"What exactly is rugby?" a.k.a. good question that I am sure many people ask. I personally don’t know much about it, but when my friend started to play for the FSU Women's Rugby team, she peaked my interest in the sport. From her and numerous online sources, I learned that rugby is straight-up intense. More intense than football (at least in my opinion).
Rugby has been described as a sport that encompasses the contact of American football, the running of soccer, and the transition of basketball. There are a few very noticeable differences between rugby and football that I found to be interesting or straight-up crazy. Read on to learn a bit about the game, even if it’s just enough to impress that cute rugby enthusiast. (WARNING: this article will not make you an expert, so be prepared by doing further research to carry out a complete conversation with that cute enthusiast.)
Difference 1: Passing
Football players pass the ball over-hand to other players in front of them. Rugby players pass the ball to players underhanded and only to players that are BEHIND them. Meaning that as a player comes up behind another, the front player has to pass the ball backwards to the other player. Talk about tricky.
Difference 2: The Number of Players
Rugby typically has 15 players per team, though games can also be played with teams of 10 and 7. Football can only have 11 players per team, no more, no less.
Difference 3: Duration
Football games consist of four 15-minute quarters with constant breaks in game play and a 30-minute halftime after the first two quarters. Rugby games consist of two 40-minutes halves with no breaks unless a player gets seriously injured and a 10-minute half time.
Difference 4: Injury
In football, when a player gets injured, they can be taken off the field, evaluated, and brought back in the game. Rugby, however, has rules that will not allow players to return to a game once they have been taken out. As a result of this rule, some players will continue to play even when badly injured just so that they can stay in the game.
Difference 5: Padding
This is the downright crazy difference between football and rugby. In football the players wear huge pads all over their body to protect themselves upon impact. In rugby, despite the fact that the players tackle all the time, THEY DO NOT WEAR PADDING. Rugby players simply wear a mouth guard and sometimes a scrum cap that protects their ears. If scrum caps are not worn, the chances for developing cauliflower ear increases greatly, occurring when a player develops a blood clot on their ear from continued hits. Those curious souls should click here to see what cauliflower ear looks like—if you dare!
A Tale of Rugby Injuries
The lack of padding can make playing the game of rugby extremely dangerous. My friend Lauren got concussions two weeks in a row! She has also suffered multiple bruises to her ribs, body, as well as numerous cuts to her arms and legs. Even though she can’t play for a week or so while her concussions and ribs heal, she still can cheer the team on at practice!
Toni here tore her ACL when she was trapped under a group of large players as part of a "scrum". Even though she was in extreme pain, she refused to ask for help because she knew that once she was out of the game that was it, she couldn't come back in the game. Playing through the pain shows her extreme dedication to the sport and her teammates! She refused to let them down during one of the most important games of the season against UCF. Kudos to you, Toni!
During another game between FSU Women's Rugby and UCF, Catherine Henly was reaching down for the ball when a large UCF player hit her from behind. Catherine said, "My hip and knee hit the floor at the same time and my femur broke in half. My femur was one bone with down and across from where it should have been." When the trainers flipped her over her femur broke a second time from the twist! She was stuck on the field for thirty minutes until the ambulance arrived.
Typical Rugby Plays To Know
Below is a typical "tackle" in rugby. No padding, no headgear, just two girls fighting over a ball.
The play below is known as a "ruck". The girls on the left and right are fighting over possession of the ball, each trying to use their legs to pull the ball onto their side.
Below the rugby players demonstrate a "line-out", which is a play that occurs after the ball has gone into touch (out of bounds) in order to bring the ball back into play.
FSU Women's Rugby is almost over this season, but look out for their games in the spring! Come cheer them on with me!
