How And Why Rugby has Developed from a Traditional form to its Modern day Equivalent
Uploaded by james@heathys.screaming.net on Aug 29, 2000
Introduction
Rugby, also known as Rugger, is a football game played with an oval ball by two teams of either 15(Rugby Union) or 13(Rugby League) players each. The object of the game is to score as many points as possible by carrying, passing, kicking and grounding an oval ball in the scoring zone at the far end of the field -- called the in-goal area. Grounding the ball, which must be done with downward pressure, results in a try (worth 5 points). After a try a conversion may be attempted by place kick or drop kick. If the ball passes over the bar and between the goal posts the conversion is successful and results in a further 2 points. Points may also be scored from a drop kick in general play (worth 3 points) and a penalty kick (worth 3 points).
The ball may not be passed forward (though it may be kicked forward) and players may not receive the ball in an offside position, nor may they wait in such a position. Players may not be tackled without the ball. Play only stops when a try is scored, or the ball goes out of play, or an infringement occurs. When the ball goes out it is thrown back in at a line-out where the opposing "forwards" line up and jump for the ball. Infringements result in a penalty, or free kick, or scrum. In a scrum the opposing forwards bind together in a unit and push against the other forwards, trying to win the ball with their feet.
The above is stating the basic game of today but when rugby originated back in the later part of the 19 century then the idea of the game was distinctly different to its modern form
History
Whether in legend or in fact, rugby is said to have originated in 1823 at the Rugby School in England. To this day, a stone marker at the gates of the school commemorates the event when "William Webb Ellis ... with fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it." Ellis and the rest of the world never looked back.
The new sport grew in private schools and universities throughout the United Kingdom, and in 1871 the first Rugby Union was founded in London. Rules for the game were set out based on the...