Arielle hunter
Staff reporter
England 1823, a man named William Webb Ellis and a ball in an oval shape, this is how rugby was created.
Rugby is a physical sport with many rules and millions of fans. This sport is mostly played in Europe, New Zealand and South African. Rugby even being some of these country’s national sports.
Rugby is the 8th most watch sport in the world, with it having 800 million viewers.
“The 2023 men’s Rugby World Cup in France recorded a viewing hours total of 1.33 billion” this shows how much rugby is really watched.
Sevens or fifteens
Sevens, a game played on 100 metres (330 ft) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide field with only seven players.
Sevens come not so long after fifteens, coming into the sports world in 1883. Ned Haig and David Sanderson, who were butchers from Melrose, Scotland. They did not have enough people to play fifteens and only had seven people.
Many people enjoy watching sevens then fifteens because it is faster paced. Though many people like playing fifteens better because of the thinking and how it is slower.
There are some rules that separate fifteens from sevens. An example of this is when a team scores a try, they kick off again where in fifteens once someone has scored the team that was scored on must kick.
Many seven players play fifteens but not many fifteen players go play sevens.
Sevens is played all over the world as a series where fifteens is mostly played in Europe, and it is not played though out the year.
Fifteens also has a lot more attendee and viewers then sevens.
Fifteens is a very physical compared to sevens that is very fast and about avoiding. Fifteens is a very different game then sevens, some people even consider them different sports.
Fifteens has a lot more stoppages in play as well as a more mental and technical side to it.
In fifteens you are required to kick off a tee where in sevens you must drop kick it.
Many people enjoy watching/playing fifteens because its slower and you work and a team and not an individual.
Fifteens is also known to be more versatile do the fact you don’t all ways have to be fast to pare that in playing.
In fifteens you are able to do more “fancy” things, such as kicking, specific plays to confuse the opponent.
Fifteens also has its own event, the rugby world cup where teams all over the world come and compete agents each other. Where in sevens they go to the Olympics and play in tournaments all over the world.
How it’s played
Fifteens rugby is played with fifteen players on the field and eight replacements. Some man rules are that you cannot pass the ball forward you must pass the ball back and run forward.
You also must bring the person down by tackling them, not tripping, shoving or dragging down.
If the ball come outs of your hand forward, then something called a scrum happens.
A scrum is when the balled is knock on, a scrum is where the forwards come and try and win the ball back for there team.
There are forwards and backs. Forwards tend to be the bigger players and are in the scrum, as well as the line outs.
Line outs are where some one steps out of the given lines. Forwards work together to put a player up in the air so they can catch the ball and give it back to there team or try and win it back. The tallest or lightest player is normally the one to go in the air.
Forward also are the ones to go in to contact more. They do a lot of the tackling and “dirty” work as some people would say.
Backs are the ones that are faster and have a more technical brain, they are about seeing the gaps and running.
The back do more in open play then the forwards. They have plays to move the ball and run with it.
How you can win is by getting the most points, ways you can get points is by touching the ball down behind the opponents try line. The try line is the “in-goal” area. Another way to get points is by kicking it though the up rights.
The uprights are the posts in the middle of the goal line very similar to American football. to get the kicked points you can get a penalty, a penalty is where the other team does something agents the rules like a high tackle.
Teams would get a penalty and the game would stop so they would ask for their tee then they would do their best to get the ball though these up rights.
The last way to get points is by drop kicking in open play though the posts.
The last major rule is that unlike football you are not allowed to “protect the person with the ball you are not allowed to get in the tackler’s way.
Union or league
Union is the more popular one and the one played more in Europe, where rugby league is mostly player and watched in the south pacific.
Rugby union is played with fifteen players whereas league is played with only twelve players.
League is known to be the hard on the body and union is harder on the mind. In league you have to make hard hits and you only get six tackles. This means you have to either score before your team gets tackled six times or kick it.
People like both of these sports for different reasons, union for the thought and strategy of the game league for the valance and strength shown.
Rugby league is also faster do to the fact you only have so much time to score a try.
When rugby was first coming about it was league, but it was only for the people who were rich, this sparked a anger in people because poor people wanted to play but could not, so they came up with there own verging of rugby and this is how league was invented.
The main difference though is that player can get away with a lot more in league then in union. An example of this is that union you must make a tackle below the chest where in league you are not allowed to hit the head nut everything else is okey.
Conclusion
In conclusion not all rugby is the same and does not fall under the same sport. All types of rugby are good, and all have their pros and cons, it just depends on what you like to do more. Would you rather play a very fast-paced game, a more teachable game or a rough game that is fast.
All forums get different fans as well as viewed, though classic fifteens rugby is viewed the most. However, sevens is getting more views and attention every day.
all in all rugby is good rugby and it all depends on what you like to watch as well as what kind of player you are.
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