Member of USA RUGBY Member of USA Rugby South Member of Palmetto Rugby Union BASICS OF THE GAME A game of rugby is divided into two, 40 minutes halves. Each half starts off with a kickoff, where the ball is placed in the middle and one team kicks to the other. The objective is to carry the ball past the opponent’s goal line, or kick it through his goal posts. Rugby features almost continuous play. Stoppages occur only when a player is injured, when points are scored, if the ball crosses the boundaries of the field, or when there is a restart of play resulting from a rules violation. A rugby team consists of fifteen players per side. This is divided into eight forwards and seven backs . The forwards have to try and get the ball, while the backs try to run the ball up field and score. There is one other thing in rugby that I forget to mention that is different from most sports, and that is that you can only throw the ball backwards. This is the real difference that differentiates rugby from American football!!! The game starts with the kickoff and the receiving team catches the ball and attempts to run towards opponents goal line. The opposing team can stop them by 'tackling' them. A player can only tackle someone who actually has the ball! Your teammates cannot block for you or otherwise obstruct an opponent from making a tackle. When a player is tackled he must release the ball, essentially creating a fumble every play. Opposing forwards work to retrieve the free ball for their team and give it to the backs who again is a run to the opponents goal line and attempt to score. When the ball goes out of bounds, a line out is formed. This is when players line up parallel to one another and perpendicular to the touch line (or side line). The team who has possession sends a player to throw it in. Both teams jump and try to recover the ball, and play then continues. If, due to a minor violation of rules, sometimes a 'scrum' will be called. A scrum is the characteristic feature of a rugby game. The eight forwards of each team bind together and attempt to push the opposing team away from the ball.