Rugby Has Long Honorable History, Complicated Set of Rules, Terms

Rugby has been played in various forms in England since the twelfth century. According to legend, teams with up to a hundred players would confront each other on village commons and attempt to put an improvised ball between two trees. The rules varied considerably from town to town.

During the nineteenth century, however, rugby or rugger became more formalized. Gradually, distinctions were drawn between two variants of the game. One, which permitted players to pick up the ball and run with it, soon evolved into rugby. The other version, which only permitted players to kick the ball, was soon formalized as a separate sport. In fact, soccer, or rugby without passing, today enjoys greater popularity than its kin in Scotland.

A plaque at the Rugby School in England still commemorates William Webb Ellis, who in 1823 first picked up the ball and ran with it, thus becoming the father of modern rugby.

In the United States, rugby has become increasingly popular in recent years. The Eastern Rugby Union now has twenty member teams from the larger Eastern cities, Ivy League universities, and other East coast schools.

Modern rugby involves rules and terms far more complicated than the nineteenth century Englishman knew. The field itself is 75 yards wide and 150 yards long, almost twice the area of an American football gridiron. The two fields are laid out similarly except that the rugby goal posts are set right on the goal line.

The prolate spheroid used in rugby is rounder than a football and therefore easier to kick, but more difficult to throw. The rugby match consists of two 35-minute periods of continuous play separated by a five-minute half-time break after which the teams change goals.

Scoring is vaguely similar to football. A try, worth three points, corresponds essentially to the touchdown, and consists in touching the ball down across the opponent's goal line. However, the object is to score a try as near to the center of the goal posts as possible since, after a try, the player must attempt to convert (for two points) by kicking the ball between the goal posts and over the crossbar from a point directly in front of the spot where he touched it down.

Drop kicks made on the run, punts, and penalty kicks are all worth three points if they go between the goal posts and over its crossbar Free kicks, somewhat of a rarity, are made after catching the ball and shouting "Mark!" while simultaneously grinding one's heel into the ground. If his call is recognized by the referee, the player is allowed to try a conversion which, if good, counts for three points.

Three major characteristics differentiate rugby from football.

* No blocking or interference is allowed in rugby. An opposing player cannot be tackled until he is in possession of the ball. When a teammate precedes the ball-carrier and interferes with the play an immediate offsides is called.

* No forward passing is allowed.

* The scrummage is used to put the ball back in play and not to help a team advance. The scrum halfback throws the ball into the scrum, and both teams have an equal opportunity to "heel it" or "wheel it" out to their backs, where as in football, one team begins in possession of the ball.

Eight forwards constitute the scrum. They "bind" together, forming a mass of power, and attempt to push back the other side's scrum. The lower they "ride," the more success they will have, much as in blocking in football.

Behind the scrum is the backfield in which the scrum half corresponds loosely with football's quarterback. Behind him, the three quarterbacks line out diagonally and do most of the running if their scrums can get the ball out to them.

Blood and guts are the main ingredients of the grand sport. But rugger is still a gentleman's sport. After getting your wind knocked out or after a particularly jarring tackle, one bears (I am told), "Terribly sorry old chap!" or "Pardon me, laddie!" Whether international or local in origin, this custom sets the tone for rugby in New England