A Few Rules

UIC Women's Rugby

A Few Rules

For all who have not played and those who need to brush up! Here is where you can learn a bit about rugby..

The Positions...

1. The Loose Head Prop (solid with good medical insurance)
2. The Hooker (small, swift, agile and control-freak)
3. The Tight Head Prop (same as #1)
4 & 5. The Second Row Locks (Hercules-like)
6 & 7. The Flankers (quick go-getter)
8. The Number Eight (skillful and smart)
9. The Scrumhalf (experienced[bruised], smart[old])-is both a forward and back.
10. The Flyhalf (golden hands and stoic, perfect for late night activities)
11 & 14. The Wings (runs like the wind)
12. The Inside Center (deceptive)
13. The Outside Center (deceptively faster)
15. The Fullback (great kicker, sees all)

Basic Rules...

Offside-Onside: A player can never be in front of the ball, he/she is then offside. Hence, the ball can never be passed forward unless it is kicked.

Tackling: An offensive player who doesn't have the ball cannot be tackled. Only the player who is in possession can be tackled.

Blocking: Offensive players cannot block or obstruct a defender from making a tackle.

Length of a Game: The games are normally 80 minutes long with a 5 minutes half-time. Injury time is also added at the end of each half, although the length of injury time is left to the discretion of the referee.

Passing...

The passing game is pretty simple. A player CANNOT PASS FORWARD. Lateral passes are tolerated but they are sketchy. Backward passes are the way to go, which explains the diagonal line up of the offensive team.

The backward pass also allows the receiver of the pass some time before the opponents get to him/her since the defenders have to be on their respected side of the ball. Ideally the receiver should time the reception while running at full speed.

Tackling: An offensive player who doesn't have the ball cannot be tackled. Only the player who is in possession can be tackled.

Blocking: Offensive players cannot block or obstruct a defender from making a tackle.

Length of a Game: The games are normally 80 minutes long with a 5 minutes half-time. Injury time is also added at the end of each half, although the length of injury time is left to the discretion of the referee.

Kicking...

During Play

Aside from scoring, kicking is also an integral part of rugby. It is used to make advancement on the field and also to clear your zone when the other team is breathing down your neck.

Pop Kick: When a player has no one to pass to and some monstrous defender is about to rip his/her head off, the player can kick the ball over the defender's head and this same player can catch it behind the defender. When the ball is the air the defender cannot touch an opponent since he/she doesn't have possession of the ball.

Grub Kick: When a player strategically kicks the ball to the ground, allowing it to bounce uncontrollably, but placing it in an area where a teammate can either catch the ball or cause serious problems for the other team.

Longer kicks are also used to clear a defending team's zone. When the team who has possession of the ball is in an unfavorable field position, a player can punt the ball away into an area where a teammate might catch it or put pressure on an opponent who catches it. The punt can also be placed in-touch and the ball will be brought back into the play where it crossed the in-touch line by a line-out.

After a Whistle

Penalty Kick: After a serious infraction, the referee will stop play and award a kick to the offended team. The opposition needs to be ten meters away and on-side from where the ball is kicked. If in good field position the kicking team can attempt to score a goal (kick the ball between the posts).

Free Kick: After a mild infraction, the referee will stop play and award a kick to the offended team. The kicking team cannot score on this type of kick.

Give Blood. Play Rugby.