for an average of around 34 minutes of a match).
• The player in possession of the ball may run with it, pass it laterally or backwards to a team-mate, or kick it in any direction (though kicking it backwards is not recommended). Meanwhile, the opposition may tackle the player in possession of the ball. A rugby tackle must involve an attempt to wrap the player in your arms (basically like a big bear hug) and must be below the shoulders- tackling around the neck or higher is illegal. It is allowed, but not required, to attempt to bring a tackled player to ground. Once a player has been legally tackled, a breakdown ensues, which we’ll discuss more in a moment.
• Play can stop for a number of reasons, the most common of which are a try being scored or a drop-goal kicked, if the ball leaves play in some way (see the setpiece below for more on this), or if there is an infringement. In extreme cases, player injury may also cause play to stop, but only if the injury is potentially serious enough to require urgent medical attention. Rugby also doesn’t have any concept of injury time. The referee is in charge of time-keeping and will call “time off”, but will only do so in exceptional circumstances, meaning that teams holding onto a slim lead can take their time getting ready for setpieces and generally make life harder for the opposition. Once the 40 minutes of the current half is over, the clock goes red, and the next time play stops, the half ends. If, however, play stopped because a penalty was conceded, that penalty is still played out before ending the half.

The Setpiece

• There are two different kinds of setpiece, and how frequently they occur in a match will vary depending on a lot of factors. The two types of setpiece are called scrums and line-outs.

The Scrum

• Possibly the most famous element of rugby union, the scrum is a complex and sometimes frustrating area of play which can make a big difference to the outcome of a match. It also possesses a lot of very complicated rulings and can be near-impenetrable to a newcomer; in practice outside of the elite level a lot of the referees don't get it either. We will attempt to describe it as succinctly and clearly as possible here.
• The scrum is a method of restarting play in a fashion which allows both teams to compete for possession of the ball, and which occurs after a minor infringement, or when play comes to a halt. There are lots of situations that can cause a referee to call for a scrum, but the most common ones are:
  • The ball is knocked on. This means that the ball has been dropped from the hands of a player, during open play, and has bounced on the ground nearer to the opposition try-line than it was when dropped. Put another way, a knock on is an instance of a player dropping the ball forwards. If they drop the ball but it hits the ground no closer to the posts than where it was dropped from then it is not a knock on and play continues (though referees may occasionally forget this last element). This means that when handling the ball is tricky e.g. because you are playing in a driving rainstorm, you will see a lot more scrums than when conditions are more agreeable. If a team knocks on, then the opposition get the put-in to the scrum.
  • A player makes a forward pass. This is tricky to define, as the physical laws of momentum mean that if a player makes a lateral (i.e. sideways) pass while running forward, the ball will travel forwards. The method used in the modern game to determine if a pass is forward is to look at the movement of the player’s hands as the ball leaves them, but there is still a lot of argument surrounding this. If a team makes a forward pass, the opposition gets the put-in.
  • A team concedes a penalty. When a team concedes a penalty, the opposition is given a choice as to what they will do, and they may opt to take a scrum with the put-in.
  • Play naturally comes to a halt. It’s not uncommon, particularly if play is very close to one team’s tryline, for upwards of 10 players to be in a big pile on the ball as they desperately try to score/defend. When this sort of thing happens it’s not uncommon for the referee to stop play and call for a restart via scrum (who gets the put in depends on if the ball/carrier is grounded (a ruck; the team who took the ball into contact gets the put it) or still on their feet (a maul; the opposition gets the put in). The other, similar, common reason for a scrum is if a player has got over the opposition tryline but was unable to ground the ball successfully, usually because there is a defending player preventing him from doing so. In this case the referee takes them back to 5 metres from the tryline and calls for a scrum, with the attacking team getting the put-in.

• The basic principle of a scrum works as follows: 8 players from each team (referred to as the forwards) form up on each other with 3 players at the front, 2 directly behind them and 3 more arranged behind and around them. Each team’s forwards then line up directly opposite each other and, on the ref’s call of “Crouch! Bind!” engage, with the 3 players in each team’s front row binding onto the clothing of the player opposite them to lock them in place. Each team will have a 9th player floating around at this point, called the scrum-half, and the scrum-half of the team who won the put-in has the ball. When the referee calls “Set!”, the two packs of forwards push against each other, though not too hard. When this big mass of bodies is stable, the referee will indicate to the scrum half that he may put the ball in, and the scrum half then rolls the ball into the space between the feet of each team’s front row. The players in the scrum then attempt to push the ball behind them, to the rest of their team, using their feet, assuming something doesn’t go wrong first.

• There are a huge number of complexities to the scrum, and it is a contentious area of the game. Many fans consider it to be one of the code’s most important features and to be a large part of what distinguishes the code from its close sister, league. Others feel it to be an unnecessarily-complicated, drawn-out, boring and ridiculous element which blights the modern game. We recommend you be very careful getting pulled into this argument.

The Lineout

• In stark contrast to the scrum, the lineout is very simple. Lineouts occur when the ball goes into touch, i.e. it or a player possessing it leaves the field of play by touching or crossing the touchline on either side. When this occurs, the team who did NOT take the ball out of play gets to throw it back in to restart play (unless the ball went into touch due to a penalty kick, in which case the team who took the kick restarts play). A selection of players from both team, usually some or all of the forwards ^note  Although sometimes it may be more, as when Wales put their entire team into the lineout in a desperate attempt to score against New Zealand in 2012 form up next to each other in a line perpendicular to the touchlines, with a gap between each team of no less than 1 mere, and the ball is thrown back in over their heads to be caught by one of the players. The throw must be straight down the middle of the gap between the two teams.

The Breakdown

• The breakdown occurs when a player is tackled, and can take two forms, a ruck or a maul. Both are very complicated, and will be summarised in brief here.

The ruck

• If a player, after being legally tackled, is brought to ground, then a ruck will form once a player from each team makes contact with a player from the opposition team, provided neither player was involved in the original tackle. Once a ruck has formed, the team who did not have possession when the ruck was formed are not allowed to interfere with the ball, unless they do something called “counter-rucking” in which they drive the other team back over the ball. The ruck finishes when the team in possession passes it back out to a teammate who is not involved in the ruck (typically by the scrum-half). Note that there is a period between a player being tackled and a ruck being formed, and during that period it is legal for a defending player to take the ball from the tackled player, provided he stays on his feet and is not supporting his body weight with his hands (this bit gets very complicated). This is commonly known as "jackling", and it can and does win teams games.

The maul

• A maul is similar to a ruck, the major difference being that they occur when a player has been tackled and remains on their feet, rather than going to ground. The point of a maul is that, unlike a ruck, it can move around, and it can be an effective method for teams in both attack and defence. It is illegal for the defending team to cause the maul to collapse onto the ground, and doing so will concede a penalty. Conversely, for a maul to be legal the player carrying the ball has to either be in contact with an opposition player or "bound on" to a teammate, who must also be bound onto a teammate, and so on, until you get a player bound onto an opposition player. If the player with the ball detaches from his teammates and continues to run forward with the ball, his teammates are obstructing play, and they concede a penalty. This is known as a "truck and trailer".

Players and their positions

A player’s position in rugby is very significant in terms of what their responsibilities and roles are on the pitch. Rugby is a game of specialists, and while it’s not as compartmentalised as American Football, it is nevertheless the case that most rugby players only ever play in one or two positions.

The Forwards

• 1- Loose-head Prop. Props are part of the front row of the scrum, and it is generally the area of play on which they are judged the most closely. The loose-head prop is so called because, when they bind, they will have the opposition prop’s head on one side of their head and nothing on the other side. In the scrum, the loose-head’s main role is to hold his side’s scrum up and make sure the player next to him, the hooker, is able to do his job (see below). A typical prop, either loose or tight head, looks like the result of a lumberjack mating with a beer barrel (or possibly a small, partially shaved bear), and so they are not known for their nimble footwork or rapid pace, but rather their size and hitting power. However, these days, many are capable of moving frighteningly quickly. Famous props include Jason Leonard (England, Lions), Os du Randt and Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira (both South Africa), and Adam Jones (Wales, Lions).
• 2- Hooker. Also part of the front row, the hooker’s job in the scrum is to “hook” the ball with their feet, pushing it backwards after it has been put in by the scrum half. The hooker is almost always the player to throw the ball in during a lineout.^note The rules do not require that any specific player throw the ball in; traditionally the scrum half or winger threw it in, and the scrum half still does if the hooker is unavailable for any reason, such as injury. However, in the modern game the hooker gets this role by default because players at the other positions have more important roles in that phase of play. In open play they tend to act as a sort of generic forward, running around putting in tackles, rucking, and carrying the ball (usually short distances and into a group of offending tacklers). Famous hookers include Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand), Keith Wood (Ireland, Lions; aka “The Angry Potato” because of his bald head, Irish nationality and cheerful demeanour), and John Smit and Bismarck du Plessis (both South Africa).
• 3-Tight-head prop. So-called because, in the scrum, their heads are always between the heads of the loose-head and the hooker, tight-heads’ responsibility in the scrum is disruptive. It’s their job to try and disrupt the opposition front row, and if possible win a penalty for their team (often this is done through semi-legal means, which is why you will sometimes hear people refer to “the dark arts of scrimmaging”). Otherwise, just like loose-heads their primary role is to trundle around and hit people.
• 4 & 5- Locks. The locks are the two players who form up directly behind the front row in the scrum, which is why they are sometimes referred to as the “second row”. In the scrum, their job is to provide the majority of the scrum’s pushing power, acting as “the engine room” of the scrum. In lineouts they are the players usually targeted to catch the ball when it is thrown, and as a result they are usually giants (Richie Gray of Scotland is 6 foot 10 inches/2.08 m tall, and he’s not the tallest in rugby right now), though they also have to be mobile and fit to get around the pitch and tackle. Famous locks include Martin Johnson (England, Lions), John Eales (Australia)^note one of the few forwards noted for his goal kicking ability, Willie John McBride (Ireland, Lions), Victor Matfield (South Africa), Paul O’Connell (Ireland, Lions), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales, Lions) ^note now the most-capped player of all time and Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)^note 2014 world player of the year
• 6 & 7- Flankers. Flankers are generally expected to be primarily tacklers and breakdown specialists. In the scrum they operate in the “back row” and are there mainly to provide additional pushing power. Their position in the scrum allows them to disengage from it very quickly so they are usually the ones to spot an opponent trying to steal some ground with the ball and tackle them. Their other major responsibility is to try and win possession of the ball at the breakdown, sometimes through semi-legal means. In addition to this they are also expected to be able to carry the ball effectively and tend to be the fastest players in the pack, something indicated by their other name of 'Wing Forward'. Famous flankers include François Pienaar^note played by Matt Damon in Invictus (South Africa), Richie McCaw ^note widely considered one of if not the greatest rugby players of all time, and until recently the all-time leader for most international appearances (New Zealand), Michael Hooper (Australia), and Thierry Dusautoir (France).
• 8- Number 8. The only position to lack a specific name, number 8s are the player at the back of the scrum, and their job is to provide stability, and to help the scrum-half maintain control of the ball as the scrum is completing. In some ways they function like an extra flanker, but in open play they are expected to be effective at carrying the ball and making ground, and are usually enormous. Famous Number 8s include Lawrence Dallaglio (England, Lions), Mervyn “Merv the Swerve” Davies (Wales, Lions), Sergio Parisse (Italy)^note notable as one of the few Italian players who would find a place in pretty much any other national team, Sam Warburton (Wales, Lions) and Kieran Read (New Zealand) ^note  a strong candidate for best rugby player in the world as of July 2014.

The Backs

• 9- Scrum Half. Sometimes also known as the “half-back” Scrum halves are the link between the forwards and the backs. They put the ball into the scrum and then collect it again at the rear to pass it out to the backs, and they are also generally responsible for passing the ball to the backs from a ruck (where the big forwards have generally won it for them). They are generally expected to be small, nimble and good at passing. Famous scrum halves include George Gregan (Australia), Joost van der Westhuizen (South Africa), Gareth Edwards^note who scored “that try”- google it! (Wales, Lions), and Agustín Pichot (Argentina).
• 10- Fly Half. Also known as the “first five-eighth” (for reasons too complicated to explain here), these are the closest equivalent rugby has to the quarterback in American Football. The flyhalf is essentially the mastermind of the team’s attack, and is expected to be able to run, pass and kick the ball effectively and orchestrate the team’s attacking moves (usually). This is frequently the star player of the team and many teams which have been otherwise average have been raised to greatness by the presence of a top quality fly half. Fly halves frequently also take the responsibility for taking penalty kicks for their team, which means they are not infrequently the highest points scorers for a team in any given match. Famous fly halves include Jonny Wilkinson (England, Lions) ^note the greatest ever English rugby player in most people’s opinion, famous for scoring the winning drop goal, off his weaker foot, to win the 2003 World Cup., Dan Carter (New Zealand) ^note probably the best fly half in the world, the 2015 world player of the year, and also the all-time leading points scorer in international rugby union, Michael Lynagh, Stephen Larkham (both Australia) and Jonathan Davies (Wales, Lions).
• 12 & 13- Centres. Divided into the Inside (12) and Outside (13) Centre. Inside Centres usually function as something vaguely resembling back-up Fly Halves, and the two are often interchangeable - indeed, even at international level, it is not uncommon for a team with two top class Fly Halves to play one at Inside Centre. Meanwhile, Outside Centres exist more as a gigantic battering ram in midfield, albeit one faster and more mobile than the forwards. Sometimes this dynamic is mixed up, with the Inside Centre serving as the battering ram instead. Their main job is to create attacking opportunities both by being dangerous in their own right and by being able to bring other attackers in. Centres therefore need to be either big and hard to stop, or fast and hard to catch. They will also generally be expected to be able to pass the ball accurately and kick well. Famous centres include Jamie Roberts (Wales, Lions, the battering ram centre personified, occasionally fills in as either flanker or number 8), Danie Gerber (South Africa), Tana Umaga (New Zealand), Jeremy Guscott (England, Lions) and Brian O’Driscoll ^note the most capped rugby player until being surpassed by Richie McCaw, and a strong candidate for best centre in the history of the game (Ireland, Lions).
• 11 & 14- Wingers. Wingers were originally the sprinters, the fastest players on the team, and their key if not only role was to score tries. In the modern era, a little more is expected of them but they still tend to be graded primarily on their scoring. In the “old days” wingers tended to be pretty small, defined by raw speed, agility, and ability to quickly change direction. The last great example of this kind of winger was Wales' Shane "Shimmering Shane" Williams, who, though only 5'7"/1.7 m tall at most, made up for it through sheer speed and quick feet, the latter earning him his nickname. However, the arrival of Jonah Lomu at the 1995 Rugby World Cup drastically redefined what a winger was, and since then a series of very large men have become extremely successful wingers, such as Wales' George North, standing at 6'4.5"/1.94 m and outweighing several of the Wales forward pack, the youngest try scorer for Wales who made his mark at 18 by scoring 2 tries on his début, against reigning World Champions South Africa. Famous wingers include the aforementioned Lomu, who even after his premature death in 2015 is one of the biggest names in world rugby, having pretty much redefined the entire sport on his debut for New Zealand, David Campese (Australia), Brian Lima^note also known as “the Chiropractor” because of his penchant for tackling people so hard it would rearrange their spine (Samoa), Bryan Habana (South Africa), and Shane Williams ^note who holds the distinction of proving, at a time when wingers were becoming freaking enormous, that there was still room in the game for a tiny little guy who could run circles round anyone, being especially known for his acceleration and footwork, both of which earned him his nickname. Such was his ability that after his retirement from international rugby, he was called up at the age of 36 for injury cover for the Lions when he'd simply gone out to commentate.(Wales, Lions).
• 15- Fullback. Fullbacks are typically the last line of defence in a rugby team, there to collect the opposition’s kicks and make tackles on players threatening to score. They also often feature heavily in attack, and are sometimes capable goal-kickers - frequently enough that it isn't particularly unusual, anyway e.g. Wales/Lions fullback Leigh Halfpenny. The position is currently undergoing something of a bit of a golden age with every Tier 1 country featuring at least one excellent player in that position. Fullbacks need to be able to kick long and accurately, field kicks from the opposition well, and preferably be comfortable with ball in hand. Famous fullbacks include Serge Blanco (France), Gavin Hastings (Scotland, Lions), Christian Cullen (New Zealand), JPR Williams ^note played a key role in “that try” (Wales, Lions), and Ayumu Goromaru ^note played a key role in the upset against South Africa (Japan).

Additionally, some players, known as 'Utility Players', are known for being comfortable in multiple positions even at the highest level. While this flexibility is generally between a couple of associated positions (e.g. Fly Half and Inside Centre, Winger and Fullback, Flanker and Number 8), sometimes the combination is more unusual and varied - Jamie Roberts (Wales, Lions) playing as Inside/Outside Centre, Winger, Fullback, Flanker, and Number; 8 John Thornett (Australia) played at Flanker, Number 8, Lock and Prop for the Wallabies from 1955 to 1967; and Mike Catt (England, Lions) played as a Fullback, Fly Half, Inside Centre, and Winger. Outside the Elite level, where holding down a job, family commitments and injuries limit availability and Jack of All Trades is often more useful than a specialist, it is much more common, and with much greater variety, for a player to be able to fill in at multiple positions.