rugby is one of England's most popular sports and is played by people of all ages shapes and sizes male and female this animation teaches you about the main laws of rugby so you can have more fun watching or playing this great game you play rugby in a jersey shorts and boots with studs and you wear a mouth guard to protect your teeth the ball is an oval shape and looks a bit like an egg because rugby originated in England there are a lot of English Expressions there are two versions of rugby Rugby Union and rugby league this film is about Rugby Union the most popular version of rugby around the world the rugby pitch is about the same size as a football pitch on the pitch there are a number of lines we start from the halfway line from this line the game is started or restarted after a score next is the 10 m line after the kickoff the ball must cross this line then there is the 22 M line next is the try line behind this line you can score A Try by touching the ball down down on the TR line are the rugby posts two vertical posts and a crossbar the last line is the dead ball line and marks the end of the field on the sides you find the 5 m line and the 15 M line during a line out the players must stay between these lines a game is 2 halves of 40 minutes and has a halftime break of about 10 minutes a rugby team has 15 players players eight of them are called the forwards these guys form the scrum and line out and do the more heavy work next you have seven players called The Backs and they do most of the fast running the scrum half connects the forwards and the backs the last man is the full back you play rugby with your hands and feet most of the time you carry the ball in your hands but rugby is a team sport so you pass the ball to your team mates when you pass you are only allowed to pass backwards you do this mainly by an underhand throw across the body but if you wish to you can pass overhand too you may pass as much as you want if you decide to kick the ball you may do so usually to gain territory [Music] there are several ways to score points the most important way is to score a try you score a try when you place the ball on the ground on or behind the try line of your opposition the result is Five Points because you scored a try your team may also attempt to kick the ball from the ground but it must carry between the posts and above the crossbar this is called a conversion and awards your team an extra two points so together you score seven points should the referee award you a penalty kick your team can choose to restart the game kick for a line out or kick the ball between the posts if you kick between the posts and score you get three points you can also get points at any time during the game by scoring a drop goal when you intentionally drop the ball in front of you and kick it immediately after it hits the ground as with a conversion and penalty it must travel between the posts this also wins your team three points [Applause] [Applause] suppose you throw the ball forwards or you drop the ball and it bounces forward in both cases the referee will decide that a scrum must be formed a scrum is a restart after a foul where the ball travels forward from the hand the forwards of both teams set in a specific formation and set against each other like you can see in this View from Above next the scrum half will roll the ball straight into the middle of the scrum and both teams are allowed to contest for the ball by pushing and using their feet after the ball has entered the scrum to move the ball backwards while the ball is in the scrum you are not allowed to touch it with your hands when the ball comes out of the scrum it is usually the scrum half who will pass it to one of the waiting players and the next attack will [Music] [Applause] start if the ball leaves the field of played because it's kicked out or because a player with the ball is tackled and Falls across the touch line or the foot of a player who is holding the ball touches the touch line the game will be restarted with a line out to form a line out the forwards of both teams will stand in separate lines between the five and 15 M lines next the ball will be thrown straight in between the two lines by the team in possession the player who can jump the highest and he may be lifted by his teammates may catch the ball or tap it to his scrum half with this ball possession they can start to attack [Applause] again the unique thing about rugby is that you can stop players by tackling but can only tackle a player who is in possession of the ball you're only allowed to use your hands arms and body you can grab the man with the ball everywhere except his neck and head you are not allowed to kick him or tackle him while he's in the air if you do the referee will send you off the field immediately by issuing a yellow or red card the most common way to tackle is using the shoulder and arms targeting an opposition player below the waist so he falls to the ground [Applause] during the game you will often see two situations a rock and mole but what are these suppose a player carrying the ball makes contact with a player who wants to tackle him but instead of falling on the ground they keep standing up immediately teammates of both teams will join this formation to Pat for the ball which will be somewhere in the middle this formation is called a mall the man with the ball will try to turn his back to his opponents and make the ball available for his teammates if a moall takes too long the referee will award a scrum in favor of the team moving forward [Applause] [Music] [Applause] a rock is formed after the man with the ball is tackled and the players fall on the ground during this situation two very important rules come into play the man who made the tackle must let go of the tackled player and the man who is tackled must release the ball immediately players of both teams will bind as a unit with each other over the ball group and compete to win the ball with their feet and pushing back the opposing [Applause] players there are several ways to be offside one of the most common ways is during a mall when players are competing to get possession of the ball or to stop them all being driven towards the tri line the offside line starts at the heel of the foot of the last person in the mall and runs across the field from touchline to touchline no one can enter the mall unless they do so from behind that player's foot though rugby is a physical and sometimes tough sport a rugby player always respects his opponent and the referee whatever the referee decides you will never contest their decision or risk being penalized after every game you pay your respects to your opponents and the referee by applauding them when they leave the field respect and sportsmanship are two of the most important values of Rugby Union hopefully with this explanation you will enjoy watching rugby even more but if you are a boy or a girl and want to play rugby yourself go to England rugby.com and find a rugby club near you it's possible to start playing rugby whether you're 5 15 25 or 35 it's fun for all ages your local Club will train you to become a rugby player so you can play safe and ensure you enjoy this fantastic game [Music]