Rugby

Rugby is a ball game that you can play on a grassy field. 

Two teams try to move the ball down the field into the opponent’s goal. 

Players score points by carrying the ball across the goal line or by kicking it between goalposts. 

The team that scores more points wins.

Rugby was invented in England in the 1800s. Today it is played throughout the world. 

It is very popular in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

A rugby field is rectangular. It is 70 meters wide and 100 meters long.

Each end of the field has a goal line, and an area called the “in goal" just behind the goal line.

Touchlines run along the sides of the field. 

At the center of each goal line, there are 2 goalposts that are 5.6 meters apart. The goalposts are connected by a crossbar that is 3 meters above the ground. The goalposts and the crossbar form an H shape.

A rugby ball is oval. It is about 28 centimeters long. 

Players usually do not wear helmets. They sometimes wear bands to protect their ears.

A rugby game usually has two 40-minute halves. There are no time-outs, and play rarely stops. The game starts with a kickoff—one team kicks the ball to the other team. The two teams then move up and down the field as they gain and lose control of the ball.

The players may catch the ball, throw it, or run with it. Teammates may pass the ball to each other either sideways or backwards. They may not pass the ball forward. Players may also kick the ball.

The two ways of scoring points in rugby are called tries and goals. 

A player scores a try by touching the ball to the ground behind the opponent’s goal line. 

A player scores a goal by kicking the ball over the crossbar between the opponent’s goalposts. 

After a try, the scoring team can kick a type of goal called a conversion goal. 

As in American football, the team defending its goal tries to tackle the opponent who is carrying the ball. 

The scrum, or scrummage, is only seen in rugby. It is a way to put the ball in play. Six or eight players from each team link their arms and bend forward to form a tightly packed group. The ball is dropped between the two teams. The players use their feet to try to get control of the ball.

According to legend, rugby began at Rugby School in England in 1823. During a soccer game, a student named William Webb Ellis picked up the ball with his hands and ran with it. This went against the rules of soccer, which ban the use of the hands. But it led to the creation of rugby.

A group of English teams formed the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in 1871. The RFU wrote rules for the game.