How do you play Rugby Union?
Put simply, rugby is a territorial invasion game where the team in possession of the ball seeks to advance the ball forward by running, kicking or passing (backwards) to teammates in the hope of scoring points. The main objective is to score a ‘try’, which is worth five points. Lesser scoring options include a ‘conversion’, which is attempted from a place kick after a try has been scored and is worth two points, or a ‘penalty goal’ which also occurs from a place kick at the spot the penalty was awarded and is worth three points, or a ‘drop goal’ which is when the ball is drop-kicked by a player through the uprights and over the cross-bar from general play and is also worth three points.
The role of the team without the ball is to prevent the advancement of the ball and to contest possession in contact areas such as the tackle, ruck, maul, re-starts and set-piece (scrum and line-out).