Chapter 1

Rugby's Beginnings, Allure, and a Basic Overview

IN THIS CHAPTER

Exploring rugby's illustrious past

Understanding how the game is played

Going around the world with rugby

Calling the shots with coaches and referees

Staying in touch with the rugby world

Why do millions of fans around the globe watch 30 players chase an oval ball on a field of grass as if the world would end if they missed one pass, kick, or tackle? Because they're hooked on rugby - a game of passion that's full of action, excitement, and beauty, as well as unpredictable moments and dramatic resolutions on the field, plus unique camaraderie off of it. When played by the best competitors in the sport, rugby satisfies the soul like nothing else.

Rugby's Roots: The Birth of the Game

The game gets its name from Rugby, a town in England's Midlands, where it was first played at Rugby School. The legend goes that in 1823 a schoolboy by the name of William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball in the middle of a soccer game and ran with it, thereby breaking the old rules and setting the stage for an entirely new game (see the following section for the creation of this myth).

What is true is that the game was popularized and the rules codified at Rugby School. The school's alumni spread the game throughout Britain to other schools and universities, like Oxford and Cambridge, and eventually to the far reaches of the British Empire.

The mythical pick-up of William Webb Ellis

William Webb Ellis was indeed a student at Rugby School from 1816 to 1825, and then he went on to study at Oxford before joining the clergy. He died in 1872 and is buried in Menton, in the South of France. But his being a student at Rugby School in 1823 is about as much historical fact as can be determined about him regarding his invention of the game of rugby. In reality, four years after his death the myth was created for a specific purpose - so that the upper classes in England could justify their control of the game. Around the time the story was concocted, rugby was in the throes of a great battle between amateurism and professionalism that would eventually split the sport into two different codes.

Ellis's posthumous anointment as father of the game was a significant event in that battle, and his name lives on today as the embodiment of the sport's crowning achievement, the William Webb Ellis Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the quadrennial World Cup (see Chapter 12 for more about the World Cup).

A century of amateurism

From its beginnings at English public schools, rugby was definitely an elitist pursuit that actively discouraged and prohibited the payment of players. In 1895, after the Rugby Football Union (RFU) refused to allow clubs to compensate players for missing work to play the game, 22 clubs broke away from the union to form the Northern Football Union. This forerunner of professional rugby league (a similar game but with only 13 players) eventually adopted its own set of rules and began paying players - something rugby union wouldn't do for another century.

Up until the 1990s, rugby union was a strictly amateur sport. While there were obviously numerous cases of cushy jobs, special treatment, and under-the-table payments, rugby administrators in both hemispheres diligently ferreted out cases of direct pay-for-play offers and banned those who were caught. Making the jump to rugby league meant no further involvement in rugby union at any level.

The fact that this prohibition against remuneration outlasted even the Olympic movement's similar rule is a testament to the amount of control the game's conservative governors exerted over a worldwide sport. By 1995, the pressures of money and television had become too great and, under threat of losing the best players to league or upstart union competitions, the powers that be capitulated and the sport entered a new era of professionalism.

REASONS WHY RUGBY IS SO AWESOME

We've been collectively around the game from club to international level for almost 70 years, and have observed the following truths about the game. Here are the reasons we think rugby is the best sport in the world:

• Anyone can play rugby. The game does not discriminate - rich or poor, male or female, young or old, every person can enjoy this fantastic game.
• There's a position for everyone. Whether you are 7 feet tall or 5 feet tall, 100 pounds or 300 pounds, fleet as a cheetah or slow as an ox, an appropriate position exists for every body type.
• Everyone participates fully. Although there are 15 different positions, each player uses a skill set that includes running with the ball, passing, tackling, rucking, mauling, and kicking.
• Rugby tests athleticism and courage. Fast running, towering kicking, and fearless tackling are all elements of the game that challenge players to reach their athletic potential in the face of danger.
• Rugby players share a global bond. The game is played in more than 100 countries, but its devotees nevertheless belong to a select group. No rugby player is ever without a friend as long as another rugby player is nearby.
• Rugby has a unique ethos on the field. Rugby is a hard, aggressive game that attracts fierce competitors. Regardless of the intensity, however, honorable conduct is expected of all participants, and you won't find the sort of trash-talking that pollutes most other professional sports in North America.
• Rugby has a unique ethos off the field. The same players who do their best to legally smash each other for 80 minutes during a match will always shake hands and share a beverage and a chat afterward. Whether at a club game or the highest international level, socializing with the opposition is mandatory.
• Rugby is easy to follow. Although it looks chaotic at first, rugby is easy to understand and appreciate when you become familiar with a few simple principles of play.
• Rugby people are cool. Rugby brings together a gregarious, intelligent, diverse group of characters who are fun to be around.
• Rugby has a proud history. While it is new to many North Americans, rugby has a long and storied tradition of competitive excellence, fair play, and sporting spirit that transcends the game itself.

Rugby Union, or simply "rugby," has a passionate, worldwide following and is played in more than half the countries on the planet. Rugby League, or just "league," is a more regionally popular game with adherents mostly located in Northern England, Southern France, and in scattered parts of Australasia. The sole subject of this book is Rugby Union.

How the Game Is Played

At first glance, rugby can look very complicated. The rugby field is covered in a myriad of lines and populated by 30 players running around and performing seemingly disjointed actions while wearing a variety of accoutrements. Don't fear, though - a little bit of explanation will clear up exactly where they are, what they're doing, and what they're wearing.

The field

Rugby is played on a grass field measuring 100 meters long by no more than 70 meters wide (109.4 yards long by 76.5 yards wide). At each end of the field there are goalposts on the goal line and an in-goal area that varies by venue but is usually between 10 and 22 meters long (10.9 yards to 24.1 yards). (All measurements in this book and in rugby are given in meters.)

Lots of lines are marked on a rugby field. The most important ones are the following:

• Goal lines: Players have to reach these lines in order to score.
• 22-meter lines: These lines are vital because they influence where play restarts after the ball is kicked out from behind them.
• Halfway line: This is where play starts after every score.

We talk more about the field - and all its other lines - in Chapter 2.

The scoring

The aim of rugby is to score more points than the opposition. This is done in four different ways:

• Try: The most valuable play is to score a try, which means touching the ball down in the opponent's in-goal area or on their goal line. Doing so is worth five points and earns that team the right to attempt a conversion kick.
• Conversion kick: This kick is worth an additional two points. The conversion kick is taken from a spot in line with where the ball was originally grounded, so scoring as close to the posts as possible is best.
• Penalty kick: Penalties for various infractions can be used to take a kick at goal, which is worth three points.
• Dropped goal: A dropped goal, which occurs when the player drops the ball on the ground and then kicks it just as it bounces, is worth three points if it goes through the uprights.

We cover scoring in greater detail in Chapter 2.

The gear

In the old days, rugby players wore boots, socks, jerseys, and maybe a bit of tape. The laws have changed over the years to allow much more safety gear to be worn. In the modern era, seeing players wearing padded headgear, compression shorts, light padding under their jerseys to protect shoulders and ribs, and, of...