Alright, just tell me any sport you guys love to watch. If you are from the US of A, you must be saying either American Football, Basketball, or even Baseball. For the rest of the world in that matter, it's traditional 11-a-side football. If you are into motorsport, you must be a fond fan of Formula 1, MotoGP, or any racing series come to mind. If you are a combat sports connoisseur, it's mainly boxing or MMA, depending on which one of the two you most likely to enjoy. Having said that, I think there is one sport that dates to the early formation of the football code, from a school in a small village in England, where one kid supposedly picked up a ball, but instead of kicking it, he run with it on his hand. The sport in question, is known as Rugby.
The history of Football can be traced to 1100s, with many forms of Medieval Football. But the sport once known as Rugby Football was supposedly invented with utter disregard of the rules at time by a Rugby School pupil named William Webb Ellis in 1823. In 1845, said rules then codified in Rugby School, after these rules was first codified in Cambridge two years before, taking the name "Rugby Football", creating a 23-year gap from the traditional code by the Football Association (now simply known as football, or soccer in North America) in 1863. This code specifically bans players from running with the ball in hand, and hacking (a kick to the shins) the player in possession of the ball. This specific rule was blasted by a member of the Blackheath Club, claiming that by expunging those two rules would destroy the courage aspect of the game. And as a result of that, the club bowed out from the FA, followed by some other clubs to then form the Rugby Football Union.
But the history of Rugby isn't without its fair share of turmoil. In 1879, the first amateur rules were formalized within the RFU by the representatives of Yorkshire and Lancashire. At the time, The Laws of Rugby Football restricts the players to be amateurs, with crusades against veiled professionalism in-between. This became the issue for working-class players, as they must forego payments to play rugby, or to miss matches to focus on their jobs. At the time, amateur rugby clubs are based mostly in the South of England, and the professionals are based on the North. In 1893, Yorkshire clubs complained that the RFU is over-represented by the Southern based clubs, and the fact that every RFU meeting was held in London didn't help the case for them at all. This, added to the argument that players need to be paid for playing the game, inspired the North to form their own union, then called the Northern Rugby Football Union, nowadays called Rugby Football League (RFL), and has since codified their own laws of the game. The amateurism of Rugby Union lasted until the end of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, when The International Rugby Football Board (now World Rugby) declared the sport "open to professionalism". Since then, both Rugby Union and Rugby League exists as the two most associated forms of rugby.
The first known international rugby match occurred in on 8th of December 1870 because of a challenge issued in the sporting weekly Bell's Weekly, between England against Scotland. It was signed by five Scottish club captains inviting a team "selected from across England" to play a 20-a-side game under Rugby Rules. Scotland won the two 50-minute halves game after successfully converting a goal kick after grounding the ball inside the English goal area, permitting them to "try" to kick for goal. Today, 20 men squad in the pitch reduced to 15, and tries scored contributes to the total score of the game.
During its development, Rugby Football code also introduced in countries within the British Commonwealth, like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. However, particularly in Canada, it faced a stiff competition from another code of the Canadian Football. Certain codes like Australian Rules, Gaelic Football and Gridiron Football (in USA and Canada) are derived from the Rugby Football Code. It then spun off to form their own rules, like number of players (18 in Australian Rules), ball handling (alternate kicking and dribbling in Gaelic Football) and set pieces and restarts (line of scrimmage in Gridiron Football). Even with the competition, both rugby codes continue to gain worldwide appeal, culminating to the first Rugby League World Cup held in France in 1954, and the first ever Rugby World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 1987. International Rugby Tournaments are also held on a yearly basis, like the Six Nations Tournament for the Northern Hemisphere and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere. There are also special teams formed to tour the world, like the Maori All Blacks of New Zealand, whose eligibility is based on their Maori heritage, and The British and Irish Lions, comprised of players from England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
Since the two codes are different despite their shared history, I'll be more into Rugby Union than Rugby League, since the former is the most exposed game of rugby, with the recent World Cup being the first staged in Asia (Japan), was held over 2 years ago. It's a bit complicated to understand the laws, but you would have the simple grasp of the game once you watched 3-4 games. A team can field 15 players with up to 8 replacements that can be used at any point of the game for tactical reasons or to be inserted temporarily for injury control. Those 15 are divided into 8 forwards and 7 backs, all based on their jersey numbers. The 8 forwards form a pack for the scrum, and further divided into 3 rows. The front rows are for two props (1 and 3) and a hooker (2). These three are the strongest players in the team, acted as the battering ram of the scrum, with the hooker who responsible to "hook" the ball (hence the name) once it's feed to the pack. the second row (often called locks) occupies the numbers 4 and 5. These two are typically the tallest players of the team, and responsible to "lock" the two props and the hooker. They are also the prime choices as line-out jumpers. The back row (or loose forward in New Zealand) consists of flankers and a number 8. While the number 8 is obvious in terms of shirt number, flankers are divided into "blindside" (no. 6) and "openside" (no. 7) flankers, with 6 occupying the position near the touchline, and the openside on the opposite line of the scrum. They have the balance of strength and speed, and often decides whether to insert themselves into a ruck or staying out (this will be relevant later). The Number 8 is positioned at the very back of the scrum, often acts as an extra power to push the pack.
The other 7 are called the backs, starting with the half backs. The half back was once a separate position, but later split to scrum half (wears no. 9) and fly half (no. 10). Scrum halves acted like what quarterbacks do in Gridiron Football, they are seen retrieving the ball from the ruck or maul, feed the scrum pack, and essentially being the brain of the team. Those who wear the number 9 are often responsible for the pace of the game. the other is the no. 10, often called the First Five-Eight in NZ or fly half for the rest of the world. No. 10s are usually the best kicker in the game, and often selected to kick a conversion or a penalty kick. They are also capable of linking the forwards and the backs by their excellent ball handling skills. The fly half then links to the centers, the outside (12) and inside (13) centers. Their main job is to provide space and making tackles, but also required to have an impeccable ball control. At the very back, there are two wings (11 and 14) and a full back (15). Wingers are known as either the speedster or the most imposing member of the team, often being relied for their try-scoring ability. Full backs stand few meters at the back of their teammates, often act as a last line of defense should opponents managed to break out of the tackle. The only difference in Rugby League is the absence of flankers, and the numbers are reversed (forwards are 8 to 13, while the backs are 1 to 7).
The game itself is contested over two halves, each consists of 40 minutes, with an intermission of 15 minutes in between. The goal is to score as many points as possible through various scoring methods, with the team with the most points win the game. The first and the most important method of scoring is a try. Tries are scored when a player grounds the ball inside the opponent's in-goal area (between the try line and dead ball line) behind the goal posts. After the try has scored, a conversion kick is required to convert the try, with the placement of the ball must be inline of where the try was scored. a try itself is worth 5 points, while the resulting conversion, if succeeded, adds another 2 points, with a total of 7 points for a converted try. The referee could also award a team a penalty try if there is an infraction that prevent a certain try from being scored, without requiring a conversion. While we're on the subject about penalties, Points can also be scored via a penalty kick if there is a foul such as a foul play, offside, or scrum infringement. The other kick method is a drop goal, which is a method of kicking immediately after the ball has touched the ground. Both of this scoring methods award 3 points if successful. The ball must travel between the goal posts and above the crossbar to score those points from the kicks. In Rugby League, while the methods remain the same, the number of points is different. Tries and penalties worth one point less, drop goals worth two points less, but conversion kicks remain the same.
During the gameplay, a team must advance the ball through the opposition territory by the means of kicking and passing. For Rugby, passing the ball forward is deemed illegal, and must be done backwards or laterally. The opposition can tackle the player in possession of the ball (and only the player who has the ball), but all tackles must be done below the shoulder with the intent of impeding or stopping the player from advancing further. If the tackle is successful, the tackler must release the tackled player who in turn, must release the ball immediately. During this time, tackles can be contested in the form of ruck, either to keep the possession, or to took one. In Rugby League however, the tackles are not contested, as the tackled player must heel the ball back to their scrum half, and the defending team must retreat 10 meters. In Rugby Union, there is no set number of phases required to score a try, and teams can have as many phases of play as desired. In Rugby League, there is one rule known as a "six-tackle rule". What this rule is about is to limit a team's tackle attempts to 6 in order to advance the ball. When the fifth tackle is occurred, the referee will signal the players that the next tackle is the last. Once the last tackle is occurred, the team switched roles by a change-over. Another aspect in the game present in Rugby Union but not in League, is the line outs. Line outs are contested like a throw-in in traditional football. When the ball has gone into touch (out of bounds), the forwards of both teams line up in two straight lines like that of a tunnel, while the hooker throws the ball between the tunnel for players to contest possession. More likely this will result in a maul, which is an event when a man in possession of the ball was bounded by their teammates and the opponents. The players involved in a maul must stay on their own feet. If collapsed, it will be viewed as an infraction. In Rugby League, if the same situation occurred, a scrum was used to restart the play instead. In the event of a foul, the referee can award a penalty or a scrum if the play needs to be restarted, but also has the power to dismiss a player if the foul is severe by either a yellow card (temporary dismissal for 10 minutes, also known as the sin bin) or a red card, depending on the degree of severity. Those fouls range from knocking the ball forward, rough tackles (made above the shoulder), collapsing the scrum and dangerous charge.
When it comes to Rugby Football, I started following Rugby Union during the pandemic lockdown, since it's the most popular one (at least in my opinion). It's not like I don't like Rugby League, but I find the game a bit too simple and too straightforward. Sure, you need some fast and free-flowing game occasionally, but sometimes I need some complexity to understand the game better, and not just watch it for pure entertainment. It's also about analyzing the game as it plays out, and not forgetting the sense of tension like when you watch a soccer game. One reason that made me hooked to Rugby Union is the "gentlemen's mentality." I believe there is a quote that says, "Cricket is a gentlemen's game played by gentlemen, Football is a gentlemen's game played by thugs, Rugby Union is a thug's game played by gentlemen, and Rugby League is a thug's game played by thugs." Of course, Rugby itself is basically quite a barbaric sport for those who have no idea, but what perceived as basically a sporting equivalent of no man's land, is in fact, a true spectacle of respect not just by the players to each other, but from the players to referees. I've never, during the time of this pandemic, have I watched a rugby player throwing temper tantrums in the pitch for some foul he might or might not committed. The players are taught that the referee is the sole arbiter of the law, the referee's words are law, and must be respected. And the best rugby teams that I ever heard of are mostly Rugby Union Teams, like the myth known as the All Blacks of New Zealand and their fierce rivals, the Springboks of South Africa. These two teams when they meet, is a guaranteed classic, as their 100-year rivalry provided us with some quality games of rugby ever played. Don't forget the Australian Wallabies, the Red Roses of England, The Argentinian Pumas, The Japanese Brave Blossoms, and Ireland, who are some of the nations with strong presence in Rugby Union. There are also teams that are form specifically for a touring series or an exhibition match, like The British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians RFC. In Rugby League, I must say that despite being originated in England, like its twin, it's Australia who is known as a big Rugby League nation, New Zealand, aside from the All Blacks, have the Kiwis as their League counterpart.
In conclusion, Rugby Football, before splitting as Rugby Union and Rugby League, once invented by a kid in Rugby School who apparently had a blatant disregard for the rules by running with the ball in his hand, and subsequently codified as one of many forms of football. It has spread to the world, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, and Argentina, and continues to be played today. While Rugby Union is the most known form of rugby to the world, Rugby League also have strong presence in those countries. This piece is written almost two years from the start of the next Rugby World Cup, which will be held in France in 2023, and I am looking forward for it, much like when I watched the matches of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Until then, stay safe, wear the mask, get vaccinated, and always maintain two meters distance at all times.