Rugby Learning
WElcome to rugby
Welcome to rugby and the Sunday Morning Rugby Club! We are excited about your interest in this incredible pastime and our organization. Rugby is a sport of physical and mental toughness, cunning strategy, and most importantly, inclusivity and togetherness. All shapes and sizes play a role on the team, and with practice and determination, anyone can succeed on the pitch! After hard-fought matches in the rain, shine, mud, snow, and even ice, we celebrate the day with opponents afterwards!
You’ll learn the most by coming to practice, but here are some of the basics for the greatest sport on grass!
The RUgby Pitch
A rugby field is called a “pitch.” Here are some rugby pitch basics:
A rugby pitch is generally about 120 meters long.
The field of play is 100 meters, while the tryzone, or “In Goal,” is between 6-20 meters.
The start of play happens with a kickoff at the 50 meter line, or the “Halfway Line”.
The receiving team lines up at the 10 meter line to gather the ball.
During a kickoff, the ball must travel at least 10 meters or it is turned over.
The sidelines are called “Touch Lines” and when the ball travels out of bounds, it is said to be “in touch”.
The uprights are tall poles that sit at the front of the tryzone. They are an indicator of where the tryline is and where the ball must cross to be touched down in order to score, which is called a “try”.
Rugby Positions
1-8 Forwards, 9-15 Backs:
LOOSEHEAD PROP: Stockier individuals keen on contact and battling it out for scrum dominance. Head is outside the scrum.
HOOKER: In charge of “hooking” the ball with their feet when the ball is put in the scrum. Good decision maker.
TIGHTHEAD PROP: Stockier individuals keen on contact and battling it out for scrum dominance. In the scrum, 3’s head is between the opposing hooker’s head and loosehead prop.
LOCK: Taller with good leg and arm strength that “locks” the scrum together. Ready to crash-ball into opposing team at any time.
LOCK: Taller with good leg and arm strength that “locks” the scrum together. Ready to crash-ball into opposing team at any time.
BLINDSIDE FLANKER: Fast, mobile, and scrappy, flankers are at the center of the action, ready to attack for the ball off the scrum.
OPENSIDE FLANKER: Fast, mobile, and scrappy, flankers are at the center of the action, ready to attack for the ball off the scrum.
NUMBER 8: Tackling, ball-carrying, and play-making, the #8 has explosive strength and running capabilities with the ability to make individual snap decisions during play.
SCRUMHALF: The link between forwards and back, each phase out of the ruck begins with the Scrummie. Field awareness is a must-have. Think of them as the QB in American football.
FLYHALF: The conductor of the backline. Pretty much any decision for back field play comes from the 10.
LEFT WING: Ready on the edges of play, the wings are the finishers of any attack. Must have a need for speed.
INSIDE CENTER: Always on the prowl for holes in the defensive line, the 12 should have solid passing and kicking skills.
OUTSIDE CENTER: Always on the prowl for holes in the defensive line, the 13 should have great burst speed and know when to offload to the wings.
RIGHT WING: Ready on the edges of play, the wings are the finishers of any attack. Must have a need for speed.
FULLBACK: Good hands for catching kicks and eyes for reading the entire pitch. The 15 is your all-around solid player, on the ready for passing, catching, kicking, and sprinting.
SMRFC Positioning
Basic illustration to see how positions would line up.
Links to Rugby Resources:
The legendary referee, Nigel Owens!
Rugby Basics
Here we will go over a few of the must-knows and terms for rugby play:
LAWS: Rules in rugby are called, “laws”.
RESPECT THE REF: The referee is always referred to as “sir” or “ma’am,” depending on their preference. At no point should anyone but the captains be speaking to the ref. Any yelling or “chirping” at the ref will often earn a player a card and time in the sin-bin.
PASSING BACKWARDS: The ball can only be passed behind the ball-carrier. If a the ball is passed in front of the ball-carrier, it is a forward pass penalty and a turnover.
KNOCK ON: The ball cannot be “knocked” forward off of the arms or hands of a player, including contact made during a tackle.
INTO TOUCH: If the ball goes out of the bounds of play, or “into touch,” a line-out will reinitiate play.
LINEOUT: Forwards lift a player into the air to gather the ball thrown back into play by the hooker. Happens when the ball goes into touch.
SCRUM: After an infringement, the forwards, or “Pack”, form a scrum and connect with the opposing scrum. The ball will be put into “the tunnel” by the Scrumhalf. Each scrum will then contest to drive over the ball to reinitiate play.
RUCK: After a tackle on a ball-carrier, the ball is placed on the ground and the team in possession closes around it while on their feet. The scrumhalf will then put the ball in play by moving it past the hindmost foot of the ruck.
WRAPPING: During a tackle, the defending player must make the attempt to wrap the ball-carrier to take them to ground.
TACKLING IN THE AIR: The defending team cannot attempt to tackle a player gathering the ball while they are jumping.
HIGH TACKLE: The tackler cannot hit the ball-carrier above the chest. To do so will result in a penalty. Any head contact will result in a yellow or red card.
ROLL AWAY: Once a tackle is made, the defending player must attempt to roll away from the ruck.
RELEASING THE BALL: Once a ball-carrier is tackled, they must release the ball by placing it on the pitch. Not doing so will result in a turnover.
PLAYING BALL ON GROUND: In order to play the ball, the player must be on their feet and supporting their own weight. Attempting to interact with the ball while on the ground is a penalty.
OFFSIDES: A player cannot play the ball or interact with another player if they are in front of the line of the ball. The must be behind the ball.
OBSTRUCTION: A player on team in possession cannot impede the trajectory of a defending player. This will result in a penalty.
SCORING A TRY: The ball must be controlled and carried over the tryline then touched down to the pitch. If the defending team can hold the ball up from being touched, play moves back to the 5 meter line.
TRY: 5 points are awarded for touching the ball down behind the tryline. The ball will be brought out in a straight line from the point of the try to be kicked between the uprights for another 2 points.
PENALTY KICK: A team that benefits from a penalty can elect to take a penalty kick at goal for 3 points.
