Leisure Kicks - The essencial sport and leisure guide

Rugby is a territorial, full-contact game. The match is made up of two 40 minute halves, when two teams of 15 players try to outscore each other. You can score points in four ways: a try (5 points); a conversion (2); kick drop (3); and penalty kick (3). A try is scored when a player lands the ball beyond the try line, often with themselves on top of the ball to stop the opponent taking it off them. After a try, the scoring team then has a conversion free kick – if they get the ball between the H-shaped goal, they get 2 more points. A kick drop was the spectacular way that Jonny Wilkinson won the Rugby World Cup for England in 2003 – a kick drop is often used as time gets tight towards the end of a game, when a player kicks the ball up and between the goal posts.

The scrum is perhaps the most lasting image of a rugby game, as eight players from each team try to push the opposition backwards. Meanwhile a ‘hooker’ is trying to hook the ball out and gain possession for their team.

Variations of rugby include tag rugby, rugby sevens and beach rugby, which each have slightly different rules.

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Obstruction rules in rugby
BBC Sport