Need-to-Know Basics of Rugby

- A team consists of a maximum of 15 people with no substitutions (except for injuries).

- Play is continual; rugby is a free-flowing game with little stoppage.

- The oval shaped ball (which is slightly larger than a football) can never be passed forward or laterally. It can be carried, kicked ahead (usually out of bounds), or passed behind.

- "Tries" can be scored by touching the ball down past the goal line (scoring five points). While two points can be scored in a kick through the goal posts from the spot where the player scored the try. A three-point conversion can occur if a player drop-kicks the ball through the goal posts while in play.

- A "line-out" can occur at the start of the game as well as after penalties and scores. The two teams line up across an imaginary line (line-of-touch) and the back standing out of bounds must throw the ball straight toward the players to attempt to tip the ball back to their teammates to start play.

- A "scrum" is when both teams interlock while facing each other. The ball is "put-in" the middle by the scrum-half. Both team's forwards struggle to pop the ball out their end to allow the backs to play it.

- Tackling in rugby does not mean being "down" as it does in American football, rather the player is held to the ground and cannot move. This allows a "ruck" to take place. Players from each team interlock to fight for possession, but it is not nearly as organized as a scrum.

- A "maul" is a bit different. Here a player from the offense still has possession of the ball. Usually the player turns their back to allow his/her teammates to form an interlocking wall between themselves and the other team. The advantage: to get many defensive players involved in the maul to allow an easier toss and carry for the scrum-half afterwards.

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