"Rugby" on this server can be interpreted as referring only to rugby union unless explicitly stated otherwise. A
Although the intense bitterness harboured by union officials towards league is gradually dissipating (after 100 years!) it is still against the union rules on amateurism for any rugby union player to be involved with league.
Australia are the current rugby union world champions, and the last world cup encompassed teams from England (the runners up), New Zealand (the previous champions), Scotland, France, Canada, Ireland, Western Samoa, Italy, USA, Wales, Japan, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Romania, and Argentina. The next world cup will be held in South Africa in 1995. Qualifying rounds staged around the world have whittled the 1995 participants down to England, France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Italy, Romania, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Western Samoa, Canada and Argentina.
The structure of the game in most countries is such that there are various levels from club rugby at the bottom, through some district or provincial level, to a national setup with the full national side at the apex.
One important thing about rugby is that it is not just a game for national sides and top players. Many countries start kids playing rugby very young, and there are veterans matches and tournaments around the world for those who continue to enjoy playing until very late in life. In between there are clubs for the serious and social players, most clubs running more than one side to cater for the variations in ambition and ability.
Most countries also have their own internal competitions and national championships. Some also join together to play matches between their various sides. A good example of this is the current Super 10 which involves provincial sides from New Zealand, South Africa and Australia along with the South Pacific Champion (currently Tonga). Another example of international cooperation might be the recent establishment of an inter provincial/district competition involving sides from Scotland and Ireland.
If you don't know of a local club try searching in the
In the US, studs may not contain nails and plastic studs with metal caps are banned, as are American football boots with female studs, i.e. having a threaded post that can become exposed.
Many players recommend that the "tight-five" forwards (i.e. front row and locks) wear particularly sturdy boots with high tops. This is because they tend to get their toes stood on a lot. Loose forwards and backs usually prefer lighter weight boots for greater mobility.
The following is based on the numbering scheme for player's jerseys
currently laid down by the I.R.F.B. for International Matches.
It is commonly, though not universally, adopted by other teams.
(Common variations are the interchange of
6 and 7, the interchange of 11 and 14 or a renumbering of the backline
so that the wingers are 13 and 14. The English club Bath omit the no. 13
jersey because one of their players was once killed wearing it. Some
English clubs even use letters instead. Further, an interesting story is told
about a Scotland vs England match at Twickenham in 1926. King George asked the
president of the S.R.U. about the lack of numbers on the Scots
players' backs and was informed, "This is a rugby match, not a cattle sale".)
Anyway, assuming the displayed numbering scheme:
Players 1-8 are forwards (often referred to as the pack);
players 1-5 are sometimes called the tight-five, or
front-five, (players 1-3 are the front-row) and players
6-8 are the loose forwards (or loosies), or backrow.
Players 9-15 are backs.
and we also give a
1 2 3
6 4 5 7
8
9
10
11 12
13
14
15
A partial list of the individual position names is:
As can be seen there is quite a bit of variation. The IRFB has considered standardizing the names but has not moved forward with this proposal. It is worth noting though that the Laws of the Game already define the terms prop and hooker. One problem with standardizing the names is that the positions themselves are not completely standard. For example, many teams play left and right centre rather than inside and outside centre and a few teams even play left and right flankers.
Of more concern than the variation (which could be considered healthy cultural diversity) are some ambiguities and conflicts. In particular the use of "wing forward" for a flanker is not recommended (it's also an archaic term for an obsolete position associated with the old 2-3-2 scrum, popular in NZ in the 1920s) nor is "breakaway" for the no. 8 (some recognising the term as applying only to the flankers). Similarly the use of "halfback" requires caution (it being recognised as applying only to the no. 9 position in some countries whereas others consider both the no. 9 and no. 10 to be halfbacks). One should especially avoid calling the no. 10 just plain halfback, without a qualifier such as "outside". Possibly the worst abuse is the occasional use of "lock" in Australia to refer to the no. 8.
(The halfback may put the ball in on either side of the scrum but only an imbecile would not choose the loosehead side because otherwise the opposing hooker would be between him and his own hooker.)
The traditional roles of these two players are somewhat different.
Since most of the back play is usually on the open side where there
is more space it is usually the openside flanker's job to be the first to
the breakdown of play and get his hands on any loose ball (or to cause a
breakdown by tackling the ball carrier or otherwise harrying him into
error). Thus, at a scrum where the ball has been won by the opposition,
he will generally break as soon as the ball is out and make a beeline for
the flyhalf who can be frequently seen desperately trying to get a kick
away from underneath the body of the openside diving into the
tackle.
The openside must therefore have very fast acceleration and
be very quick over short distances.
The blindside flanker on the other hand must be
able to stop a blindside move and if the play goes openside he must
then get to the breakdown as quickly as possible where he may be needed
to tidy up after the openside. While he must be fast he doesn't need
to be as fast as the openside and his role is more of a stabilizer
than havoc-wreaker.
In some parts, a fend (i.e. a hand-off) is erroneously interpreted as a stiff arm tackle. This is not correct; a fend is not a tackle and a fend with a stiff arm (and open palm) is perfectly legal.
It can run over a networked CD and supports Soundblaster (though
that is not really necessary and the sound quality is not the best).
It is available from
Unless there are two of these things out there, this was produced in
conjunction with the RFU and is also available
from the RFU shop at the
SuperCoach,
P.O. Box 4060, Halesowen
West Midlands, B63 3BJ
United Kingdom
for 39.95 British Pounds. (There is a special price of 14.10 British Pounds
for teachers/educational establishments and up to 2 additional copies
may be purchased for 12 British pounds. It is rumoured that secondary schools
can even get a free CD.) Prices include VAT.
The previous record was held by Didier Camberabero of France who scored
30 points for France against Zimbabwe in the 1987 World Cup. This
feat was equalled by Rob Andrew for England against Canada in a test
on Dec 10 1994. (Andrew scored 6 conversions and 6 penalty goals.)
These two therefore tie for second place.
Name Country Years Points Matches Average
M.Lynagh Aus 1984-93 760 60 12.67
G.J.Fox NZ 1985-92 573 41 13.98
H.Porta Arg 530
S.Bettarello It 483
A.G.Hastings Scot 1986-93 424 45 9.42
D.Camberabero Fr 1982-93 354 36 9.83
H.E.Botha SA 1980-92 312 28 11.14
M.J.Kiernan Ire 1982-91 308 43 7.16
P.Thorburn W 1985-91 304 37 8.22
J.M.Webb Eng 1987-93 296 33 8.97
The records for various "landmarks" were all held by Grant Fox:
Points Games
100 6
200 13
300 18
400 26
He also has the highest success rate (see above) making him arguably
the greatest place kicker the game has ever seen.
With thanks to Benjamin Clegg, now at
BENC@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU for many items.