Understand Rugby league

PLAY RUGBY LEAGUE

What is Rugby League?

Rugby League is the ultimate team sport. It’s fast, exciting and spectacular and is played by skilful and powerful athletes. The sport demands that players show determination, sporting ingenuity and courage. The action on the field happens at high speed, so here's advice on some of the things to look out for when you're watching or playing:

The Team

A team comprises 13 players plus substitutes. Players who leave the field when substituted may return at a later stage.

Scoring

A try is worth 4 points; a conversion is worth 2 points as is a penalty kick; a field goal (also known as a drop goal) scores 1 point.

Duration

A game at senior level lasts for 80 minutes of play (which is split into two 40 minute halves). For junior players the game will be of shorter duration depending on the age group involved.

Objective

To score more points than your opponents – simple !

Key Points

Rugby League is a fluid game which has an underpinning structure. Winning teams almost always dominate possession and territory. Players work together in set positions on the field whether attacking or defending, often referred to as “shape”. However both forwards and backs will combine throughout the game.

The attacking team is allowed to be tackled six times (seven if you receive the ball from an opponent’s mistake) as they attempt to try to score.

After these tackles the ball must be ‘handed over’ to the other team. Then the other team become the attackers etc. Most teams try not to hand the ball over directly to their opponents on the sixth tackle, but prefer to kick to gain field position (i.e. as far away from their try-line as possible).

Play-the-ball

After a tackle the defenders must get off the man with the ball and allow him to bring it back into play by a PLAY-THE-BALL. This involves the player in possession heeling the ball backwards in a controlled manner to a team-mate. The position taken up by the team-mate collecting the ball in this position is known as Dummy-Half or Acting-Half.

Before the PLAY-THE-BALL, the defending team have to retire ten metres, apart from two defenders who may guard or ‘mark’ the play-the-ball area, one stood squarely behind the other.

The match Referee polices this aspect of the game and may from time to time award penalties against players for not letting the man in possession play the ball quickly or for the other defenders being less than ten metres away (i.e. they are ‘offside’).

Also the team in possession may sometimes be penalised for not playing the ball properly.

Scrums

Scrums involve a maximum of six players and take place when a player fails to catch a ball cleanly and knocks it forward. If such an event happens on the last tackle of the ‘set of six’, however, possession is handed over to the other side. A scrum is also formed when a player is tackled into touch or when the ball is kicked into touch. But if it’s kicked on the last tackle and goes in touch without bouncing, it’s a handover to the defending team.

The ball will be fed into the scrum and recycled very quickly to allow continuity and speed of play. Forwards therefore need to break away from the scrum as fast as possible to support the attack or to get into the defensive line.

Positions

1.            Full back

2.            Right wing

3.            Right centre

4.            Left centre

5.            Left wing

6.            Stand off

7.            Scrum half

8.            Prop

9.            Hooker

10.                       Prop

11.                       Right second row

12.                       Left second row

13.                       Loose forward

Typical field positions – “Shape”

1

2    3    7    13    11    8    9    10    12    6    4    5

And most importantly …………………… have fun !!