Rugby Rules – MSport

Rugby is one of the most physical of sports. Internationally the pinnacle of the sport lies in the Rugby World Cup. Other tournaments such as the Tri Nations (including South Africa, New Zealand and Australia), Six Nations (including England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and France) and the Heineken Cup are other tournaments which are held in high esteem throughout.

Rules of Rugby

The game is broken down into two 40 minute halves with a 10 minute rest period in between. The game carries no stoppage time and will end exactly on 80 minutes.
Each team can start with 15 players and up to 7 substitutes. Players that have left the field are only allowed to return if they have been treated for an injury.
The field must be roughly 100 meters long and 70 meters wide with a minimum of a 10 meter dead ball area. The H shaped goal needs to be 6 meters wide with no restrictions on height.
The field consist of the following markings; half way line, 5 meter line, 22 meter line, 10 meter line and dead ball line. Also included is a Centre spot for restarting the game after a try, penalty or drop goal has been scored.
The game must have one referee and two touch judges. It’s the referee’s job to time keep, make decisions throughout the game and keep order on the field. The two touch judges can assist the referee with decisions and also notify the referee when players are in touch (out of playing boundaries).
The game will stop if a player is fouled, the ball goes out of play or a try or drop goal is scored.
The defending team must tackle a player by grabbing a hold and pulling them to the floor. A tackle cannot be made above shoulder height and doing so will cause the referee to award a foul.
Once the ball goes into touch a line out is called. Up to 7 players can enter a line out and any of these players can be lifted in order to catch the ball being thrown in. Both teams can compete to win the ball.
A successful conversion, penalty or kick at goal only occurs when the player manages to kick the ball through the top section of the goal. If a player is unsuccessful the ball is still in play until it crosses one of the playing fields boundaries.
Attacking players must remain behind the ball whilst active or run the risk of being called offside. Players not interfering with play can be in front of ball but must get back behind the ball before then again interfering with play.