Rugby union

South African Victor Matfield takes a lineout against New Zealand in 2006.
Highest governing body	International Rugby Board
Nicknames	Thugby [1]
First played	Early 19th century (early forms) 1845 (first written rules)
Characteristics
Contact	Full Contact
Team members	15
Mixed-sex	Separate competitions
Type	Team sport, Outdoor
Equipment	Rugby ball
Presence
Olympic	1900, 1908, 1920 & 1924

Rugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. ^[2] One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, up to 100 metres (330 ft) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide. ^{[3] [4]} On each goal line are H-shaped goal posts.

William Webb Ellis is often credited with the invention of running with the ball in hand in 1823 at Rugby School when he allegedly caught the ball while playing football and ran towards the opposition goal. Although the evidence to support the Ellis story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895. ^[5] In 1848, the first rules were written by pupils; ^[6] other significant events in the early development of rugby include the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the Football Association in 1863 and the split between rugby union and rugby league in 1895.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) has been the governing body for rugby union since its formation in 1886. Currently, 115 national unions are members of the IRB. In 1995, the IRB removed restrictions on payments to players, making the game openly professional at the highest level for the first time.

The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place every four years, with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations in Europe and the Tri Nations in the southern hemisphere are major international competitions held annually. Major domestic competitions include the Top 14 in France, the Guinness Premiership in England, the Currie Cup in South Africa, and the ITM Cup in New Zealand. Other transnational competitions include the Magners League, involving Irish, Scottish and Welsh teams (and Italian teams from 2010–11); the Super 14 (to become the Super 15 in 2011), involving South African, Australian and New Zealand teams; and the Heineken Cup, involving the top European teams from their respective domestic competitions.

The origin of rugby football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823 when William Webb-Ellis is said to have picked up the ball and run with it. ^[7] Although this tale is apocryphal, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after him. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, which old pupils initially took to university; Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first 'football' team. ^[8] During this early period different schools used different rules, with former pupils from Rugby and Eton attempting to carry their preferred rules through to their universities. ^[9]

Significant events in the early development of rugby football were the production of the first set of written laws at Rugby School in 1845, the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the Football Association in 1863 ^[10] and the formation of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. ^[10] The code was originally known simply as "rugby football"; it was not until after a schism in 1895, which resulted in the separate code of rugby league, that the name "rugby union" came to be used for the game itself. Supporters of both codes will frequently refer to theirs as merely "rugby" or "rugby football", unless they are differentiating between the two.

The first rugby football international took place on 27 March 1871, played between England and Scotland. ^[11] By 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 also saw the first rugby sevens tournament at Melrose—the Melrose Sevens, ^[12] which is still held annually. Five years later two important overseas tours took place; a British Isles team visited Australia and New Zealand—although a private venture, it laid the foundations for future British and Irish Lions tours; and the 1888 New Zealand Native team brought the first overseas team to British spectators.

From 1905 through to 1907, all three major Southern Hemisphere rugby countries sent their first touring teams to the Northern Hemisphere; Dave Gallaher's New Zealand in 1905, followed by Paul Roos' South Africa in 1906 and then Herbert Moran's Australia. All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, ^[13] and were far more successful than critics at first believed. 1905 also saw the first French internationals. ^[13]

The years during the First World War saw an end of international rugby union games and union-sponsored club matches, but competitions continued with service teams such as the New Zealand Army team. ^[14] The Second World War saw an end of international matches from most countries, though Italy, Germany and Romania played a limited number of games, ^{[15] [16] [17]} and Cambridge and Oxford continued their annual University Match. ^[18]

In 1973 the first officially sanctioned international sevens tournament took place at Murrayfield, as part of the Scottish Rugby Union centenary celebrations. ^[19] In 1987 the first Rugby World Cup was held in New Zealand and Australia, and the inaugural winners were New Zealand. The first World Cup Sevens tournament was held at Murrayfield in 1993.

Rugby union was an amateur sport until the IRB declared the game 'open' in 1995, removing restrictions on payments to players. ^[20] However, the pre-1995 period of rugby union was marked by frequent accusations of " shamateurism", ^[21] including an investigation in Britain by a House of Commons Select committee. ^{[22] [23]}

Rugby union is played between two teams, each of which starts the match with 15 players on the field. During the match, players may be replaced (for injury) or substituted (for tactical reasons). A player who has been replaced may not rejoin play unless he was temporarily replaced to have bleeding controlled; a player who has been substituted may return temporarily, to replace a player who has a blood injury, or permanently, if he is replacing a front-row forward. ^[24] In international matches, up to seven replacements are allowed; in domestic or cross-border tournaments, at the discretion of the responsible national union(s), the number may be increased to eight, of whom three must be sufficiently trained and experienced to provide cover for the three front row positions. ^[25] Players in a team are divided into eight forwards (two more than in rugby league) and seven backs. Forwards are generally bigger and stronger, and take part in the scrum and lineout, while backs are generally smaller but faster, more agile and often the main points scorers for the team.

Points can be scored in several ways: a try, scored by grounding the ball in the in-goal area, is worth 5 points and a subsequent conversion kick scores 2 points; a successful penalty kick or a drop goal each score 3 points. ^[26] The values of each of these scoring methods have been changed over the years. The team which scores more points wins the game.

At the beginning of the game, the captains and the referee toss a coin to decide which team will kick off first. Play then starts with a drop kick, with the players chasing the ball into the opposition's territory, and the other side trying to retrieve the ball and advance it back. If the player with the ball is tackled, frequently a ruck will result. ^[27]

Forward passing (throwing the ball ahead to another player) is not allowed. The ball tends to be moved forward in three ways—by kicking, by a player running with it, or within a scrum or maul). Unlike in American football, "blocking" is not allowed, so only the player with the ball may be tackled or rucked. When a ball is knocked forward by a player with his/her arms, a "knock-on" is committed, and play is restarted with a scrum.

When the ball leaves the side of the field, a lineout is awarded against the team which last touched the ball. A number of players from both teams line up, at least 5m from the sideline, and the ball is thrown in by the hooker. Lineouts are one of the chief differences between the two rugby codes, as they do not occur in rugby league.

Games are divided into 40-minute halves, with a break in the middle. The sides exchange ends of the field after the half-time break. Stoppages for injury or to allow the referee to take disciplinary action, do not count as part of the playing time, so that the elapsed time is usually longer than 80 minutes. Unlike in many other sports, there are no " time outs". The referee is responsible for keeping time, even when—as in many professional tournaments—he is assisted by an official time-keeper. If time expires while the ball is in play, the game continues until the ball is 'dead', and only then will the referee blow the whistle to signal half-time or full-time; but if the referee awards a penalty or free-kick, the game continues. ^[28]

The field of play on a rugby pitch is as near as possible to a maximum of 100m long, and 70m wide. There are several lines crossing it, notably the half way line, the goal line/try line (on which the goal posts are located), the "twenty two", which is 22m from the goal, and the dead ball line, which can be anywhere between 10m and 22m behind the goal line. ^[4]

Tries are scored between the goal line, and the dead ball line. A ball over the dead ball line is out of play. Rugby goalposts are H-shaped, and consist of two poles, 5.6m apart, connected by a horizontal crossbar 3m above the ground. Unlike some other sports there are no goalkeepers, and the section underneath the crossbar has no special meaning. The original pitch dimensions were in imperial units, but have since been converted to the metric system.

There are generally three match officials: a referee, and two touch judges, who indicate that the ball is "in touch" and other decisions with their flags. In addition, for matches in high level competitions, there is often a television match official (TMO; popularly called the "video referee"), to assist with certain decisions, linked up to the referee by radio. ^[29] The referees have a system of hand signals to indicate their decisions.

Common offences include tackling above the shoulders, collapsing a scrum, ruck or maul, not releasing the ball when on the ground, or being off-side. The non-offending team has a number of options when awarded a penalty: a "tap" kick, when the ball is kicked a very short distance from hand, allowing the kicker to regather the ball and run with it; a punt, when the ball is kicked a long distance from hand, for field position; a place-kick, when the kicker will attempt to score a goal; or a scrum. Players may be sent off (signalled by a red card) or temporarily suspended ("sin-binned") for ten minutes ( yellow card) for foul play or repeated infringements, and may not be replaced.

The most basic items of equipment for a game of rugby union are the ball itself, a rugby shirt (also known as a "jersey"), rugby shorts, socks, and boots, which have soles with studs to allow grip on the turf of the pitch. The studs may be either metal or plastic but must not have any sharp edges or ridges.

Protective equipment is optional and strictly regulated. The most common items are mouthguards, which are worn by almost all players, and are compulsory in some rugby-playing nations. ^[30] Other protective items that are permitted include protective head gear, thin (not more than 10mm thick) non-rigid shoulder pads, and shin guards, which are worn underneath socks. Bandages or tape can be worn to support or protect injuries; some players wear tape around the head to protect the ears in scrums and rucks. Female players may also wear chest pads. ^{[31] [32]}

Fingerless gloves (grip gloves) are sometimes worn to improve players' grip on the ball.

It is the responsibility of the match officials to check players' clothing and equipment before a game to ensure that it conforms to the laws of the game.

The international governing body of rugby union (and associated games such as sevens) is the International Rugby Board (IRB). The IRB headquarters are located in Dublin, Ireland.

Six continental associations, which are members of the IRB form the next level of administration; these are:

• Confederation of African Rugby (CAR)
• Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU)
• North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA)
• Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur – Association Européenne de Rugby (FIRA-AER)
• Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU)
• Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby (South American Rugby Confederation) (CONSUR)

SANZAR (South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby) is a joint venture of the South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Union and the Australian Rugby Union, which operates the Super 14 and Tri Nations competitions.

National unions oversee rugby union within individual countries. These are affiliated both to the IRB and with their respective regional association.

Rugby union has established itself as a popular sport for both spectators and participants, particularly in Australia, Argentina, Canada, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, New Zealand, Niue, Namibia, Romania, Samoa, Scotland, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tonga, and Wales. ^{[33] [34]}

Other places with lasting traditions in rugby football, as a minority sport in most cases, include Andorra, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Moldova, Morocco, The Netherlands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, United States, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In April 2010 Lithuania broke the record of consecutive international wins previously held by New Zealand and South Africa, ^[35] with their 18th win in a match against Serbia. ^[36]

The United States are the most recent Olympic gold medalists; an American team stacked with American football players won the event at the Paris Olympics in 1924, which was the last year rugby union was played at the games. ^[37] Large numbers of players are active in North America, and the USA regularly qualify for World Cups, while Canada has participated at every World Cup. ^{[38] [39]}

Japan, also a country with many registered players, will host the 2019 World Cup. ^[40] It will be the first country outside of traditional playing areas to host the event, and is viewed by the IRB as an opportunity for rugby union to extend its reach, ^[40] particularly in Asia. Previously, Japan unsuccessfully bid to host the 2011 tournament, narrowly losing to selected host New Zealand. ^[41]

The International Rugby Board (IRB), founded in 1886, governs the sport worldwide and also publishes the game's laws and rankings. There are currently 95 full members ^[42] and eight associate member countries. According to IRB figures, rugby union is played in over 100 countries spanning six continents by men and women of all ages. ^[43] The IRB controls the Rugby World Cup, the Women's Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup Sevens, IRB Sevens World Series, Junior World Championship, Junior World Trophy, Nations Cup and the Pacific Nations Cup. It holds votes to decide where all of these events shall be held, except in the case of the Sevens World Series. For that competition, the IRB contracts with several national unions to hold individual events.

Records of women's rugby football go back to the late 19th century, with the first documented source being Emily Valentine's writings, stating that she set up a rugby team in Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, Ireland in 1887. ^[44] Although there are reports of early women's matches in New Zealand and France, one of the first notable games to prove primary evidence was the 1917 war-time encounter between Cardiff Ladies and Newport Ladies; a photo of which shows the Cardiff team before the match at the Cardiff Arms Park. ^[45] In the past 30 years the game has grown in popularity among female athletes, and, according to England's RFU, is now played in over 80 countries.

The English Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) was founded in 1983, and is the oldest formally organised national governing body for women's rugby. ^[34]

The most important tournament in rugby union is the Rugby World Cup, a men's tournament that takes place every four years among the elite national rugby union teams. South Africa is the current holder, winning the 2007 tournament held in France. They beat 2003 winners England in the final; no World Cup winner has yet retained the trophy. England were the first team from the Northern Hemisphere to win, the previous champions being New Zealand (1987), Australia (1991 and 1999), South Africa (1995 and 2007). Major international competitions are the Six Nations Championship and the Tri Nations Series, held in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively.

The Six Nations is an annual competition involving the European teams England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Each country plays the other five once. After the initial internationals between England and Scotland, the 1880s saw Ireland and Wales begin competing, forming the Home International Championships. France joined the tournament in the 1900s and in 1910 the term Five Nations first appeared. However, the Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) excluded France in 1931 amid a run of poor results, allegations of professionalism (rugby union was officially amateur until 1995) and concerns over on-field violence. France then rejoined in 1939–1940, though World War II halted proceedings for a further eight years. France has played in all the tournaments since WWII, the first of which was played in 1947. In 2000, Italy became the sixth nation in the contest and Rome's Stadio Flaminio, where their games are played, is the smallest venue in the tournament. France are the reigning Six Nations champions, having won a Grand Slam by a final 12–10 victory over England on 20 March 2010. ^[46]

The Tri Nations is an annual international series held between the southern hemisphere teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These teams have dominated world rankings in recent years and some consider the Tri Nations to be the toughest competition in international rugby. ^[47] The Tri Nations was initially played on a home and away basis with the three nations playing each other twice. In 2006 a new system was introduced where each nation plays the others three times, though in 2007 the teams played each other only twice, as it was a World Cup year. Especially since Argentina's strong performances in the 2007 World Cup, a number of commentators believed they should join the Tri-Nations. ^[48] This was first seriously proposed for the 2008 tournament, ^[49] then for 2010, ^[50] but came much closer to reality after the 2009 Tri Nations tournament, when SANZAR (South Africa, New Zealand and Australian Rugby) extended an official invitation to the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) to join an expanded Four Nations tournament in 2012. This move has generally been met with great approval from all parties involved. ^{[51] [52]} The invitation is subject to certain conditions, like the guaranteed availability of Argentina's top players, most of whom play professional club rugby in Europe at present.

Amidst all the international competitions there are also various Test matches and series, often as part of tours by national teams, which generally take place from September to December and from June to August.

Rugby union was played at the Olympic Games in 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924. As per Olympic rules, the nations of Scotland, Wales and England were not allowed to play separately as they are not sovereign states. Rugby sevens has been played at the Commonwealth Games since 1998 and on 9 October 2009, the International Olympic Committee voted with a majority of 81 to 8 that rugby union be reinstated as an Olympic sport in at least the 2016 and 2020 games, but in the sevens, 4-day tournament format. ^{[53] [54]} This is something the rugby world has aspired to for a long time and Bernard Lapasset, president of the International Rugby Board, said the Olympic gold medal would be considered to be "the pinnacle of our sport" (Rugby Sevens). ^[55]

Women's international rugby union began in 1982, with a match between France and Netherlands played in Utrecht. ^[56] Over six hundred women's internationals have been played by over forty different nations.

The first Women's Rugby World Cup was held in Wales in 1991, and was won by the United States. The second tournament took place in 1994, and since that date the competition has been held every four years. The New Zealand Women's team have won the last three World Cups ( 1998, 2002, 2006).

As well as the Women's Rugby World Cup there are also other regular tournaments, including a Six Nations, run in parallel to the men's competition.

Besides the full-contact, 15-a-side code, other variants exist:

• Rugby sevens (7's, or VIIs), is a fast-paced variant which originated in Melrose, Scotland in 1883. In rugby sevens, there are only 7 players per side, and each half is normally 7 minutes. Major tournaments include the Hong Kong Sevens and Dubai Sevens, both held in areas not normally associated with the highest levels of the 15-a-side game.
• Touch rugby, in which "tackles" are made by simply touching the ball carrier with two hands.
• Tag Rugby, in which the participants wear a belt with two Velcro tags, the removal of either counting as a 'tackle'.
• Mini rugby, also known as "New Image Rugby", which originated in England, is a variety mainly used to coach children. ^[57]
• Rugby tens (10's or Xs), a Malaysian variant with ten players per side. ^[58]
• American Flag Rugby, (AFR), like mini rugby, is a mixed gender, non-contact imitation of Rugby Union designed for American children entering grades K-9. ^[59]

Other less formal variants include beach rugby, snow rugby, and street rugby.

Rugby union football, and its immediate ancestor rugby football, has had a strong influence on several other sports.

The Gridiron codes, American football ^{[60] [61]} and Canadian football, ^[62] are derived from early forms of rugby. Confusingly, in Canada, Canadian football has also frequently been referred to as " rugby football", ^[62] and a number of national and provincial bodies were called "Rugby Football Unions" or "Rugby Unions", such as the Ontario and Quebec Rugby Football Unions. ^[62] For example, in the Encyclopedia Canadiana, the entry Rugby Football begins by referring to "the Canadian development of rugby union or "English rugger" introduced into Canada in the third quarter of the nineteenth century", but later states that "the Canadian game is a radical departure from rugby union". ^[62]

Australian rules football has been influenced by a large number of sports, including Gaelic football, rugby football and cricket. Many authors believe that the primary influence was rugby football and other other games originating in English public schools. ^[63] Tom Wills, the founding father of Australian Rules, also attended Rugby School.

Swedish football was a code whose rules were a mix of the association football rules and the rugby football rules. Some played the game with a round ball, while others played with an oval ball. ^[64] It is no longer played.

Rugby lends its name to wheelchair rugby (also known as "quad rugby" or "murderball"), but the sport is more strongly influenced by wheelchair basketball, ice hockey and handball than rugby union. Likewise, the sport of underwater rugby, is related to rugby in little more than name.

In addition, rugby union as a descendant of rugby football shares a common ancestry with rugby league .

Wikinews has news related to:

Rugby

• International Rugby Hall of Fame
• IRB Hall of Fame
• List of international rugby union teams
• List of oldest rugby union competitions
• List of rugby union terms
• Experimental law variations
• Rugby union positions
• Rugby union equipment
• Comparison of rugby league and rugby union

• Encyclopedia Canadiana vol. 8. Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal: Grolier of Canada. 1972. ISBN  0717216012. {{ cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= ( help)
• Bath, Richard, ed. (1997). Complete Book of Rugby. Seven Oaks Ltd. ISBN  1862000133. {{ cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum ( help)
• Godwin, Terry (1981). The Guinness Book of Rugby Facts & Feats. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN  0851122140. {{ cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) ( help)
• Griffiths, John (1987). The Phoenix Book of International Rugby Records. London: Phoenix House. p. 5:3. ISBN 0460070037.
• Marshall, Howard (1951). Oxford v Cambridge, The Story of the University Rugby Match. London: Clerke & Cockeran. {{ cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) ( help)
• Midgley, Ruth (1979). The Official World Encyclopedia of Sports and Games. London: Diagram Group. ISBN  0-7092-0153-2. {{ cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= ( help)
• Richards, Huw (2007). A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN  978-1845962555. {{ cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= ( help)
• Stubbs, Ray (2009). The Sports Book. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN  978-1405336970. {{ cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= ( help)

• "IRB Laws of Rugby Union 2009" (PDF). irb.com. 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
• "IRB Regulations" (PDF). irb.com. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
• "Rugby Football," in Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 97 Encyclopedia ( CD-ROM) 1993–1996 Microsoft Corporation. (Reviewed by USA Rugby)
• Rugby15.co.uk RFU Laws
• Scrum.com Rugby guide

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rugby union.

• International Rugby Board

• Rugby Data Statistics on International Rugby Union games
• The RugbyRugby Guide
• The RugbyRugby Guide- Rugby Lingo Page
• Rugby Museum of New Zealand
• Rugby union phrase guide
• Rugby Union Rules
• Virtual Library of Sport – Rugby Union

• Rugby Union on the BBC
• Rugby Week Latest Global Rugby Union news
• Rugby in Canada dot com
• Erugbynews (North America)
• FOX Sports Australia Rugby section
• Planet Rugby
• Rugby Dirt
• Rugby Heaven
• Rugby News (NZ)
• SA Rugby.com
• Scrum.com
• Ultimate Rugby Sevens
• L'Équipe's rugby website (French)