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I'm getting into watching rugby alot, what do I need to know ?
(I'm tired of watching the ridiculous circus know as the NFL)
What countries/teams should I watch for or follow? I watch as much as possible but how can I better understand the sport? I'm trying to make sense of all the different titles of the games I've been watching, i.e. 6 nations , aviva premiership, LV cup, managers league, etc. Who plays I'm what? I have an small understanding of the difference between league and union but would like to know much more about the sport in general. Thanks
There's a lot of information you are asking for here. I'll try to break it down.
Most of the teams/leagues you have mentioned play Rugby Union. That game isn't as complicated as it looks to the uninitiated. There are only two basic principles you need to know to understand the flow of the game, and which distinguish it from the American gridiron football. The first is that you must play offense from behind the ball carrier. If you are in a position in front of the carrier and you interfere with play (or obstruct a defender) you are penalized.
The second is that players who are off their feet cannot handle the ball. If you are carrying the ball and get tackled you must release it and make it available for another player (on either side) who is on their feet. This is what rugby calls a "contested breakdown". It is generally followed by a "ruck", which is the contest for the ball. The rules of rucking -- which are quite strict as to how and where players enter a ruck -- gives the offense an advantage in retaining the ball, but it is by no means a sure thing. Every tackle gives the defence a reasonable shot a turning the ball over.
It makes play a lot more continuous and demands a much higher degree of cardio fitness from the players. The limited substitutions add to this -- you dress 22 players, fifteen of which start the game. All substitutions are permanent, which means that at least 8 of your players must be on the pitch for the entire game.
If you go to the USA Rugby site ( http://www.usarugby.org ) you find a link called "About USA Rugby". This takes you to an Adobe document called "Spectators Guide to the Game" which gives more details. The Wikipedia article called Rugby Union Gameplay ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_rugby_union ) is also pretty good, and has some useful links as well.
Rugby League is another version of the sport developed in northern England. it is also popular in eastern Australia but is difficulty to find anywhere else. There are many technical differences which have turned League and Union into very different games, but the most fundamental is that League does not have a contested breakdown. Instead the offensive team has six downs or tackles to advance the ball. If they don't score, or kick the ball away after five downs, then they turn the ball over to the opposition -- much like a failed fourth down attempt in gridiron.
As for the leagues -- all the competitions you mention play Union. The Six Nations is played annually, and features the top six European national teams, England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy. Its counterpart in southern hemisphere is the Trinations -- another annual competition between New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Argentina will be joining in 2012. That competition includes the All-Blacks of New Zealand which is the world's best known rugby squad.
And of course there is the Rugby World Cup, which is played every four years. The world's best 20 nations participate and it will be played next over October and November of this year in New Zealand.
As for club competitions -- the top ones in Europe are the Avivia Premiership made up of the top 12 English clubs, the Magners League (also called the Celtic League) which has four Irish, four Welsh, two Scottish and two Italian clubs. There is also the French Top-14. The best clubs from each of these leagues also compete against each other in the Heineken Cup, The most recent winner is the French club, Toulouse.
In the south the main club competition is the Super-15, which is made up of teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The most dominant team in that competition has been the New Zealand "Crusaders" club based in Canterbury. There are also domestic compeitions in New Zealand (ITM Cup) and South Africa (Currie Cup) where you can see a very high quality of rugby.
I know there is a lot to absorb here, but I hope it has helped.