Sports have been a major interest of people all around the world, whether it is watching sports, playing them, or betting on them with different betting bonus offers that online betting brings. Every country has its national sports and every person has his or her favourite ones. For me personally, as you already probably know, rugby is the most interesting sport both for playing and watching. It is aggressive, yes, but there is also a lot of thinking and strategizing that goes into it. But I understand that for many people who have never watched rugby before, the sport may seem a bit chaotic and complicated, so I decided to make a sort of a beginner’s rugby manual so that you can watch your first game without any issues.
Rugby terms
One of the issues people most commonly have when they start watching a sport they are not familiar with is that there are always terms that you do not understand but that are essential to following the game. Every sport has its own unique terminology and the case is the same with rugby. Therefore, my first tip for you is to start by learning all of the terms such as ruck, maul, scrum, line-out, conversion, etc. They might sound confusing at first but you will get a hang of them as soon as you hear them a couple of times during the game. For example, a try is similar to a touchdown and the forward and the backs are just names for players depending on which position they have.
The field
Just like with many other sports, the field is not simply a wide area that you play on but it has many different sections and lines that all have certain meanings that are important for the game. In order to understand the game completely, you have to know the rules of the field as well. There are all kinds of lines in rugby such as the touchlines and the dead-ball lines, as well as a half-way line and a 10-metre line. The rules are tightly connected to these lines, or sections, of the field, so knowing them is essential.
Positions
Similarly, there are different positions players can have and that determines their role in the game. There are, for example, the tight head prop and the loose-head prop, the second rows, the 8 man, the wings, inside centre, etc. In total, there are 15 players per team, which is not a lot so you won’t have that many issues keeping up with them after a game or two.
What to do next?
Now that we have covered the basics (keep in mind that this is only a manual for beginners and that you should take it as a guide when learning about rugby, but there is much more to cover), what are you supposed to do next? Well, it depends on what you want to do. If you want to just watch, find out when the next game is and simply tune in. After a few games, you will be able to know some of the popular teams and even select your favourite one and follow their journey. If you want to play on the other hand, you need some equipment and people to join you.
