Rugby Primer

higher contrast version of this page

Read this before you come to play. Understand that these rules are a modification of the general rules, as we don't, in general, play on fields with goalposts. Also, I will explain this relative to American football, because most readers are more familiar with football than anything else.

Important Rules

• you can lateral the ball, kick it, and run with it
• off-sides: every member on the ball-carrying team should be behind behind the player with the ball
• off-sides blocking and tackling is not allowed, on-sides blocking and tackling is allowed
• typically, players will form into a spread-out flying V shape across the field, with the ball carrier in front, so he can lateral to either side easily, and the ball can continue down the line
• we disregard advantage and free kicks, in the interest of simplicity
• we disregard point-after kicks and penalty kicks, since goalposts are not available
• kick-off is much like football, only any style of kick is acceptable
• possession isn't as important as in football, and turnovers are more common
• the formation of scrums, types of kicks, style of tackling, and other general strategies will be taught on the field

Moving the Ball

• you can't throw the ball forward
• you can lateral it, as in American football
• you can kick it in any direction
• you can run with the ball, as far as you want, and in any direction

Tackles

• when tackled, you have to release the ball immediately, either towards another time, or on the ground
• neither the tackler or tacklee can recover the released ball until they come to their feet
  • generally someone else picks up the ball

Off-sides

• players in front of the ball-carrier are off-sides
• being off-sides is only a penalty if you block opposing players, receive the ball, or block an opposing player who receives the ball (if he receives a kick, for example)

Scrummage

• when there is a mutual infraction of the rules on different teams, or whenever play needs to be stopped, a scrum results
• general procedure:
  1. ref stops play, calls for a scrummage
  2. players form on both sides
  3. ref calls to start
  4. teams start pushing against each other
  5. another play on the non-offending team rolls the ball into the scrum, down the center
  6. eventually, one side is pushed back so far that a player in the back of the scrum on one team can pick it up and run with it
• if the scrum collapses, or is disturbed in some other way, the ref can call for another

Ruck

• like an impromtu scrum
• forms when players gather around a dead ball
• to join, a player must lock arms with someone else participating in the ruck
• ends as a scrum ends
• You may not enter a ruck from off-sides!
• a maul is like a ruck
  • when players gather around a player carrying the ball
  • ends when the player carrying the ball emerges

Scoring

• a try is scored when a player carries the ball into the endzone, and downs it
• try is worth five points
• (this is the only way to score when we play on a field without goalposts, i.e. situations parallel to a safty in football do not have value)