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The International Rugby Board (IRB), founded in 1886, governs the sport and also publishes the game's laws. Until 1995 when Rugby Union became an "open" game, the IRB claimed to rigorously enforce the amateur rule. However, especially during the period leading up the 1995 decision, this was doubted by some, who dubbed the situation "shamateurism". Despite this skepticism, the move from amaterism to professionalism has been one of great success and has undoubtedly increased the quality of Rugby being played.
The aim of rugby is to score more points than the opposition. Teams score points in several ways:
Various set-pieces occur in play, principally:
At the start of each half, one side kicks off. One side, determined following the toss of a coin, takes a drop kick from the middle of the centre line to start the first half. The ball must travel at least 10 metres into the opposition half. The other team kicks off the second half. The kicking side frequently kick the ball high and aims to drop it just over the 10 metre minimum (which is marked by a dashed line across the pitch. This tactic gives their players time to chase the lobbed ball and hope to catch it before the defenders can do so. Alternativly the kick may be a long kick deep into opposition territory, sacrificing the chance to regain posession for territorial gain.
Similarly, there is also a 22 metre drop-out. This is awarded if the attacking side is responsible for sending the ball into in-goal, but instead of their player grounding the ball and scoring a try it is first grounded by a defender. If the ball is kicked into in-goal by the attackers and instead of being grounded there by either side it continues, under its own steam, through the in-goal area and goes dead by going out of play then the defenders have the option of choosing either a 22 drop out OR a scrum at the place where the attackers kicked the ball. The 22 metre drop out is taken at any point along (or behind) the 22 metre line.
A player may tackle an opposing player who has the ball by bringing him to ground and holding him. If a ball carrier is held by an opposition player but still has forward momentum he may continue to slide over the goal-line and score a try. One knee touching the ground, or the ball touching the ground, is sufficient for a ball carrier to be deemed to be grounded. A tackled player must release the ball, and the tackler must release him and move away, allowing the ball to become available, or for a ruck to form. If the ball-carrier is held but is not on the ground, then it is not a tackle and a maul may form.
Players will often deliberately go to ground rather than form a maul, a strategy to take advantage of the rules governing rucks and mauls. Once a player has gone to ground and a ruck has formed, the opposing team are not allowed to pick up the ball, and have to try to secure posession by pushing the team in posession out of the way. In a maul situation, the team not in posession is allowed to actively compete for the ball by trying to wrestle it from the carrier. Therefore, it is easier to retain posession of the ball in a ruck (in which the opposition cannot touch the ball) than a maul, and a ruck will often allow a team to recover the ball quickly and move it on so as to launch another attack before the defenders have had time to re-organise.
There are a number of laws governing how to tackle, the most notable of which are that the tackler cannot tackle above the shoulder (the neck and head are out of bounds), and the tackler has to attempt to wrap his arms around the player being tackled to complete the tackle. It is illegal to trip a player using feet or legs, but hands may be used (this being referred to as a tap-tackle or ankle-tap).