RUGBY

football game played with an oval ball by two teams of 15 (amateur) or 13 (professional) players each. Its distinctive features are (1) that players may use their hands and catch, throw, or run with the ball in addition to maneuvering it with their feet, as in association football (soccer), and (2) use of the scrum, or scrummage, a method of putting the ball in play from a set formation in which eight men on each teamsix in a professional gameform a closely packed group that includes two front rows of three men each, the ball being thrown onto the ground between them with each team trying to get possession. Although in rugby the ball may be kicked or carried or passed from player to player by hand or foot, it may not be passed forward. Players running with the ball inevitably caused tackling to become a part of the game. A tackle occurs when, depending on the form of rugby being played, a player carrying the ball is held by one or more opponents so that he is brought to the ground or the ball touches the ground or he is unable to free himself without delay and is unable to continue play. Scoring in the game is achieved by touching the ball down in the opponents' goal area behind their goal line (a try) and by kicking the ball over the crossbar between the opponents' goalposts (a goal). There are two principal types of rugby football: Rugby Union, which is the amateur game; and Rugby League, the partly professional game. The chief differences between the two are described below under Principles of play: Rugby League. football game played with an oval ball, usually by teams with 13 (in professional matches) or 15 (amateur) members on each side. It is similar to association football (soccer) and U.S. football, but play is continuous and substitution is not allowed. The ball may be kicked, carried, or thrown between players, but it may not be passed forward; lateral passing, tackling, and scrum are featured. The object of rugby is to score goals or tries (touchdowns), either by carrying or kicking the ball behind an opponent's goal line. According to tradition, rugby originated in England in 1823, when a football player at the Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, ran with the ball instead of kicking it. This new style of football was excluded from the Football Association that was set up in 1863, but it continued to gain popularity through the schools. In 1871 the Rugby Football Union, which now regulates the amateur sport in England, was organized to standardize rules, and the game caught on quickly throughout the British Isles and in Commonwealth countries. In 1934 the Fdration Internationale de Rugby Amateur (FIRA) was formed as the governing body for international amateur competition. Professional rugby was organized in 1895, when 22 clubs from northern England broke away from the Rugby Union and formed a new organization that, from 1922, was called the Rugby Football League. Rugby League is mainly professional, whereas Rugby Union is entirely amateur. The rules of the two games vary slightly, but they are played on similar fields. Rugby League is played mainly in northern England, Australia, New Zealand, and France. World Cup tournaments are held for both Rugby League and Rugby Union. Seven-a-side rugby, also called rugby sevens, is an abbreviated form of rugby. Teams consist of three forwards and four backs. The game was invented in Scotland in 1883, and it has become very popular in Asia and the Pacific region. World Cup sevens competition began in 1993.