

When a conversion or penalty goal kick attempt is made, the ball must travel over the crossbar for points to be awarded. This draws in defenders and will ultimately lead to gaps forming elsewhere on the field.Ĭrossbar: The horizontal post suspended between the uprights. This is an effective attacking tactic because often, multiple defenders must commit to tackling the player. If they move the opposing players back far enough they have successfully completed a counter ruck.Ĭrash ball: A short, flat pass given to a player running a line straight to the defence.

A counter ruck is simply when players, who are on their feet, clear out all the players standing over the ball of the opposing team. A counter ruck may be done to try and gain possession at this point. If they successfully clear the crossbar and dissect the uprights with this attempt, it is known as a conversion.Ĭounter ruck: Once a ruck is formed, players may longer use their hands to attempt to turn the ball over.

It goes back to an old English practice in football where each player was awarded an actual cap for playing an international football game.Ĭonversion: After a try is scored, players are given the opportunity to kick at goal to be awarded an additional 2 points. The number of caps a player has is just a fancy way of saying how many games they have played. This kick is made from the base of the ruck or maul and usually has the forwards in a position to protect the scrumhalfīreakdown: A temporary state in between when a tackle is made and when the ruck is formed.Ĭap: This is an old school rugby term. A rugby field is typically 70m wide, so if a scrum is awarded 10m from the right-hand touchline, that side of the field is known as the blindside.īox kick: A type of kick made by the scrum-half. They are usually faster, smaller and more skilful players.īlindside: The narrower side of the field relative to the position of the set piece or breakdown. Īnkle tap: A type of tackle where the ankles of an opponent are hit in a way that trips them from behind.īacks: A rugby term reffering to the 7 guys not part of the scrum. Simply put, the advantage line is an imaginary linedrawn across the field where the last breakdown occurred. It marks the closest point to the goal line at which play can restart if there has been a stoppage.Īdvantage line: See offside rules. This line is the place from which 22m restarts are taken and the region in which a player can call for a mark.ĥ: This is the dotted line 5m from each goal line. It could also refer to the 10m line which is a dotted, horizontal line 10m from the halfway line on either side of the field.Ģ2: A solid line on the field drawn 22m from each goal line. To prevent that from ever happening again, here is a list of common rugby terms that you will most likely need to know: Common terms used in rugbyġ0: If the referee shouts this at you it could mean that it is a penalty for the opposing team and he wants you to retreat 10 metres.

Or we’re watching a game and a penalty is given, but we have no idea why.
BACKLINE DRILLS FOR RUGBY HOW TO
We all know that feeling when the ref shouts some jargon at us or our team, but we don’t know how to react. Even if you have been playing for a while there are certain words that aren’t used too often, but they might be foreign to you when you first hear them.Ī general explanation of how rugby is played is available here, but this post just goes through some jargon. If you are new to rugby, all these rugby terms and phrases being thrown around can be overwhelming and scare you off. When Duke gave the hospital pass that nearly killed Bob.” “No! Just before the penalty that was given for wheeling near the 22. “You mean after I gave the crash ball and they ankle tapped Bob?” asked Peter. Jim and Peter know their rugby terms: “That was hands in the ruck!” shouted Jim.
