The Basics

 

Don't be fooled - it might look complicated if you're a beginner, but Rugby Union isn't the most difficult of games to pick up. At heart, it's all about gaining territory, and driving forward up the pitch so that points can be scored. Seriously. That's all.

The Golden Rules

  1. Keep running forwards
  2. Only pass backwards
  3. If in doubt, keep a tight hold of the ball and ram into anyone running at you

Scoring

Points can be scored in several ways: the most obvious way - and one you'll probably already know - is a try - grounding the ball in the area behind the try-line. Score a try and you'll get five points. If that happens, the team that scored then gets the chance to kick the ball between the goalposts and score an additional two points. Think Jonny Wilkinson and you'll know what we're on about.

You don't have to wait until a try has been scored however, if you're close enough to the posts, you can attempt to score a drop goal - but you'll have a boat-load of big blokes running towards you as you do, so maybe it's best to wait until a penalty has been awarded, when you can elect to take a kick at goal undisturbed. Either way, you'll score three points if you succeed.

Forward and Backs

Assuming everyone has turned up, each team starts the match with fifteen players on the field. These are divided into eight Forwards and seven Backs.

Forwards are generally bigger and stronger - men of Herculean strength and girth who can't run for toffee, but who take part in the scrum and lineout as well as piling on whoever has the ball.

Backs are generally smaller but faster, more agile and often the main points-scorers for the team. They are basically there to capitalise on all the hard work of the forwards by outmanoeuvring the last few defenders that aren't in a big heap on the floor and thus taking all the glory.

Rucks and Mauls

At the beginning of the game, the captains and the referee toss a coin to decide which team will kick off first. Play then starts with a drop kick, with the players chasing the ball into the opposition's territory, and the other side trying to retrieve the ball and advance it. If the player with the ball is tackled, frequently a ruck will result.

Now, not many people know this, but the word "ruck" is old English (of Norse descent) for "ruddy great pile up" and they generally start with a player being tackled and wrestled to the floor. Once down, he must set the ball down for someone else to pick up (though if smart, he will have angled himself in such a way that the ball is nearer his team). Anyone can grab the ball once its been presented and so anyone and everyone will attempt to grab the ball.

A maul occurs in much the same way as a ruck, although at the start, the player isn't thrown to the floor because somehow (sometimes intentionally) he manages to stay upright. Opposition players will still try to grab the ball, but friendly players can form around him, offering protection and driving him closer to the try line. If the ball stops moving, then the referee will offer a scrum to the team with the ball.

Scrums

These are one of the most iconic parts of the game, and involve the forwards from both teams binding closely together in tight formation and pushing against each other as hard as they can. The ball is fed into the scrum by the team with the advantage, and both teams have to drive forward so that the poor bugger in the middle (the hooker) can get his feet to the ball and knock it back to his team. Kids, don't do this at home - you'll need proper training on how to contest a scrum because there's a lot that can go wrong, but once you know what you're doing, it's actually quite fun.

Lineouts

When the ball leaves the side of the field, a lineout is awarded against the team which last touched the. The lineout is usually awarded at the position where it left the field of play. To form a lineout, players from each team line up in parallel lines; a player (usually the hooker) from the team that was awarded the lineout throws the ball down the gap between the two lines of players, who can jump or be lifted in an attempt to secure possession of the ball.

Duration

Oh, and if you didn't know games are divided into 40-minute halves, with a welcome break (and oranges if you're lucky) in the middle. The sides exchange ends of the field after the half-time break and get straight back into the action.