Rugby is unique in that play is continuous even after players are tackled on the field. Players must use a variety of phases such as lineouts, mauls, rucks and scrums to retain possession and advance the game towards the oppositions tryline (endzone). Participants may only pass the ball backwards or sideways with no blocking allowed. Two teams of 15 players have 80 minutes to advance the ball past their opponents’ side of the field (pitch) and touch it to the ground for a score worth 5 points (try). Rugby is a game in which the object is to carry the ball over the opponent’s goal line and force it to the ground to score. Not only is the game played to the laws, but also within the spirit of the laws.
At the heart of rugby is a unique ethos which it has retained over the years. Two centuries later, rugby football has evolved into the world’s second most popular sport, with millions of people playing, watching and enjoying the game. Legend has it that in 1823, during a game of school soccer in the town of Rugby, England, a young man named William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran towards the opposition’s goal line.
