Rugby

Would anybody be willing to teach me the rules and tactics of rugby. I really don't understand some of the rules although I understand most. The part that I don't get is tactics and positions and stuff.

Go Waratahs

 

Hi FFC24, I know most of the rules and understand tactics to a certain level, I am more than happy to discuss anything rugby.

I follow Harlequins who play at the Stoop in Twickenham - Up the Quins.

 

Well thanks and I am a mere amatuer when it comes to knowing Rugby tactics and rules. I see that usually players like Taquri and Jason Robinson usually are the players that score trys so I am assuming to have a damn good team you need what is equlvalent in football wingers? Also why is players like Daniel Carter and Johnny Wilkinson so highly rated? what makes this position so damn important. I realise both are absolute class when it comes to penalties and such, but the position doesn't seem to deserve all the praise it gets. Anyway thanks for you help.

 

The half backs (fly and scum) link the play between the forwards and the backs. Fly half is especially important as they are responsible for making tactical decisions and kicking goals.

To show the value of a great goal kicker, if England had kicked their goals at the rate Johny Wilkinson does in the last 6 nations championship we would have finished second top, instead of second bottom. Both he and Carter kick goals with such regularity that you can build a lead very quickly, this will make the oppositon chase the game and spaces will open for you to exploit.

A good fly half has to be quick, he has to be able to tackle the forwards, link with the backs, kick the ball from hand and direct play (the scrum half will do this also).

When it comes to scoring trys, the backs and especially the wingers are the glory boys, but most of their trys are made by the forwards (I was a fly half/left winger so I feel no love for the big donkeys!)

In the modern game the forwards need to be able to run and carry the ball. They often will make small breaks and pummle the opposition, they will try to drag other players into the rucks and mauls to disrupt the shape. Once the shape of the opposition's ruined it will often leave an overlap where there are more attacking players on one side of the pitch than defending players. At this point the ball needs to move quickly from the forwards to the backs via the scrum half (normally) to make best use of the overlap.

To cause this kind of disruption the forwards will often release on contact (when they are tackled) to keep the ball alive rather than taking it into a ruck or maul and slowing the game down.

Ultimatly you need good forwards and backs to make a great team, there are key positions, but weaknesses are more ruthlessly expoited in rugby than football. It is rare that a bad team will beat a good team.

I hope this helps and sorry if it is a bit confusing. Please feel free to come back with any questions.

 

That was helpful. Anyway who was Mark Daniel? The Waratahs have a damn good young player who looks class and they are comparing him to Mark Daniel.

 

I am also trying to learn about Rugby. I guess I need to do more research on the Internet. But I will ask some real basic questions as I am starting from scratch:

1. When a player has the oval-shaped ball and he is tackled or goes down, does another player on his team have to get the ball before the team can advance?

2. Other than a fumble, how does possession change from one team to another? I noticed watching that a team did the equivalent of a Punt in American football terms. However, I was unsure why that was done.

3. Do you get six points for carrying the ball past the goal line? Three points for kicking it through the "field goal"?

Thanks in advance!
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You get 5 points for a try and 2 points for the kick. Also possesion can change through a bad pass and a penalty. There are lots of ways to lose possesion through a penatly. You could Drop the ball forward which is called a knock-on. You could also not release the ball when you are tackled which would be a penalty. I believe that GBFC can answer the first question and correct my mistakes on explaining some of the rules.

 

The first thing to be aware of is there are 2 types of Rugby. Union and League. Union 15 a-side game with scrums and line-out, I like both, but am only a casual spectator of League. All my posts are about Union.

The fundermental principle of the game is that the ball can only be thrown backwards. It can be kicked forward at any point.

Union is a fluid game as such the ball changes posession often. Common methods of turn overs are:

foul play (off sides, violent conducts, killing the ball, holding on to the ball when tackled, not rolling away after tackling).
error (knocking the ball forward, loosing forward momentum in a maul)
interception
turn over (winning a line out, winning a scrum against the head, rucking).

Rucking is probably the most common way of winning posession. When a player is tackled he must release the ball. To gain posesion of the ball a player must be on his feet.

Normally when a player is tackled he will roll so that his back is facing the opposition and the ball is set back to his own player. The next player to arrive will step over the ball creating a ruck (a ruck is when the ball is on the floor with players competing for it), the next player in will often pick the ball up from the floor and pass. The opposition will try to drive the prone player and the blocking player backwards and step over the ball, bringing it onto their side and gain posession.

Tackling players will try to prevent a player turning so that they have to release the ball on their side and gain posession that way.

Since this is a fairly complicated process and will happen numerous times a game it goes wrong, the ball may come free, if it goes backwards then several players will dive for it, if it goes forward, advantage is played. If no advantage is gained then a scrum occurs and control of the ball will go to the opposition.

I hope this helps, it's difficult to explain without nursing a beer and watching it. There is so much to the game and lots that football can learn.

I especially like the advantage rules and the way that refs are addressed. Only the captain can approach the referee to ask him about a decision, you must call him sir and you cannot disagree with him, you can ask "I did not see the infringement, who was it so that I can tell them off!"