Sports Medicine: Just the Facts

HISTORY

• Rugby is a cross between soccer and football. (Dietzen
  and Topping, 1999)
  •Invented in 1932 when William Webb Ellis picked up
  the ball and advanced it in a soccer match at Rugby
  College in England. The only way to stop the runner
  was to tackle him or her. (Dietzen and Topping, 1999)


• American football evolved from rugby in the late
  nineteenth century.


• It was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1924. (USA
  Rugby website)
  
  
  1. The United States won the gold medal in 1920 and
     1924.
  
  
  
  


• After 1924, it was no longer an Olympic sport, and
  this was followed by decreased popularity in the
  United States. (USA Rugby website)


• It is currently being considered for reinstatement as an
  Olympic sport for the 2012 games. (USA Rugby web-
  site)

MATCH

• Goals(USA Rugby Football Union, 2003)
  
  
  1. Where as American football is a game of yardage,
     rugby union is a game of possession.
  
  
  2. The player with possession of the ball is the front-
     most player on the attacking team. He or she may
     advance the ball by running with the ball, kicking
     it forward, or by passing it backward or laterally to
     another player on his or her team.
     a. All teammates are behind the ball carrier in sup-
     port.
     b.Unlike American football, blocking for the ball
     carrier is not permitted and is penalized as
     obstruction.
  
  
  3. The objective is to maintain control of the ball and
     touch it down in the try zone (the rugby equivalent
     of the American football end zone).
     a. Once crossing the try line, the player must touch
     the ball down on the ground in order to register
     a try, which is worth 5 points.
     b.The try entitles the scoring team to attempt to
     kick the ball through the goal posts, which is
     worth another 2 points.
     i. The kicker takes the ball out of the try zone
     along a line where the ball was touched down
     parallel to the touch lines.
  
  
  4. An offensive player may also attempt to drop-kick
     the ball through the goal posts during open play,
     which is worth 3 points.
  
  
  5. The team with the maximum points at the end of
     the match is the victor.
     6. A typical game requires the athlete to cover a dis-
     tance of 5 to 8 km, running at speeds up to 5–8 m/s
     (comparable to soccer) (Dexter, 2003).
     7. In addition, the rugby player is involved in >1–2
     episodes of collision contact per minute (Dexter,
     2003).
     a. These equate to approximately 40 tackles and
     up to 70 rucks and mauls per game.
     b.The forwards sustain an additional 30 scrums
     and 40 line outs per game.
     8. There are few substitutions allowed. The mean
     duration of high intensity work (sprinting or con-
     tact) is 38 s/min with an average workload of 51
     min per 80-min match. In comparison, the average
     American football game has only 10 min of con-
     tact or significant exertion per game (Dexter,
     2003).
  
  
  
  


• Pitch:The rugby field is called the pitch (USA Rugby
  Football Union, 2003).

1. The rectangular field of play (which excludes the
   goal zones) does not exceed 70 m in width and
   100 m in length.


2. Each try zone is the same width as the remainder
   of the pitch and is between 10 and 22 m in depth.


3. The pitch has the following solid lines:
   a. Half-way line or midfield line (half the distance
   between the try lines)
   b.Ten-meter lines on each side of the half way line
   c. Twenty-meter lines (22 m from the try lines)
   d. Try lines
   e. Dead ball lines (at the deepest portion of the try
   zone)
   f. Touch lines (side lines)


4. Dashed lines
   a. Positioned 5 and 15 m parallel to the touch
   lines.


5. The goal posts are on the goal line and are in the
   field of play.
   a. The distance between the posts is 5.6 m in width
   with a minimum height of 3.4 m.
   b.The crossbar is 3.0 m from the ground.
   c. The posts should be padded (since players can
   collide with them as they are in the field of play)

• Rules

1. The match is divided into two 40-min halves with
   a 5–10-min half time (USA Rugby Football Union,
   2003).


2. A player who leaves the match and is substituted
   may not return to the match.
   a. Exception: A player maybe substituted for a
   maximum of 15 min for control of bleeding
   from an injury. After bleeding is controlled, he
   or she may then return to play. This is com-
   monly referred to as a blood sub.

514 SECTION 6 • SPORTS-SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS