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Rugby Football is the father of what we Americans know as Football. Basketball founder James Naismith declared his first love the game of rugby. Pope John Paul played rugby for Poland Actor Boris Karloff founded the Southern California Rugby Football Union. The United States won the Gold medal in the last two olympic games in which rugby was played, 1920 and 1924. William Webb Ellis was the inventor of rugby in 1823, according to legend, on the playing fields of Rugby in England. The game is said to have been started when William Webb, a Rugby School student playing soccer picked up the ball and ran downfield with it instead of kicking it.
Other English schools and universities adopted the style from Rugby in the mid- 19 th cent. In 1871 the English Rugby Union was formed to standardize the game, and the sport was soon organized in other sections of the British Isles. The game was introduced (1874) into the United States when Harvard University faced off against Canada's McGill University. Rugby is played in several forms, 7 's, 10 's and 15 's are the most common games all very similar with little change in the rules of the game.
The terms 7 's, 10 's or 15 's refer to the number of players on a team. The Iowa Falls Rugby Club and most in the United States play the 15 player Union version of the Game. During the Summer months a 7 's version is played by primarily backfield players willing to endure the heat of the Summer months. Over 1600 Rugby clubs are registered in the United States with USARFU, the United States of America Rugby Football Union. 411 Men's, 412 Collegiate men's, 99 Master's, 82 Women's, 272 Collegiate Women's and 226 youth.
Most men's clubs in the United States play a spring and fall season. Iowa Falls Ruby Club schedules between 35 and 50 games per year. During the spring they will play in the All Iowa Tournament and the Okoboji Tournament in June. In the fall they play in a fall league comprising of Iowa and Minnesota teams. They also attend the Heart of America Tournament in Kansas City. This tournament attracts 50 - 60 of the top teams from across the United States.
Last year the Iowa Falls RFC placed 2 nd in the Men's Division II bracket. Iowa Falls has been known since 1976 as a very competitive men's club side with over 300 alumni learning the game in Iowa Falls. We have ties to teams from the east and west coast as well as alumni playing in Japan and other foreign countries. For more information on Iowa Falls rugby as well as links to other rugby sites look at web The success of Rugby is due to it's appeal to many types of athletes. Large, small, fast, slow, young, not-so-young, male and female-anyone who wishes to play can find a position on a team at a level where their abilities will be tested. The rugby field is roughly 160 yd (146 m) long and 75 yd (69 m) wide, with goal lines 110 yd (101 m) apart and two in-goals (corresponding to football's end zones) 25 yd (23 m) deep.
A halfway line (50) divides the field, which is further subdivided by other lines parallel to the goal lines at the 40 meter and 22 meter mark. The goal posts have measurements similar to those used in American football, and the ball, although larger and more rounded, is similar to the American football. Players may kick, carry, or pass (to the sides or to the rear) the ball; though tackling is permitted, blocking is forbidden. Unlike American football, play is almost continuous in rugby. The game begins and resumes after halftime with a place kick that must go 10 meters. A team who is scored upon will kick-off using a drop kick that also must go 10 meters.
The kick-off is actually thought of as an offensive play similar to a football onside kick. Play continues as the two teams carry, pass and kick the ball trying to score as many points as possible. Play will stop only for scoring, a penalty, rule infraction, the ball being carried, kicked or thrown to touch (out-of-bounds) or an injury. The ball is then put back into play by a line-out, scrum-down, free kick, penalty kick, penalty play or kick-off. Various points are scored for carrying the ball into the opponent's in-goal similar to a touchdown in football, refered to as a try worth 5 points. In order for a try to be considered good the player must pass the ball over the try-line, under control and touch the ball to the ground under control.
Conversions (kicking the ball between the goal posts after a try) is worth 2 points and must be attempted directly out from where the try was scored. Drop kicks during normal play and penalty kicks are when the ball is kicked through the posts and are worth 3 points. Terms: Prop, Hooker, 2 nd Row, Wing Forward, 8 Man, Scrumhalf, Scrum, Scrum down, Tight five, Pack, Bound in, tunnel, Ruck, Maul, Knock On, 8 man pick, Balls Out. Positions: 1 Loose Head Prop, 2 Hooker, 3 Tight Head Prop, 4 - 5 are 2 nd rows, 6 - 7 are Wing forwards, 8 is the 8 Man, 9 is the Scrum Half, 10 is the Fly half, 11 is the Inside Center, 12 is the Outside Center, 13 is the Wing, 14 is the Weakside Wing and 15 is the Fullback. Typical player position settings during a "scrum down" 1 2 3 6 4 5 7 The props (1, 3) have a duty to support the hooker (2) and keep the scrum down from collapsing during the driving. The hooker (2) has a duty of swinging his feet into the tunnel between the two opposing scrums in order to "hook" the ball into his scrum.
The 2 nd rows (4, 5) are to supply the drive for the pack by pushing and extending their legs. The props, hooker and 2 nd rows are bound tightly together by tightly gripping jerseys and shorts, these players are commonly referred to as the "tight five" The best tight fives will stay low to the ground and tight during the scrum down. The wing forwards, (6, 7) are extra support and push during the scrum down and also are the first players to tackle the opposition when the ball is lost to the opposition. These players must stay "bound" (you must have 1 shoulder touching your own player to be considered bound) into the pack until the ball is removed from the scrum or a penalty will be given.
The eight man (8) has the duty of finding the ball and holding it in place with his feet until the scrumhalf is ready to put the ball into play. The eight players in a scrum down are referred to as the "pack." The "Scrumhalf" (9) is like a quarterback in football, he usually starts the offensive play by handling the ball. The backs are set up in a normal backfield set. A Scrum down occurs when the referee determines a minor infraction on the field of play has occurred. For instance the ball not coming out of a "maul" (a tackle made that stays in a standing position) or ruck (when a tackle is made and the players go to the ground) after a tackle is made, or the ball is knocked or fumbled forward during a pass, called a "Knock On" or a pass is made "forward" All passes in rugby must be a lateral pass directly to the side or backward. The ball cannot be passed forward.
The referee will signal a scrum down by his arm pointing in the downward position and marking the point of the scrum down with his heel. The direction his arm is pointed is the team that will put the ball into play in the scrum down. The ball is always put into play on the "loose head prop" (1) side of the scrum by the "scrum half." The scrum half must roll the ball straight in the tunnel between the two opposing scrums. The "hooker" (2) supported by the props (1, 3) must "hook" the ball with his foot and the pack must drive the opponent away from the ball, stepping over the ball as they drive. The ball cannot be picked up by the scrum half or 8 man until it is stepped over and is at the back of the formed scrum. The ball is then either picked up by the 8 man, " 8 man pick" or by the scrum half and put into play.
Many times you will hear someone yell "balls out" when the ball leaves the scrum. This tells the "pack" to leave the scrum and pursue the ball up...
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Research essay sample on Iowa Falls Rugby Loose Head Prop Ball
