Indian Rugby Thread ...

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 8:10 pm

A good rugby field is a must to play the sport properly. Rugby was played at my school in India during the monsoon season, and the ground would get soft. I remember being tackled once when the ground was hard and I skinned my knee pretty bad. Unlike American football, the rugby players do not wear protective gear.

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 12:21 am

India 1989 welcome to forum!!! I watched Australian rules for a while on FSN and it was definitely much faster and better (hate to admit) than American football... Couldn't follow all the rules.. Will look forward to being enlightened by you

India1989 · Post by **India1989** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:08 am

Hi,
I was busy for some time so I was unable to write much. First of all there are many times of these rugby similar sports. But most of the people in India fail to recognize the differences. They think all of them are same. Very few can recognize these sports differently.

First of all there is a huge difference between American Football and Rugby. Even the terms used are different. Out of all of these rugby is most popular in India. In rugby if you score a try, which is crossing the other side's goal line and touching the ball to the ground and at the same time it should be in contact with your body. After that you can have a free shot at the goal. In one try you get 5 points and if you have a successful shot at the goal you get 3 more points. So basically if you do everything right you get 8 points. This game is continous and very rarely they stop. Here you can only pass backwards.

In american football the game is not continous. There is a quaterback which passes the ball one time to one of the players in any direction. THat's it. NO more passing. That guy has to alone take the ball pass the goal line. You do it successfully and you get 6 points. Now in the meantime when you think and fight your way to the other teams goal line your teamates try to stop other players by pushing them or blocking them. Sometimes they are unsuccessful. If the player with the ball is tackled at some place then the same team gets the ball again and passes it to other player. They get 4 turns to get the ball through the other teams line. If they can't then it is the other teams ball. In the meantime if the quaterback passes the ball to its own player and if some other teams player comes and gets the ball then they can carry on with the ball and if he is successful then they get the point. Here you only have to walk with the ball to the other players goal line. You don't have to touch the ball to the ground.

I hope you guys can understand this. IF you have any doubt then just give me a shout and ask the question.

Next in series: Difference between American and Canadian football.

Please do give feedbacks.

Red_Indian · Post by **Red_Indian** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:30 pm

India1989 wrote:In the meantime if the quaterback passes the ball to its own player and if some other teams player comes and gets the ball then they can carry on with the ball

So when the other team's guy intercepts the pass, can he pass along to others or not? Or does he try to run for a touchdown and if he is brough down then play restarts with the quarterback and the 4 chances plays rule applies? I suspect it's the latter.

Thanks for clearing some things up. So in rugby one can't back pass but surely they can kick the ball forward and run like hell to catch it - because they do that.

Also explain the concepts of scrum - I love it, but have idea why it is called

or what the players can or cannot do - and the "throw in" with players from both teams "forming a line" and pushing one player up in the air!

Thanks once again.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:45 pm

Kunal,

If you go to the first page of the thread, I have put a link to the Rules of Rugby.
Rules of Rugby

So in rugby one can't back pass but surely they can kick the ball forward and run like hell to catch it - because they do that.

Rugby allows a player to pass the ball to another player as long as the other player is behind the line of the player passing the ball. American football allows only one forward pass. For example, a quarterback can pass the ball to a wide receiver or running back who is behind the line of the quarterback (considered a backward pass), and then that player can pass (throw) the ball to his team mate (forward pass). America football allows multiple backward passes (similar to rugby) and you may see this used rarely during a kick off return.

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:56 pm

I don't watch rugby because of its history as the font of racism in sport.

In 1976, the African nations boycotted the Olympics because New Zealand was participating. New Zealand had earlier defied the Commonwealth boycott to go and play rugby with apartheid South Africa.
This is a sport that is played primarily among the white nations of the old British empire, with some recent joiners like France, Argentina, Italy, etc. playing it too -- although its importance in all three of those nations is utterly dwarfed by football (rugby). The Brits, during their long period of precipitous decline in cricket, promoted rugby as the alternative sport -- as they were still able to hold their own in it (albeit often playing among themselves, with the Welsh playing the Scots, etc. -- albeit never being allowed to express their nationalism much beyond the rugby arena..!). I know the LaMartiniere Old Boys play the sport with great gusto, as do the Armenians in Calcutta. But to call it a popular sport in Calcutta, leave alone in India, is more than a stretch.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:01 pm

PKB,

If you don't like rugby, you have the right to not watch it. You also have the right to express your views about rugby and racism in this forum, but to keep repeating it in this forum whenever people try to discuss rugby is going too far. You don't have to read the rugby forum if you hate the sport so much.

Red_Indian · Post by **Red_Indian** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 7:54 pm

Hey BBS you elaborated on a point which I'd got alright - only back passes in Rugby and just one pass in American Football, back or forward. I just wanted to clarify that kicking the ball forward and running to catch it or for that matter kicking a ball into a team mate's hands who's in front of you is allowed or not. Because I have seen people kick the ball forward though that might be an attempt to get a "throw in" (whatever that's called in rugby) closer to the opponent's touchline.

And some other questions which I'd asked as well.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:47 pm

American football allows multiple backward passes but only one forward pass. Rugby allows a player to kick the ball forward but American football does not allow deliberate kicking of the ball (except to start the game/after a TD or FG, to kick a field goal, punt the ball or a kick after a safety).

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:54 am

India1989 wrote:Hi,
They get 4 turns to get the ball through the other teams line. If they can't then it is the other teams ball. In the meantime if the quaterback passes the ball to its own player and if some other teams player comes and gets the ball then they can carry on with the ball and if he is successful then they get the point. Here you only have to walk with the ball to the other players goal line. You don't have to touch the ball to the ground.

Please do give feedbacks.

thanks India1989!!! So in Rugby team has totally 4 turns to score points? If they can't cross the line in 4 attempts other team gets the ball? How about if other team recovers the fumble or kick? what happens then?

Red_Indian · Post by **Red_Indian** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:37 am

Kumar wrote:So in Rugby team has totally 4 turns to score points?

Not in rugby but in American Football.

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 4:00 am

BSharma wrote:PKB,

If you don't like rugby, you have the right to not watch it. You also have the right to express your views about rugby and racism in this forum, but to keep repeating it in this forum whenever people try to discuss rugby is going too far. You don't have to read the rugby forum if you hate the sport so much.

Just expressing the view again (in a slightly different way) for a newcomer to the forum.
Others go to great lengths to trash cricket. I'm not sure I appreciate your tone. Taking criticism of a sport personally is a bit much, Bhushan!

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 5:13 am

PKB,
There are only about 50+ posts in the rugby thread and they take up less than four pages. You have trashed the sport in 8 posts and most newcomers to this thread will soon find out your hatred for rugby.

Your comments include, "And besides, this is supposed to be an Indian Sports forum. What is the point of a thread that talks about a sport that India does not play with any seriousness?" Yet we discuss some sports that are played in India with less seriousness than rugby.

Rugby is a great sport, and the sport is not racist because some countries that were racist played this sport. Should we call baseball, American football, basketball, golf, etc racist because racism existed or still exist in these sports?

I do not want to start the debate again on this subject because it is here in this thread for others to read.

Taking criticism of a sport personally is a bit much, Bhushan!

Your comments about rugby suggest to me that you have a problem with this sport, and all I am stating is that if you hate this sport intensely then you should perhaps stay away from this thread, and not interfere with the enjoyment of this sport by some forum members. I cannot stop you from posting positive or negative comments about rugby or any other sport.

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:14 am

You won't chase me away that easily.

Which sports do we discuss here that India plays with less seriousness than rugby???

Rugby is played in about 10 schools in the country. We should start a forum for Eton Fives next.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:34 am

You won't chase me away that easily.

Nobody is chasing you away.

Which sports do we discuss here that India plays with less seriousness than rugby???

Triathlon and Eton Fives.

There is only one place to train in India. Twenty-three athletes were selected to train and only 7 were left after some dropped out or others were kicked out.

Rugby is played in about 10 schools in the country. We should start a forum for Eton Fives next.

You started a thread ofor Eton Fives. You should know. lol