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Arnold

Where are the pads?

Ni"u tt saidthat tfre$ort of rugbp is a barbaricsportplayedby gentlemen.As a rookieat

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this sport, I do not expect to you to have an opinion on this statementyet. Through my

that I will give you enough information to help you

,explanation of rugby to you, I am hoping

form your own opinion on that statement.The sport of rugby was discoveredwhen a sixteen year
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old child was playing soccerwith his friends. It startedwhen he decidedto breakthe rules of the
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t ** 'nd.n. and instead of kicking the ball; he picked it up and startedrunning towards the opponents
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ir"o." area.As this young man did this, his friends were baffled at what he was doing, and in

order to stop him, they chasedhim down and tackled him. At the moment this kids had no idea

i they were creating a game that would withstand the harshnessof time. The object of the game is

that two teams, each having fifteen players try to score as many points as possible in the allotted

time. The team that scoresthe greaternumber of points is declaredthe winner of the match. The

aim of eachteam is to gain possessionof the ball, take it into oppositionterritory and to place it

in the in-goal area.Rugby is a game of continuous flow, there is constantcompetition for the ball
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at the breakdown.
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(^o'' i t/ we firststartwithpreparationfor the game. Unlike football, preparationfor rugby is

]a" attyouneedare some cleats,a mouth piece and the ever so popular and
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unnecessarilyshort shorts.Most teamswant their playerswearing specific colors andjersey,

which they provide. Once you have theseitems you have to do the most important thing of all,

get mentally prepared.For different people this meansdifferent thing, I know a guy, Drew, that I
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hasto run aroundthe field while listeningto what somemay considerdevil music to get in his

zone,while anotherguy, Chris, hasto stretchevery singlepiece of his body two times. To people

that don't understandthe game this seemslike an unnecessaryand idiotic routine to go through

before every game. What thesepeople need to understandis that the object behind the stretching

or the music is nothing more than a way for theseplayers to get their bodies ready for a game.

Sincethey do this routine every game,their bodiesare programmedto get readyto play this

physically draining gamewhen they hear or feel thesecues.The mental preparationshould get

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'/ your adrenalinepumping, which will have you feeling invincible and hulk like.

Once the mental preparationis over, you are readyto play the game.To play the gameof

rugby, there are some basic rules that players need to understand.Start play with the defensive

team kicking the ball to the offensive team. The offensive team then runs with the ball until

tackled.The offensemay passor kick the ball to a teammate,but can't passthe ball forward.

Oncetackled the player must releaseor passthe ball. If the ball is releasedthe gamecontinues

and the ball is open for anyone to take, but if not releasedand the tackled player holds on to the

ball while on the ground, this is considereda penalty,and will result in the opposingteam being

awardedthe ball. Play only stopswhen a rule is violated, suchas two opposingplayersgrabbing

the ball (which is known as a ruck or maul), or the ball goes out of bounds. To restart play either

a scnrm or a line-out will happen.A scrum is when the group in the game known as the forwards
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./ (which are the bigger and stronger guys) get together in a huddle, bind up to each other and

competeagainst the other team for the ball by kicking it back through their own scnrm until it
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reachesthe back of the scrum where it is passedout and the game continues,the scrum is

traditionally- whal most pepple think of when they think of rugby. A line-out is when the player
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known as the hooker (called this becausehe hooks the ball in scrums)throws the ball in tunnel
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createdby the teams standing a certain distanceapart while the two teams lift one man into the

air to competewith the otherjumper and for possessionof the ball (this man is usually the tallest

guy on the team). There are also other violations that could happenduring the gamethat might

require the teamsto compete in scrums, such as a ball being dropped forward or a ball that is

passedforward. The point of the gameis to ultimately reachthe opponentsgoal area.A scorein

rugby is worth five points, and is done by touching the ball to the ground in the opponent'sgoal

area.After the try (score) one player on the scoring team attemptsto kick the ball through the

goalpostsfor two extra points. Following the rules and guidelinesof rugby makeswinning the

gamemuch more possible.

Rugby is a sport that requires quick thought and good team work. When playing the

game, it is extremely important to communicate with your teammates,and let them know what

you are doing and what you are thinking. Making quick decisionsand not secondguessyourself

is very important.As a player if you follow thesetwo rules you shouldbe able to play the game

with ease.Michael, a guy that played rugby on my old high schoolteam had greatpotentialbut

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I sufferedfrom this problem. He was never sureif he shouldhold on to the ball and go into the
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tackle or if he shouldpassthe ball. Even though Michael was very fast and agile, he constantly
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?rF"" I secondguessedhimself and endedup losing gamesfor the team.On the other hand,Jacob,

anotherplayer on that samehigh schoolteam is the completeoppositeof that. He doesnot have

the greatestathletic abilities, but in a game,when he makesa decisioneven if incorrecthe sticks

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; with it and doesit aggressively.When Jacobis playing in a game,he always lets the other
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if wrong, preparesthe other

players know where he is, and what he is going to do, which even

to play the game of rugby;

players to support his decisions on the field. This is the right way

teamswin games'
Players such as Jacob are the types of players that help their

you now understandthe

Even though you might not understandevery aspectof rugby,

your skills as a player. Through the years

rules a little more and can go out and start developing
about rugby and will find
of experiencethat are to come, you will learn many more things
enough thoughts and rugby
yourself turning into an expert on the sport, and might finallv have
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lper you aglee that rugby is a
experienceto take a stand on either side of the argument.
able to agreethat rugby is much
barbaric sport played by gentlemen,or disagree,you will be

more than iust football without pads'