Rugby World Cup ’11 – Simple Guide

One of the things I like the most is Rugby. The Rugby World Cup is coming up in less than a month and I’m a bit excited to say the least.

This year the Rugby World Cup is taking place in New Zealand which might make the home team a bit white as they have been unstoppable this year and held their own as the best team in the world for the last two . years.

My team is England and after a win in 2003 and runners-up in 2007, we have a good chance of reaching the final again this year. Either way, I’ll be watching all the Sky+ matches as they play through the night.

A lot of people don’t like rugby, they think it’s too complicated. I don’t agree, there are some fundamental things anyone can learn about the game to make it more enjoyable. There are a few of these things that I’ve collected over the years, and here they are.

Offside

Offside is not the same as offside in football. Offside in rugby is about being behind or parallel to the ball.

Example:

Team A attacks and team B defends.

If there has been intense play in the middle of the field and players on either side are scattered all over that area of ​​the field, team A suddenly picks up the ball and kicks it across the field to a player who is by himself on his own. messages. This player catches the ball. At this point, he has only his back to his own posts and most of the players facing him. If he decides to kick the ball upfield, he is the only player who can touch his team’s ball, before the opponent touches it. Why? Because all the players are in front of him and the ball, leaving him out of play.

Offside is simply being in front of the ball when the ball is played. It is important that players who are part of the game and who are on offense continue to attack from behind the ball.

If you imagine the ball creates a long line on each side of the field (width) wherever the ball is, this would be the offside line. If the ball moves, so does the offside line.

Punctuation

Points will be scored in three ways on the Rugby field. They are the following:

Penalty kick

A penalty kick is worth three points, as it is simply a shot that successfully sends the ball through the posts at any time during the game. A kick is awarded when a foul occurs. The penalty kick is worth three points and is not the same as a conversion.

Tip: keep possession.

Some of the time tactics come into play. When one of the teams has awarded a penalty, the other team has the opportunity to kick the ball through the posts and win three valuable points. There is an alternative, which can earn more points for the attacking team, but it is more of a gamble.

Instead, if he kicks the ball through the posts, the team can choose to kick the ball into touch or cross the outer line of the field putting the ball out of play.

The good thing about this for the attacking team is that the other team conceded a foul, which gave them the penalty, which means that when the ball is thrown back, the attacking team throws it back in because they didn’t gain any advantage by kicking the ball. ball. ball out. If the attacking team has a chance to throw the ball to their teammates and if they are lucky enough to be close to the opposing line, they are very likely to score a try, which is worth five points instead of a conversion which is worth three. They then have a chance to kick for a conversion that could be worth an extra two points, bringing the total to seven. Sounds better than a seedy three stitches, right?

try

A try is when the attacking team passes the ball over the line that runs alongside the posts. It is the most difficult thing to achieve in Rugby and is worth five points. A penalty try may be awarded, which is worth the same number of points.

Conversion

A conversion is similar to a penalty goal, it is a shot taken after a try has been scored and is worth two points to the attacking team instead of the three awarded for a penalty kick.

Suggestion: get under the poles.

It is very important that the attacking team try to score the try as close to the posts as possible. After the try is scored comes the penalty kick, in short the further to the left or right of the posts the try is scored (at each corner) the further the conversion kick is kicked. So if the try is scored right in the corner of the field near the pin, the poor kicker has a much sharper angle to kick the ball and is further away so it can be a lot more difficult.

drop target

A drop goal awards three points and is a kick that successfully crosses the posts from open play. The ball must hit the ground first and be done at any point.

Team number

Just like in soccer, each team member is assigned a number. These are the three most important kit numbers I think you need to know.

No.9 – Half Scrum

Have you ever noticed that it’s the same guy who always picks up the ball and throws it after a tackle? This player is called a scrum half. Whenever there is a big tackle, or a player from their own team goes to the ground, that player on the ground has to hand it over to the scrum half, who offloads the ball and passes it to another member of their team. He can also challenge for the ball after a ball comes out of a scrum called a pocket.

Tip – The ‘pocket’

Have you ever seen the ball come to rest at the feet of a couple of players when they are locked in a scrum? This area of ​​the floor is called a ‘pocket’. It is a small area that is neither in nor out of the scrum. It’s like a protected area that the defending team can’t reach and will be penalized if they do. As the scrum progresses (or regresses), if the ball remains in this area, then the ball is protected until it leaves the pocket and returns to open play. It’s more of a judgment call whether the ball is in the pocket or not, and the decisions can go either way.

N0.10 – Half fly

Johnny Wilkinson. The best fly half the world has seen. Biased? No. Just look at the points table and the number of rugby world cups he has competed in before.

The job of the fly half is primarily the kicker. Every time the opponent awards a penalty, this player will kick the ball through the posts. He can also hit a drop goal, which is an open play kick with the ball bouncing off the ground first before going through the posts.

This player is an integral part of the team and, in most cases, the one who scores the most points for the team due to the number of kicks he produces to earn points for the team.

The end!

This concludes my little tour of rugby and some tips and things to keep in mind, which will hopefully make the game more enjoyable to watch. I’ll be rooting for England at the Rugby World Cup ’11, I hope they muster up some national pride and support their team too. We are less than a month away from Rugby World Cup 2011, so stay tuned and above all enjoy!