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The Aim of the Game
The aim of the game is very simple – use the ball to score more points than the other team. You can run with the ball, kick it and pass it, but passing forwards is not allowed. Rugby union is a contact sport, so you can tackle an opponent in order to get the ball, as long as you stay within the rules. There is a referee, aided by two touch judges (one on each side of the pitch), to decide how the rules should be applied during a game.
There are several ways to score points.
* A try – five points are awarded for touching the ball down in your opponent’s goal area.
* A conversion – two points are added for a successful kick through the goalposts after a try
* A goal kick – three points are awarded for a penalty kick or drop goal through the posts
If both teams score the same amount of points, or no points are scored, then the match is a draw. In some cases, extra time is played to decide who wins.
More Helpful Links
IRB’s Official Site for learning about rugby
The Legend of Rugby
In the late 1700s and early 1800s, a more civilized type of mob football was a common pastime at English boy’s schools. Such games had very loose rules, but it was apparently understood that running with ball was right out. According to legend, that changed in 1823 when young William Webb Ellis, a student at Rugby School, picked up the ball and ran toward the goal. After Webb’s scamper, the attitude among spectators and players seemed to be, “Forget the rules, running the ball is cool!” (We admit they most likely didn’t say “cool” in 1823, but you get the idea.)
We will never know for sure if the legend of Webb Ellis and his jaunt down the field is completely true, but we do know that the debate over whether or not the ball should be carried continued for 40 years. On October 26, 1863, representatives from 11 schools and clubs met at the Freemason’s Tavern in London to once and for all hash out official rules of the game. One club, Blackheath, eventually withdrew from the debates after the group voted not to allow running with the ball or hacking an opponent. The other schools went on to form what became association football (soccer). The break between rugby and soccer was now official
