Wolverine RugbyIntroduction
Rugby is a team sport that is played in over 120 countries throughout the world, with over 3 million registered players. A global TV audience of over 4 billion people watched the last Rugby World Cup in France, 2007.
Rugby was ‘invented’ in 1823, in England, when William Webb Ellis, a student of Rugby School, “with fine disregard for the rules of [soccer] picked up the ball and ran with it”. American Football later emerged from Rugby in the 1880’s.
Rugby is governed and officiated by standardized and strictly enforced laws, maintained and modified to support the principles of the game by the International Rugby Board. While all laws are intended to encourage fair play and eliminate safety risks, specific law variations are followed at the youth level to further ensure player safety and minimize risk of injury.
Football and Rugby
Arizona State Football players allowed to play rugby
"Arizona State Head Football Coach Dennis Erickson has given the go-ahead for varsity and scholarship football players to participate in Arizona State’s rugby team this season.The announcement is a huge benefit to the Sun Devils rugby program, which is jumping from DII to the College Premier League this season.
Erickson has placed no restrictions on the agreement, other than players cannot miss spring practice. This has no effect on the ASU rugby team as there is no conflict in practice times."
The differences between rugby and football
Two significant
differences between Rugby and American Football are the addition of the
‘Forward Pass’ and the allowance of blocking for the ball carrier. The laws of Rugby allow for each team to
contest possession at all stages of a game without a break in play for long
periods. The fluid and rapid nature of Rugby means that although teams
practice and execute rehearsed plays and defensive schemes, players must be
quick thinking and tactically adept to cope with an unpredictable, fast moving
game.
Source: Wikipedia.org - Comparison of American Football to Rugby
Football - one play every 45 seconds plus times outs, 2 minute warning etc
Rugby - One phase every 10 seconds, continuous play
Common skills
|
Football
Attributes Which a Rugby Off-season Would Maintain or Improve |
|||
|
Skill/Attribute |
Key Components |
Football |
Rugby |
|
Intensity |
Competitiveness;
Toughness; “Killer instinct” |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Athleticism |
Top Speed, Agility, Strength, Balance |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Tackling |
Success rate
after contact; Tackle percentage |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Conditioning |
Minimize recovery time; Sustain peak work rate for duration of a game |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Gaining Ground |
Open-field
running; Controlling contact; “Big” players running hard; “Fast” players
breaking line |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Ball-handling |
Success rate in pass-catch; Ball retention in contact; “Big” guys able to
create turnovers |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Teamwork |
Game plan execution;
On-the-field communication |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Character |
Commitment; Team-first attitude; Sportsmanship |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Creativity |
Cognition;
Creating & capitalizing on reactions |
Yes |
Yes |
