Rugby Essay Research Paper On a windy

Rugby Essay, Research Paper

On a windy fall evening. The stadium is filled to its capacity. The players take the field as

their crowd yells in anticipation of the big game. The ball is placed for the kicker.

Suddenly the ball is kicked and even through the crowd’s enormous howl, the ball is still

heard by the everyone as it is kicked into the air. The ball is caught by one of the players.

He takes the ball up the field; as he runs, his hardest he dodges supermen throwing their

bodies at the ball carrier. As he runs, he sees the endzone in front of him; the crowd yells

in excitement for the man who is fearlessly dodging the enemy. He breaks one tackle and

then another, and is about to break free and just as he thinks he has avoided all that there

is; he is abruptly side-blinded by the man that was not seen in the corner of his eye. If an

American sportsfan were to read this, then he or she would come to the conclusion that

this is the game of American football. If asked in the British Common Wealth countries

then the response would be different. For I did not describe the kick off of a American

football game but the British game of Rugby. Heart, dedication, perseverance, respect,

hard work, rewards and toughness are some of the words that would describe the two

games that are very similar but at the same time worlds different.

Rugby was said to have originated when a boy in Rugby, England, picked up and

carried the ball during a game of soccer in 1923. Previously, the rules had only allowed

the ball to be kicked. The modern game of rugby dates from the 1860s when it was

adopted and modified by other English schools and universities. In 1871 the English

Rugby Union was formed to standardize the rules. The game is played with an oval ball,

blunter in shape that the American football so that it may easily be bounced and

drop-kicked.

Rugby today is now played in more than 100 countries, including Australia, New

Zealand, Japan, England, France, Italy, Fiji and South Africa. The sports governing

body is the International Rugby Football Board(IRFB). Since 1995 Rugby in the United

States has became more serious. Now the IRFB has pass a resolution that US players can

be paid for the sport that they love.

A rugby team consists of 15 players, divided into 8 forwards and 7 backs. No

substitutions of players are permitted, which seems to say that a rugby player would need

to be in top physical shape to perform on the field. Only when a injury occurs can there be

any substitutions and the injured player may not return to play. The game usually lasts for

80 minutes and is divided into two 40 minute halves with no time-outs.

The rugby field is 109 yards in length and 75 yards in width, and is divided

transversely by two lines that are 24 yards from each goal and a halfway line. The

uprights of the goal are 6 yards apart. They are connected by a horizontal crossbar 3

yards above the ground.

The game begins with a place kick and then by a scrummage or the nick-name

called scrum. The scrum is when the forwards of each team pack together with their arms

across one another’s shoulders and their heads down. Locked together, the forwards

push against the opposing forwards, while attempting to hook the ball backward with

their feet to one of the backs, called the scrum half. Having the ball, the scrum half can

do many things to advance the ball. He can run the ball downfield, pass the ball

downfield, or immediately passing the ball to teammates. If the scrum half passes the ball

, the teammates will attempt to advance the ball forward and across the opponents’ goal

line. Once the ball is over the line the ball must be touched to the ground to what is called

score a try, which is worth 5 points. After scoring a try, a team can attempt a conversion

like in American football. In rugby the conversion kick is taken from anywhere on a line

perpendicular to the goal line were the ball touched down. If the ball is kicked over the

crossbar and between the uprights, team gets 2 more additional points.

No player on the team with possession of the ball is permitted to move downfield

ahead of the ball, and any obstruction of a player not carrying the ball is a foul. There can

be no running, interference or blocking like American football. When a ball carrier is

downed, that player releases the ball, and the game continues. The game, even though it

sounds confusing has only two major rules. The first one is that a player may not pass the

ball forward. The second one is that a player may not touch the ball while it is in play if it

was touched behind scrummage.

American football was developed in the United States in the 19th century. Its

four-fathers being soccer and rugby. Football is played by professionals and amateurs,

football is one of the most popular American sports, attracting thousands of participants

and millions of spectators annuall

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