Important Referee Signals in Rugby

Many signals that a referee makes are immediately understandable. They reflect the play that has just occurred. Signals are used by the referee to indicate to the players and spectators why penalties have been awarded, when a team has been awarded a free kick, given advantage in play, and for scoring play.

The referee is the person responsible for knowing how much time has been played and is left to be played. When it comes to time, what he say's, goes.

Advantage - To indicate that a team has advantage, the referee will stretch his arm out at waist height, pointing it towards the non-offending team. The indication lasts for around five seconds. It means that rather than stop play to give a penalty, the referee is allowing play to continue when the non-offending team are on attack.

Award of Scrum Feed - Feeding the scrum is the team gets to put the ball into the scrum. The referee points his arm towards the team that gets the scrum feed while standing facing the sideline, with his arm horizontal and at waist height.

Forward Pass - The referee makes an emphasized hand gesture as if he has just made an imaginary pass that has gone well forward. He will give the scrum put in to the team that did not make the mistake.

Free-Kick - The referee raises his arm, bent square at the elbow. The arm will be pointing towards the team that has been given the free kick.

Handling in a ruck or scrum - The referee bends forwards and lowers his arm towards the ground. He then moves his arm backwards and forwards as if he has handled an imaginary ball on the ground.

High tackle - The referee will hold is arm straight over his neck, under his chin. This shows to all the players that someone has made an illegal high tackle.

Killing the ball - The referee will point his arm downwards and move it up and down. This shows to all the players on the pitch that a player did not stay on their feet as they joined a ruck.

Knock On - The referee raises his arm above his head and moves his open hand backwards and forwards. Then, he will tap the palm of that hand with the other, to show to all the players that the ball has been knocked forward.

Obstruction - The referee crosses both his arms across his chest, like a pair of open scissors. This indicates to all the players that one player has stopped another illegally.

Penalty Kick - The referee faces the sideline and with his arm straight and angled upwards, points towards the non-offending team. The non-offending team has the options of a penalty kick or a scrum.

Slow Release - The referee brings both his hands to his chest, as if he is holding an imaginary ball. This shows in his opinion a player has not released the ball straight away at the tackle. He will give a penalty to the non-offending side at the place where the offence took place.

Stamping - The referee raises one leg, bent at the knee and then moves it up and down, as if to stamp on an imaginary ball.

Throw In Not Straight at a Line Out - The referee raises one hand above his head with his shoulders in line with the touch line. He will then move that arm backwards and forwards to show the ball was not thrown in straight by the hooker.

Try/Penalty Try - The referee stands on the try line and, facing the team that scored, raises his arm straight above his head while he blows his whistle. His back will be towards the dead ball line.

Learn to play rugby

Duration:
The Rugby match is played over two halves of 40 minutes each with injury time added on at the end of each half.At tournaments this time may be reduced to accomodate playing more games.

The aim of the game:
No it is not to cause as much damage as possible to the opposition it is simply to score more points than the opposition through tries, conversions, drop goals and penalties.

Players
Each team is made up of 15 players, the 15 are then split into two groups, eight forwards and seven backs. The forwards are the big ugly guys who do all the hard work and the backs are the pretty boy quaterback types who get all the glory. (There are also seven and 10-man versions of rugby union, played almost exclusively at tournaments.)
No. 1 & 3 - Props
No. 2 - Hooker
No. 4 & 5 - Second Row or locks
No. 6 & 7 - Flankers or Wing-forward
No. 8 - The eight man, or simply 'No.8'
No. 9 - Scrumhalf
No. 10 - Flyhalf
No. 11 - Wing
No. 12 - Inside center
No. 13 - Outside Center
No. 14 - Winger
No. 15 - Fullback


Officials
There is one referee (hated by all) assisted by two touch judges, who mark where the ball goes out of play,adjudge kicks at goal and inform the referee of faul play. These guys are always right (even when they are wrong).

Passes
All passes in rugby must travel backwards.

Tackling
Only a possession of the ball can be tackled. American football-style blocking is not allowed. A tackled player must release the ball after he hits the ground. It is illegal to high tackle above the shoulders, or to "spike" a player by deliberately upending him onto his head.

Other terms:
Blindside/Weakside: The narrow side of the pitch in relation to a scrum or a breakdown in play.

Openside:
The broad side of the pitch in relation to a scrum ora breakdown in play.

Scrum
The eight forwards from each team bind together and push against each other. The scrum-half from the team that has been awarded possession feeds the ball into the center of the scrum from the side most advantageous for his hooker. The ball must be fed straight down the middle of the tunnel and the hookers must not contest for the ball until it is put in.
Lineout:
A maximum of seven and a minimum of three forwards line up parallel with each other between the five-meter and 15-meter lines. The hooker of the team is possession throws the ball in. All players not involved in the lineout, except the scrum-half, must retire 10 meters. The ball must be thrown in straight down the middle of the lineout. Jumpers can be lifted by their team-mates below the waist.

Scoring
The object of the game is to score more points than your apponents. There are a number of ways to achieve this.
Try:
A try is worth five points. It is scored when a player places the ball on the ground with downward pressure in the in-goal area between the try line and dead ball line of the opposition's half. So you cannot cross the try line and spike the ball, this does not count!!

Conversion:
If a team scores a try, they have an opportunity to "convert" it for two further points by kicking the ball between the posts and above the crossbar - that is, through the goal. The kick is taken from a point level with where the try was scored.

Penalty kick:
If a side commits a serious offence,a penalty is awarded and the opposition can take the option of a place kick at goal from where the infringement occurred. If successful, it is worth three points.

Drop goal:
A drop goal for three points is scored when a player kicks the ball from hand through the opposition's goal. But the ball from hand through the opposition's goal. But the ball must touch the ground between being dropped and kicked.

Knock-on/Knock-forward
The ball goes forward off the hands or arms of a player and hits the ground or another player. Results in a scrum with the put-in to the opposition.

Forward pass:
The ball fails to travel backwards in a pass, Scrum to the opposition.
Offside:
Hideously complicated. Basically, players not involved in rucks, mauls, scrums or lineouts must remain behind the back foot - that is, behind the last attached player.

Penalty:
Penalties are awarded for serious infringements like dangerously play, offside and handling the ball on the ground. It is signalled by the referee with a straight arm raised in the air. Players can also receive red and yellow cards, as in football.
The offending team must retire 10 meters for both penalties and free kicks. A team can either kick for goal, run the ball or kick directly into touch with the resulting line-out awarded to them.

Free kick:
This is a lesser form of the penalty. A team cannot kick for goal (unless it is a drop goal). The normal 22m rule applies for kicking for position free kick. It is signalled by the referee with a bent arm raised in air.

Description of Equipments in RUGBY

Shirt and shorts

Rugby shirts need to be able to take plenty of tugging and pulling. They also need to be lightweight, comfortable and strong—all at the same time. Modern shirts use new lightweight water-resistant, synthetic fibers. The tight forwards wear shirts that have panels for their team-mates to grab onto.

The back of a jersey will usually have the player's position number and sometimes their surname printed above it. The team logo traditionally will be placed on one side of the upper chest. Sponsor logos and club competition logo may also be included in the design. Most rugby teams usually will have two jersey designs, the alternative jersey (traditionally) worn by the home team when the visiting teams jersey clashes. More modern shirts, uncommon outside the highest levels of the game, are now skin-tight. They are designed to remove sweat and heat more effectively and be more difficult for an opponent to grab.

Rugby shorts are traditionally made from cotton, designed to take the strains of rugby union. Some second row forwards now use special line-out shorts which have reinforced stitching to help them to get lifted in the line-out (although most competent jumpers will insist on being lifted by the thighs, rather than the shorts, in order to obtain a higher lift).

Boots

Traditionally, rugby boots were of a high cut above the ankle. Over the years, such boots have become less common, although many players still wear mid-cut boots, just below the ankle. Additional ankle support was seen as appropriate given the nature of the game, particularly the stresses of forward play, and the amount of physical contact involved. Higher cut boots also provided some protection against knocks.

Modern boots are now much more similarly styled to soccer boots, with a low cut offering minimal ankle support but maximum flexibility with minimum weight.

It is essential for safety considerations, particularly in the scrum, that forwards wear boots with studs. The studs may be metal (aluminium) or plastic and must conform to Regulation 12 of the IRB. This regulation dictates the permissible dimensions of the studs and also defines a standard for the hardness of the material. Backs would be advised on most ground types to wear boots with some form of stud, to ensure adequate grip when changing direction.

Referees are required to check all players' studs before a game and ensure that the studs conform to the Laws and have no sharp edges. Any studs that are worn down so that the steel fixing is showing must be changed before the player is allowed to join in the game. Similarly, any sharp edges must be filed off before the player may join in. The intent of the standard and these pre-match checks is to eliminate the potential for a stud to cause a cut if it comes into contact with a player's skin.

Generally there are two types of stud pattern worn: the 8 stud or the 6 stud. The 8 stud is most often worn by the tight forwards (props, hooker and locks) to provide them with extra grip for scrummaging and mauling. The 6 stud is worn by backs as it allows for more agility and quicker movement around the field. Plastic "blade" studs, common in soccer, are an increasingly frequent choice among backs.

Body protection

Shoulder padding and protective vests are now becoming more commonly worn by players. The extent of the padding is limited by Regulation 12 of the International Rugby Board. This specifies that:

Shoulder padding will cover the shoulder and collar bone only and extend from the neck to a maximum of 2 cm down the upper arm.

The padding is intended to give some protection to the bony prominences of the shoulder and clavicle. Padding on the chest and biceps are expressly forbidden (although permitted in Rugby League). All padded vests for use in rugby union must carry an IRB approval logo.

Women players may also wear chest pads, also of soft, thin material. This is typically worn as part of a shoulder pad vest.

Players may use fingerless gloves (also known as "mitts") to better grip the ball. Shin guards may also be worn under the socks, but only made of non-rigid fabric. Hard plastic or metal are prohibited in rugby kit. Any protective equipment that may cause injury to another player is prohibited. No form of metal is allowed in any rugby kit, except for studs on boots. Spectacles are prohibited for play; players may alternatively wear contact lenses.[1].

Headgear

Traditionally in rugby union, the only form of headgear that was worn was the "scrum cap". This was intended simply to protect the ears of a player who is engaged in the scrum. This aimed to prevent swollen ears, which, if left untreated, led to the condition commonly known as cauliflower ears. The traditional scrum cap was constructed of a thin cloth helmet with padding over the ears, held in place by a strap. Buckles are not permitted. Often players will opt for a thin strip of foam or cloth and electrical tape wrapped around the ears like a head band.

Since the early 1990s, other players have taken to wearing padded headgear. This is intended to protect from cuts and head injuries that can occur from incidental contact in tackles or at rucks. The headgear is strictly defined by Regulation 12 of the IRB as being made of soft, thin materials. Solid materials, such as plastics, are expressly forbidden. Regulation 12[2] also gives details regarding the testing standards for this headgear. All headgear to be worn in rugby union must carry an IRB approval logo. Whilst they may prevent some cuts and abrasions, such headgear has not been shown to reduce concussive injury. Additionally lightly padded headgear such as a scrum cap greatly reduces the pain that occurs when players knock heads.

Mouthguard

An essential part of the safety equipment needed for rugby is the mouthguard. It protects the teeth, gums and prevents a player from biting their tongue. It can reduce both damage around the jaw and the chances of concussion.

The best mouthguards are made by a dentist. A mould of the mouth is first taken and then the mouthguard is cast around this mould, providing a tight fit in the mouth and around the teeth. Unmoulded rubber mouthguards, which one can mould in hot water, are also available.

Rugby: History and Equipments

Rugby football, often just "rugby", may refer to a number of sports descended from a common form of football developed at Rugby School in England, United Kingdom. Rugby league, rugby union, American football and Canadian football are modern sports that originated from rugby football. Rugby league and rugby union are the only two sports referred to as "rugby" today.

Rugby descends from an 18th century Cornish or Welsh sport known as "hurling"in which a ball was thrown up and the players acting either as individuals or as teams attempted to carry it to a goal. The goal could be set as far as several miles away thereby creating the opportunity for large-scale brawls in intervening villages. In Welsh the sport is called cnapan or "criapan". The old Irish predecessor of the sport may be caid, not to be confused with Gaelic "hurling" or "hockey" which has the difference that the ball was hit with a stick rather than carried. Rugby Football is commonly known as "rugby" and as "rugger".