What is rugby?
Pass back. Move forward.
Rugby in a minute. Five things worth knowing before your first match. Pick a step and watch the pitch.
Two teams of 15 fight for an oval ball. The aim is to carry it over the other team's goal line and press it to the ground. That is a try, worth 5 points. There is no goalkeeper and no net: the in-goal area is the whole strip behind the line.
You may only pass the ball backwards or sideways. You can run forward with it or kick it forward, but not throw it forward. That is why attackers run on a diagonal, each a little behind the next.
The defence may only stop the player with the ball, using their arms and below the shoulders. Once on the ground, that player lets go of the ball and both teams compete for it on their feet. Play does not stop and carries on straight away.
After a small mistake, such as knocking the ball forward, play restarts with a scrum. Eight against eight lock together shoulder to shoulder, number 9 feeds the ball down the middle, and both packs push until it comes out at the back. The numbers on the pitch are positions from 1 to 15.
Only the captain talks to the referee, and nobody argues. After the final whistle the two teams line up facing each other and everybody shakes everybody's hand. Rivals on the pitch, friends after the match.
How points are scored
- Try
- 5
- The ball is pressed to the ground in the in-goal area.
- Conversion
- 2
- A kick after a try. The ball must pass between the posts and over the bar.
- Penalty kick
- 3
- A kick at goal after an offence by the other team.
- Drop goal
- 3
- A kick in open play: the ball hits the ground and goes over the bar.
Two games, one ball
Rugby 15. 15 players a side, 2 × 40 minutes. The classic game, played by the men and the under-18s.
Rugby 7. 7 players a side on the same big pitch, 2 × 7 minutes. Fast, open, and an Olympic sport since 2016. The Kotki men won eight titles in a row up to 2025.