CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union","20081217055536","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1229493336"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/> <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.14alpha"/> <meta name="keywords" content="Rugby union,Main page,Special:Search/Rugby union,1924 Summer Olympics,2007,2007 Rugby World Cup,2011 Rugby World Cup,Africa,Airsoft,All Blacks,American football"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit"/> <link rel="edit" title="Edit this page" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://en.wikipedia.org/apple-touch-icon.png"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/web/20081217055536im_/http://en.wikipedia.org/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="Wikipedia (en)"/> <link rel="copyright" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Wikipedia RSS Feed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=rss"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom Feed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <title>Rugby union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536cs_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/shared.css?189" type="text/css" media="screen"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536cs_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/commonPrint.css?189" type="text/css" media="print"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536cs_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/monobook/main.css?189" type="text/css" media="screen"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536cs_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/chick/main.css?189" type="text/css" media="handheld"/>     <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20081217055536cs_/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Common.css&usemsgcache=yes&ctype=text%2Fcss&smaxage=2678400&action=raw&maxage=2678400" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20081217055536cs_/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Print.css&usemsgcache=yes&ctype=text%2Fcss&smaxage=2678400&action=raw&maxage=2678400" type="text/css" media="print"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20081217055536cs_/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Handheld.css&usemsgcache=yes&ctype=text%2Fcss&smaxage=2678400&action=raw&maxage=2678400" type="text/css" media="handheld"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20081217055536cs_/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Monobook.css&usemsgcache=yes&ctype=text%2Fcss&smaxage=2678400&action=raw&maxage=2678400" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20081217055536cs_/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=-&action=raw&maxage=2678400&gen=css" type="text/css"/>  <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ var skin = "monobook"; var stylepath = "https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins"; var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1"; var wgScriptPath = "/w"; var wgScript = "/w/index.php"; var wgVariantArticlePath = false; var wgActionPaths = {}; var wgServer = "https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org"; var wgCanonicalNamespace = ""; var wgCanonicalSpecialPageName = false; var wgNamespaceNumber = 0; var wgPageName = "Rugby_union"; var wgTitle = "Rugby union"; var wgAction = "view"; var wgArticleId = "25405"; var wgIsArticle = true; var wgUserName = null; var wgUserGroups = null; var wgUserLanguage = "en"; var wgContentLanguage = "en"; var wgBreakFrames = false; var wgCurRevisionId = "258219128"; var wgVersion = "1.14alpha"; var wgEnableAPI = true; var wgEnableWriteAPI = true; var wgSeparatorTransformTable = ["", ""]; var wgDigitTransformTable = ["", ""]; var wgMWSuggestTemplate = "https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=opensearch\x26search={searchTerms}\x26namespace={namespaces}"; var wgDBname = "enwiki"; var wgSearchNamespaces = [0]; var wgMWSuggestMessages = ["with suggestions", "no suggestions"]; var wgRestrictionEdit = []; var wgRestrictionMove = []; /*]]>*/</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536js_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/wikibits.js?189"></script>  <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536js_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/ajax.js?189"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536js_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/mwsuggest.js?189"></script> <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ var wgNotice='';var wgNoticeLocal=''; /*]]>*/</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536js_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/centralnotice/wikipedia/en/centralnotice.js?189"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/20081217055536js_/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=-&action=raw&gen=js&useskin=monobook"></script> </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr ns-0 ns-subject page-Rugby_union skin-monobook"> <div id="globalWrapper"> <div id="column-content"> <div id="content"> <a name="top" id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice"><script type="text/javascript">if (wgNotice != '') document.writeln(wgNotice);</script></div> <h1 class="firstHeading">Rugby union</h1> <div id="bodyContent"> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3> <div id="contentSub"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav">Jump to: <a href="#column-one">navigation</a>, <a href="#searchInput">search</a></div>  <div class="dablink">For other uses, see <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_(disambiguation)" title="Rugby (disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect">Rugby (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <table class="infobox" style="width: 250px; font-size: 95%;"> <tr> <td align="center" colspan="2"> <p><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scrum_rugby.jpg" class="image" title="A rugby union scrum."><img alt="A rugby union scrum." src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Scrum_rugby.jpg/245px-Scrum_rugby.jpg" width="245" height="147" border="0"/></a></p> </td> </tr> <caption style="font-size: larger;"><b>Rugby Union</b></caption> <tr> <td align="center" colspan="2"></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" bgcolor="#B0C4DE"><b>General Information</b></th> </tr> <tr style="vertical-align: top;"> <td><b>Originated</b></td> <td>1845, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby,_Warwickshire" title="Rugby, Warwickshire">Rugby</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwickshire" title="Warwickshire">Warwickshire</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" title="England">England</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>World Governing Body</b></td> <td><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rugby_Board" title="International Rugby Board">International Rugby Board</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" bgcolor="#B0C4DE"><b>Major Competitions</b></th> </tr> <tr style="vertical-align: top;"> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>Major Competitions</b></td> <td><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup" title="Rugby World Cup">The World Cup</a><br/> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri_Nations_(rugby_union)" title="Tri Nations (rugby union)">Tri Nations</a><br/> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship" title="Six Nations Championship">Six Nations</a><br/> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_14" title="Super 14">Super 14</a><br/> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heineken_Cup" title="Heineken Cup">Heineken Cup</a></td> </tr> </table> <p><b>Rugby union</b> is a competitive outdoor <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_sport" title="Contact sport">contact sport</a>, played with an <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oval" title="Oval">oval</a><sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-0" title=""><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup> ball, by two teams of 15 players. It is one of the two main codes of <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_football" title="Rugby football">rugby football</a>, the other being <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_league" title="Rugby league">rugby league</a>. There is also a seven-a-side variant named <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_sevens" title="Rugby sevens">rugby sevens</a>, which is played under modified laws and with only seven players per team.</p> <p>Rugby union is most often referred to as simply <b>rugby</b>. It has also been known by the name <b>rugger</b>, although that term has declined in use.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1" title=""><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2" title=""><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a></sup></p> <table id="toc" class="toc" summary="Contents"> <tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> </div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#Overview"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Overview</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#History"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#Governing_bodies"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Governing bodies</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#Worldwide"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Worldwide</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#Major_international_competitions"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Major international competitions</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#Women.27s_Rugby"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Women's Rugby</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#British_military"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">British military</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#Variants"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Variants</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#Bibliography"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">Bibliography</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#Footnotes"><span class="tocnumber">11.1</span> <span class="toctext">Footnotes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#Notations"><span class="tocnumber">11.2</span> <span class="toctext">Notations</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#Official"><span class="tocnumber">12.1</span> <span class="toctext">Official</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2"><a href="#Resources"><span class="tocnumber">12.2</span> <span class="toctext">Resources</span></a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script> <p><a name="Overview" id="Overview"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Overview">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Overview</span></h2> <dl> <dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_rugby_union" title="Playing rugby union">Playing rugby union</a></i></div> </dd> </dl> <p>A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes, (plus stoppage time), with a short interval (no more than 10 minutes)<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3" title=""><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></a></sup> after the first 40 minutes; at under-19 level and below, games are limited to a maximum of 80 minutes, with an interval after 35 minutes.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4" title=""><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></a></sup> A match is controlled by a <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referee" title="Referee">referee</a>, who is assisted by two <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_judge" title="Touch judge">touch judges</a> or assistant referees. For professional matches, a television match official (TMO), commonly called the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_referee" title="Video referee">video referee</a> is often employed, usually to advise the referee on matters pertaining to the scoring of <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Try" title="Try">tries</a> and <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_goal_(rugby)" title="Field goal (rugby)" class="mw-redirect">dropped goals</a>.</p> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width:184px;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Try.jpg" class="image" title="The Try, 1930s boys' comic illustration of play in a school rugby match."><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/The_Try.jpg" width="182" height="255" border="0" class="thumbimage"/></a> <div class="thumbcaption">The Try, 1930s boys' <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics" title="Comics">comic</a> illustration of play in a school rugby match.</div> </div> </div> <p>The object of the game is to score as many points as possible. The team that scores the greater number of points is the winner.</p> <p>Points are awarded for scoring a try or kicking a goal. A try, which is worth 5 points, is scored when the ball is grounded by a player on the attacking team within the opponent's in-goal area. A goal is scored by kicking the ball over the crossbar of the opponent's goal while remaining between the posts.</p> <p>There are three ways to score a goal: (i) a <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_goal_(rugby)" title="Field goal (rugby)" class="mw-redirect">dropped goal</a> (scored in open play where the ball must hit the ground immediately before it is kicked); (ii) a <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penalty_(rugby_union)" title="Penalty (rugby union)">penalty goal</a> (awarded after the opposing side infringes against the laws of rugby and may be kicked from a stationary ground position or by drop kick); and (iii) a <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Try#Conversion" title="Try">conversion</a> (awarded after a try is scored) by either a drop kick or a place kick. A penalty or dropped goal is worth 3 points; a conversion is worth 2 points.</p> <p>The pitch must be no more than 100 meters in length, not including the in-goal area. The depth of the in-goal area can vary but must be at least 10 meters (where practicable) and no more than 22 meters. The width of the pitch may also vary but must be no more than 70 meters wide. The goal posts are situated on the centre of the goal line with the upright posts placed 5.6 meters apart and the crossbar is placed 3 meters above the ground in an "H" shape. The overall height of the goal posts must be over 3.4 meters.</p> <p>A typical passage of rugby takes the following form: the team in possession of the ball moves the ball up the field in an effort to ground the ball over the opponents' goal-line in order to score a try until such time as the ball carrier is <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_rugby_union#Tackle" title="Playing rugby union">tackled</a>. They then form a <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_rugby_union#Ruck" title="Playing rugby union">ruck</a> in order to win the ball back. This process repeats until one team loses possession, makes a mistake that violates the laws of the game, moves off the field of play or a try or goal is scored.</p> <p>The team in possession may choose to advance by kicking the ball forward. The ball may be <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_passes#passes" title="Rugby passes">passed</a> from one player to another as long as the ball is not thrown forward. Rugby union is one of the few ball games where the ball cannot be passed forward. Any team mate nearer the opposition goal than the ball-carrier is off-side and must not interfere with play, meaning that <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football" title="American football">American football</a>–style blocking is forbidden.</p> <p>The team not in possession attempts to stop the ball carrier by tackling him, which consists of grabbing hold of him and bringing him to ground. A tackled player must pass or release the ball, allowing the opposition to contest possession of the loose ball. Play does not stop unless there is an infringement of the laws, or the ball/ball-carrier leaves the field of play.</p> <p>If the ball goes into <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_(rugby)" title="Touch (rugby)">touch</a> the game restarts with a <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-out" title="Line-out">line-out</a>. If the game stops because of an infringement, play restarts with either a <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(rugby_union)" title="Scrum (rugby union)">scrum</a>, free kick or penalty kick (depending on the severity of the infringement) awarded to the non-infringing team.</p> <p>Tries are the main form of scoring, and the primary aim of most teams is to score tries. Drop goals and penalty kicks are usually augmenters, a safer option against a steadfast defense or to punish ill-disciplined opposition. On some (rare) occasions, a team may be awarded a penalty try, if their opponents commit a foul which is deemed by the referee to have prevented a probable try, for example collapsing a scrum close to the try line.</p> <p><a name="History" id="History"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2> <dl> <dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rugby_union" title="History of rugby union">History of rugby union</a></i></div> </dd> </dl> <p>The history of rugby union follows from various football games played long before the 19th century, but it was not until the middle of that century that laws were formulated and codified. Most people believe rugby started when schoolboy <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Webb_Ellis" title="William Webb Ellis">William Webb Ellis</a> picked up a football in 1823 and ran with it, creating rugby. This occurred in <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_School" title="Rugby School">Rugby School</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby,_Warwickshire" title="Rugby, Warwickshire">Rugby</a>, England, hence the name of the sport. The code of football later known as rugby union can be traced to three events: the first set of written laws in 1845; the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the The Football Association in 1863 and; the formation of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The code was originally known simply as "rugby football"; it was not until a schism, in 1895, which resulted in the separate code of rugby league, that the name "rugby union" was used for the game itself.</p> <p><a name="Governing_bodies" id="Governing_bodies"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Governing bodies">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Governing bodies</span></h2> <dl> <dd><span class="boilerplate seealso"><i>See also: <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rugby_Board" title="International Rugby Board">International Rugby Board</a> and <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_foundation_of_national_rugby_unions" title="Timeline of foundation of national rugby unions">Timeline of foundation of national rugby unions</a></i></span></dd> </dl> <p>The recognised international governing body of rugby union (and associated games, such as sevens) is the International Rugby Board (IRB). The IRB headquarters are located in <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin" title="Dublin">Dublin</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Ireland" title="Rugby union in Ireland">Ireland</a>.</p> <p>Six regional associations are members of the IRB; these are:</p> <ul> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" title="Africa">Africa</a>: <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederation_of_African_Rugby" title="Confederation of African Rugby">Confederation of African Rugby</a> (CAR)</li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a>: <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Rugby_Football_Union" title="Asian Rugby Football Union">Asian Rugby Football Union</a> (ARFU)</li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America" title="North America">North America</a> & <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indies" title="West Indies" class="mw-redirect">West Indies</a>: North America and West Indies Rugby Association (NAWIRA)</li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>: <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRA_-_Association_of_European_Rugby" title="FIRA - Association of European Rugby">FIRA - Association Européenne de Rugby</a> (FIRA-AER)</li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceania" title="Oceania">Oceania</a>: Federation of Oceania Rugby Union (FORU)</li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America" title="South America">South America</a>: Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby (CONSUR)</li> </ul> <p>National unions oversee rugby union within individual countries. These are affiliated both with the IRB and with their respective regional association.</p> <p><a name="Worldwide" id="Worldwide"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Worldwide">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Worldwide</span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coupe_du_monde_rugby_-_tour_Eiffel.JPG" class="image" title="A giant rugby ball suspended below the Eiffel Tower as a promotion for the Rugby World Cup."><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Coupe_du_monde_rugby_-_tour_Eiffel.JPG/180px-Coupe_du_monde_rugby_-_tour_Eiffel.JPG" width="180" height="305" border="0" class="thumbimage"/></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coupe_du_monde_rugby_-_tour_Eiffel.JPG" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" height="11" alt=""/></a></div> A giant rugby ball suspended below the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower" title="Eiffel Tower">Eiffel Tower</a> as a promotion for the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup" title="Rugby World Cup">Rugby World Cup</a>.</div> </div> </div> <p>Rugby union has established itself as a popular sport for both spectators and participants, particularly in <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Australia" title="Rugby union in Australia">Australia</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Argentina" title="Rugby union in Argentina">Argentina</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_England" title="Rugby union in England">England</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Fiji" title="Rugby union in Fiji">Fiji</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_France" title="Rugby union in France">France</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Georgia" title="Rugby union in Georgia">Georgia</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Ireland" title="Rugby union in Ireland">Ireland</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Italy" title="Rugby union in Italy">Italy</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Japan" title="Rugby union in Japan">Japan</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar" title="Madagascar">Madagascar</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_New_Zealand" title="Rugby union in New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Romania" title="Rugby union in Romania">Romania</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Samoa" title="Rugby union in Samoa">Samoa</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Scotland" title="Rugby union in Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_South_Africa" title="Rugby union in South Africa">South Africa</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Tonga" title="Rugby union in Tonga">Tonga</a> and <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Wales" title="Rugby union in Wales">Wales</a>. Other places with lasting traditions in rugby, albeit as a minority sport in most cases, include <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_the_United_States" title="Rugby union in the United States">the USA</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Canada" title="Rugby union in Canada">Canada</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" title="India">India</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Hong_Kong" title="Rugby union in Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay" title="Uruguay">Uruguay</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile" title="Chile">Chile</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova" title="Moldova">Moldova</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> and numerous African countries. For example, the United States are the current Olympic gold medalists, winning the event at the Paris Olympics in <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_at_the_1924_Summer_Olympics" title="Rugby union at the 1924 Summer Olympics">1924</a>, which was the last year rugby was played at the games. There are now moves to have rugby reinstated as an Olympic sport, in the sevens format. Large numbers of players are active in North America, and the national teams of Canada and the USA regularly qualify for World Cups. Japan, also a country with many registered players, unsuccessfully bid to host the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Rugby_World_Cup" title="2011 Rugby World Cup">2011 World Cup</a>, narrowly losing a vote to selected host <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>. Japan will again bid to host either the 2015 or 2019 events. They will be joined in the bidding process by Italy, where the sport has gained in popularity following acceptance into the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship" title="Six Nations Championship">Six Nations</a> in 2000. Neither country has hosted a World Cup to date, and are viewed by some fans of the game as opportunities for rugby union to extend its reach. Part of the sport's appeal is that it is played in many different styles in these diverse countries. This is partially due to the varying interpretations of the laws of the game, but perhaps the greatest influence is the playing environment created by local climates.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5" title=""><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></a></sup></p> <p>The <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rugby_Board" title="International Rugby Board">International Rugby Board</a> (IRB), founded in 1886, governs the sport worldwide and also publishes the game's <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.irb.com/EN/Laws+and+Regulations/" class="external text" title="http://www.irb.com/EN/Laws+and+Regulations/" rel="nofollow">laws</a> and <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRB_World_Rankings" title="IRB World Rankings">rankings</a>. There are currently 95 full members and eight associate member countries. According to IRB figures, rugby union is played in over 100 countries spanning six continents by men and women of all ages. The IRB controls the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup" title="Rugby World Cup">Rugby World Cup</a>, the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Rugby_World_Cup" title="Women's Rugby World Cup">Women's Rugby World Cup</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup_Sevens" title="Rugby World Cup Sevens">Rugby World Cup Sevens</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRB_Sevens_World_Series" title="IRB Sevens World Series">IRB Sevens World Series</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRB_Junior_World_Championship" title="IRB Junior World Championship">Junior World Championship</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRB_Junior_World_Rugby_Trophy" title="IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy">Junior World Trophy</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRB_Nations_Cup" title="IRB Nations Cup">Nations Cup</a> and the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Nations_Cup" title="Pacific Nations Cup">Pacific Nations Cup</a>. It holds votes to decide where all of these events shall be held, except in the case of the Sevens World Series. For that competition, the IRB contracts with several national unions to hold individual events.</p> <p>Records of women's rugby go back over 100 years - the first mentions of the game being in New Zealand in 1891 and France ten years later. In the past 30 years the game has grown in popularity among female athletes, and, according to England's RFU, is now played in over 80 countries.</p> <p><a name="Major_international_competitions" id="Major_international_competitions"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Major international competitions">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Major international competitions</span></h2> <dl> <dd> <div class="boilerplate seealso"><i>For more details on this topic, see <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rugby_union_competitions" title="List of rugby union competitions">List of rugby union competitions</a>.</i></div> </dd> </dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ireland_vs_Georgia,_Rugby_World_Cup_2007_line_up.jpg" class="image" title="Ireland playing Georgia in the 2007 Rugby World Cup."><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Ireland_vs_Georgia%2C_Rugby_World_Cup_2007_line_up.jpg/220px-Ireland_vs_Georgia%2C_Rugby_World_Cup_2007_line_up.jpg" width="220" height="147" border="0" class="thumbimage"/></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ireland_vs_Georgia,_Rugby_World_Cup_2007_line_up.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" height="11" alt=""/></a></div> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team" title="Ireland national rugby union team">Ireland</a> playing <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_national_rugby_union_team" title="Georgia national rugby union team">Georgia</a> in the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup" title="2007 Rugby World Cup">2007 Rugby World Cup</a>.</div> </div> </div> <p>The most important tournament in rugby union is the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup" title="Rugby World Cup">Rugby World Cup</a>, a men's tournament that takes place every four years between the elite national rugby union teams. <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_rugby_union_team" title="South Africa national rugby union team">South Africa</a> are the current world champions, winning the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup" title="2007 Rugby World Cup">2007 tournament</a> held in France. They beat England, who were attempting to become the first country to retain the title, having won it in 2003. The fact that four different countries have won the World Cup confirms the level of competition in the tournament, creating intense interest from supporters, the media and major sponsors. Major international competitions in the northern and southern hemisphere are the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship" title="Six Nations Championship">Six Nations Championship</a> and the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri_Nations_(rugby_union)" title="Tri Nations (rugby union)">Tri Nations Series</a>, respectively.</p> <p>The <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship" title="Six Nations Championship">Six Nations</a> is an annual competition involving northern hemisphere teams <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_national_rugby_union_team" title="England national rugby union team">England</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_national_rugby_union_team" title="France national rugby union team">France</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team" title="Ireland national rugby union team">Ireland</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_union_team" title="Italy national rugby union team">Italy</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team" title="Scotland national rugby union team">Scotland</a> and <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_national_rugby_union_team" title="Wales national rugby union team">Wales</a>. Each country plays the other five once, the modern tournament traces its roots to the first ever international game, when England lost by one goal to Scotland at Inverleith Park, adjacent to Raeburn Place, Edinburgh in 1871. In the 1880s, Wales and Ireland joined to create the <i>Home International Championships</i>. France joined the tournament in the 1900s and in 1910 the term <i>Five Nations</i> first appeared. However, the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Nations" title="Home Nations">Home Nations</a> (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) excluded France in 1931 amid a run of poor results, allegations of professionalism (rugby union was officially amateur until 1995) and concerns over on-field violence. France then rejoined in 1939-1940, though <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> halted proceedings for a further eight years. France has played in all the tournaments since WWII, the first one of which was played in 1947. In 2000, Italy became the sixth nation in the contest. Argentina have long been rumoured to be interested in joining the 6 Nations but their geographical location and various other factors combine to make it look extremely unlikely, in the near future anyway. Since their strong performances in the 2007 World Cup a number of commentators believe they should join the Tri-Nations with New Zealand, Australia and World Cup champions South Africa.</p> <div class="thumb tleft"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olympics_postcard.jpg" class="image" title="A postcard of the rugby event at the 1924 Olympics."><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d4/Olympics_postcard.jpg/220px-Olympics_postcard.jpg" width="220" height="143" border="0" class="thumbimage"/></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olympics_postcard.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" height="11" alt=""/></a></div> A postcard of the rugby event at the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_Summer_Olympics" title="1924 Summer Olympics">1924</a> Olympics.</div> </div> </div> <p>The Tri Nations is an annual international rugby union series held between the southern hemisphere teams of <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_national_rugby_union_team" title="Australia national rugby union team">Australia</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Blacks" title="All Blacks">New Zealand</a> and <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_rugby_union_team" title="South Africa national rugby union team">South Africa</a>. The series was initially played on a home and away basis with the three nations playing each other twice. In 2006 a new system was introduced where each nation plays the others three times rather than two. In 2007 the teams played each other only twice, as it was a World Cup year. The IRB had been brokering a deal which could have seen <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina_national_rugby_union_team" title="Argentina national rugby union team">Argentina</a> admitted to the competition in 2008,<sup id="cite_ref-Argentina_deal_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Argentina_deal-6" title=""><span>[</span>7<span>]</span></a></sup> but it was later confirmed that the Tri Nations would not be expanded until at least 2010.<sup id="cite_ref-Pumas_delayed_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pumas_delayed-7" title=""><span>[</span>8<span>]</span></a></sup> Amidst all the rugby union competitions are also the autumn and summer Tests, which take place between September to December and June to August. These are played by the major rugby union nations on a home or away basis.</p> <p><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_at_the_Summer_Olympics" title="Rugby union at the Summer Olympics">Rugby union</a> was played at the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games" title="Olympic Games">Olympic Games</a> in 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924. As per Olympic rules, the nations of Scotland, Wales and England were not allowed to play separately as they are not sovereign states. <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_Sevens" title="Rugby Sevens" class="mw-redirect">Rugby Sevens</a> has been played at the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Rugby_Sevens_Championships" title="Commonwealth Rugby Sevens Championships">Commonwealth Games</a> since 1998.</p> <p><a name="Women.27s_Rugby" id="Women.27s_Rugby"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Women's Rugby">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Women's Rugby</span></h2> <p><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_international_rugby_union" title="Women's international rugby union">Women's International Rugby</a> began in 1982. Over six hundred women's internationals have now been played by over forty different nations. As well as the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Rugby_World_Cup" title="Women's Rugby World Cup">women's World Cup event</a> (which takes place every four years), there are also other regular tournaments, including a <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Six_Nations_Championship" title="Women's Six Nations Championship">Six Nations</a> run in parallel to the men's competition.</p> <p>Recently, there has also been a movement to include a Nations Cup Championship for the Senior Women's sides. The inaugural event takes place in August 2008 at Esher RFC in London, England. The tournament features England, USA and Canada. The inaugural U20 Women's Nations Cup took place in Oakville, Ontario and included Canada, Wales and England, with a Canada 'A' also playing supplemental matches with the two Home Nations countries. The England U20's took the tournament in the final game during an unabated, 90 minute, torrential downpour.</p> <p><a name="British_military" id="British_military"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: British military">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">British military</span></h2> <p>The earliest record of rugby being played in the Army was during the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War" title="Crimean War">Crimean War</a> (1854-56). In its early days rugby was very much the preserve of the officers; it was not until the early 1870s that the game became inclusive of all ranks.</p> <p>The <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a> and in particular the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army" title="British Army">British Army</a> did much to spread rugby worldwide as it did for two other sports of English origin; <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket" title="Cricket">cricket</a> and <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football" title="Football">football</a>. Army regiments stationed throughout the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a> had regimental teams who played locally. Whilst serving in India the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffs_(Royal_East_Kent_Regiment)" title="Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)">3rd (East Kent) Regiment (The Buffs)</a> and the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire_Regiment" title="Wiltshire Regiment">62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's)</a> both had a hand in the conception of the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcutta_Cup" title="Calcutta Cup">Calcutta Cup</a>, the oldest trophy in the history of international rugby.</p> <p>The <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Navy_Match" title="Army Navy Match">Army Navy Match</a>, which is currently played at <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twickenham_Stadium" title="Twickenham Stadium">Twickenham</a> each year was first played in 1878, but did not become an annual event until 1909.</p> <p>In 1905 the Royal Navy Rugby Union (RNRU) was formed and the <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Rugby_Union" title="Army Rugby Union">Army Rugby Union</a> the following year (1906), both service unions were affiliated to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on their formation.</p> <p>Women's rugby was introduced into the British Armed Services in the early 1990s.</p> <p><a name="Variants" id="Variants"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Variants">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Variants</span></h2> <p>There are two major variants:</p> <ul> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_sevens" title="Rugby sevens">Rugby sevens</a>, in which there are only 7 players per side, and each half is normally 7 minutes.</li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_rugby" title="Touch rugby">Touch rugby</a>, in which 'tackles' are made simply by touching an opponent.</li> </ul> <p><a name="See_also" id="See_also"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">See also</span></h2> <div class="tright portal" style="border:solid #aaa 1px;margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 0.5em;"> <table style="background:#f9f9f9; font-size:85%; line-height:110%;"> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ru_ball.svg" class="image" title="Ru ball.svg"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Ru_ball.svg/31px-Ru_ball.svg.png" width="31" height="28" border="0"/></a></td> <td style="padding:0 0.2em;"><i><b><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Rugby_union" title="Portal:Rugby union">Rugby union portal</a></b></i></td> </tr> </table> </div> <table class="metadata plainlinks ombox-small" style="border:1px solid #aaa; background-color:#f9f9f9;"> <tr> <td class="mbox-image"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_page" title="commons:Main page"><img alt="Sister project" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/50px-Commons-logo.svg.png" width="50" height="67" border="0"/></a></td> <td class="mbox-text" style=""><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Commons" title="Wikimedia Commons">Wikimedia Commons</a> has media related to: <i><b><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Rugby_union" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Rugby union">Rugby union</a></b></i></td> </tr> </table> <table class="metadata plainlinks ombox-small" style="border:1px solid #aaa; background-color:#f9f9f9;"> <tr> <td class="mbox-image"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_page" title="d:Main page"><img alt="Sister project" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg/50px-Wiktionary-logo-en.svg.png" width="50" height="54" border="0"/></a></td> <td class="mbox-text" style="">Look up <i><b><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rugby_union" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:rugby union">Rugby union</a></b></i> in<br/> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiktionary" title="Wiktionary">Wiktionary</a>, the free dictionary.</td> </tr> </table> <table class="metadata plainlinks ombox-small" style="border:1px solid #aaa; background-color:#f9f9f9;"> <tr> <td class="mbox-image"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Main_page" title="n:Main page"><img alt="Sister project" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg/50px-Wikinews-logo.svg.png" width="50" height="29" border="0"/></a></td> <td class="mbox-text" style=""><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikinews" title="Wikinews">Wikinews</a> has related news: <i><b><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Category:Rugby" class="extiw" title="n:Category:Rugby">Rugby</a></b></i></td> </tr> </table> <ul> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_rugby_league_and_rugby_union" title="Comparison of rugby league and rugby union">Comparison of rugby league and rugby union</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rugby_Hall_of_Fame" title="International Rugby Hall of Fame">International Rugby Hall of Fame</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_rugby_union_teams" title="List of international rugby union teams">List of international rugby union teams</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rugby_union_terms" title="List of rugby union terms">List of rugby union terms</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_Sevens" title="Rugby Sevens" class="mw-redirect">Rugby Sevens</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_at_the_Summer_Olympics" title="Rugby union at the Summer Olympics">Rugby union at the Summer Olympics</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_rugby" title="Touch rugby">Touch rugby</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_international_rugby_union" title="Women's international rugby union">Women's International Rugby</a></li> </ul> <p><a name="Bibliography" id="Bibliography"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Bibliography">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Bibliography</span></h2> <ul> <li>"<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/LawsRegs/0/FULL070110LGLAWSOFTHEGAME2007red_569.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/LawsRegs/0/FULL070110LGLAWSOFTHEGAME2007red_569.pdf" rel="nofollow">Laws of the Game Rugby Union</a>" (pdf). irb.com (2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-02.</li> <li>"<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.irb.com/mm/document/lawsregs/0/060924gfirbregulation12%5f879.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.irb.com/mm/document/lawsregs/0/060924gfirbregulation12%5f879.pdf" rel="nofollow">Provisions Relating to Players Dress</a>" (pdf). irb.com (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007" title="2007">2007</a>-<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_22" title="July 22">07-22</a>). Retrieved on 2008-01-02.</li> </ul> <p><a name="References" id="References"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">References</span></h2> <p><a name="Footnotes" id="Footnotes"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Footnotes">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Footnotes</span></h3> <div class="references-small"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-0"><b><a href="#cite_ref-0" title="">^</a></b> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.irb.com/lawregulations/laws/index.html" class="external text" title="http://www.irb.com/lawregulations/laws/index.html" rel="nofollow">Laws Of The Game Rugby Union 2007.</a> International Rugby Board. ISBN-10: 0-9552232-4-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-9552232-4-2. Page 7. Quote "Law 2 The Ball: 2.1 SHAPE: The ball must be oval and made of four panels."</li> <li id="cite_note-1"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1" title="">^</a></b> More colloquial terms for rugby union include <b>rugger</b> or <b>egg chasing</b>.</li> <li id="cite_note-2"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2" title="">^</a></b> Rugger: <ul> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OED" title="OED" class="mw-redirect">OED</a>:Rugger "Slang or colloquial alteration of RUGBY (in the sense of 'Rugby football'). Freq. attrib. rugger-tackle".</li> <li><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Collins" title="Tony Collins">Tony Collins</a>, <i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/individual/leeds-leeds-collins-tony.shtml" class="external text" title="http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/individual/leeds-leeds-collins-tony.shtml" rel="nofollow">Football, rugby, rugger?</a></i>, BBC sound recording with written transcript, and a comment in prose by Jonnie Robinson, Curator, English accents and dialects, British Library Sound Archive.)</li> </ul> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3" title="">^</a></b> Laws of the Game: Law 5.2</li> <li id="cite_note-4"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4" title="">^</a></b> Under 19 Variations, International Rugby Board</li> <li id="cite_note-5"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5" title="">^</a></b> Garth Hamilton (18 June 2007). "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.theroar.com.au/2007/06/18/black-and-white-and-grey/" class="external text" title="http://www.theroar.com.au/2007/06/18/black-and-white-and-grey/" rel="nofollow">Black and white and grey</a>". theroar.com.au. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.</li> <li id="cite_note-Argentina_deal-6"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Argentina_deal_6-0" title="">^</a></b> Cain, Nick (2007-02-25). "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article1434537.ece" class="external text" title="http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article1434537.ece" rel="nofollow">Ambitious Argentina poised to secure TriNations place</a>". <i>The Sunday Times</i>. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.</li> <li id="cite_note-Pumas_delayed-7"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Pumas_delayed_7-0" title="">^</a></b> "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.rugbyrugby.com/tournaments/tri_nations/story_13807145000.php" class="external text" title="http://www.rugbyrugby.com/tournaments/tri_nations/story_13807145000.php" rel="nofollow">Pumas will stay crouched until 2010</a>". <i>RugbyRugby.com</i> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007" title="2007">2007</a>-<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_13" title="August 13">08-13</a>). Retrieved on 2007-10-11.</li> </ol> </div> <p><a name="Notations" id="Notations"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Notations">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Notations</span></h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.rugby15.co.uk/rfulaws.html" class="external text" title="http://www.rugby15.co.uk/rfulaws.html" rel="nofollow">Rugby15.co.uk RFU Laws</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.scrum.com/906_1068.php" class="external text" title="http://www.scrum.com/906_1068.php" rel="nofollow">Scrum.com Rugby guide</a></li> </ul> <p><a name="External_links" id="External_links"></a></p> <h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">External links</span></h2> <table class="infobox sisterproject" style="width:235px; line-height:2.25em; font-size:90%;"> <tr style="line-height:1.3em;"> <th colspan="2" align="center">Find more about Rugby union on Wikipedia's sister projects:</th> </tr> <tr> <th width="37"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" title="wikt:Special:Search/Rugby union"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg/25px-Wiktionary-logo-en.svg.png" width="25" height="27" border="0"/></a></th> <td><span title="Wiktionary"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" class="extiw" title="wikt:Special:Search/Rugby union">Dictionary definitions</a></span></td> </tr> <tr> <th><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" title="b:Special:Search/Rugby union"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikibooks-logo.svg/27px-Wikibooks-logo.svg.png" width="27" height="27" border="0"/></a></th> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" class="extiw" title="b:Special:Search/Rugby union">Textbooks</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" title="b:Special:Search/Rugby union"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/23px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png" width="23" height="27" border="0"/></a></th> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" class="extiw" title="q:Special:Search/Rugby union">Quotations</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" title="s:Special:Search/Rugby union"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/26px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" width="26" height="27" border="0"/></a></th> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" class="extiw" title="s:Special:Search/Rugby union">Source texts</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th><span title="Commons"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" title="commons:Special:Search/Rugby union"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png" width="18" height="24" border="0"/></a></span></th> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" class="extiw" title="commons:Special:Search/Rugby union">Images and media</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th><span style="position:relative; top:6px;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" title="n:Special:Search/Rugby union"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg/27px-Wikinews-logo.svg.png" width="27" height="15" border="0"/></a></span></th> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" class="extiw" title="n:Special:Search/Rugby union">News stories</a></td> </tr> <tr> <th><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" title="v:Special:Search/Rugby union"><img alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg/27px-Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg.png" width="27" height="24" border="0"/></a></th> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Special:Search/Rugby_union" class="extiw" title="v:Special:Search/Rugby union">Learning resources</a></td> </tr> </table> <p><a name="Official" id="Official"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Official">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Official</span></h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.irb.com/" class="external text" title="http://www.irb.com" rel="nofollow">International Rugby Board</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.itv.com/Sport/RugbyUnion/default.html" class="external text" title="http://www.itv.com/Sport/RugbyUnion/default.html" rel="nofollow">Rugby ITV Sport</a></li> </ul> <p><a name="Resources" id="Resources"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Resources">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Resources</span></h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.rugbydata.com/" class="external text" title="http://www.rugbydata.com" rel="nofollow">Rugby Data</a> Statistics on International Rugby Union games</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://rugbyfacts.com/" class="external text" title="http://rugbyfacts.com" rel="nofollow">Rugby guide and message board</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://wesclark.com/rrr/rugby_phrase_guide.html" class="external text" title="http://wesclark.com/rrr/rugby_phrase_guide.html" rel="nofollow">Rugby union phrase guide</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.rugbyunionrules.com/" class="external text" title="http://www.rugbyunionrules.com" rel="nofollow">Rugby Union Rules</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://guide.rugbyrugby.com/" class="external text" title="http://guide.rugbyrugby.com" rel="nofollow">The RugbyRugby Guide</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://sportsvl.com/ball/rugby/rugbyunion.htm" class="external text" title="http://sportsvl.com/ball/rugby/rugbyunion.htm" rel="nofollow">Virtual Library of Sport - Rugby Union</a></li> </ul> <table class="navbox" cellspacing="0" style=";"> <tr> <td style="padding:2px;"> <table cellspacing="0" class="nowraplinks collapsible autocollapse" style="width:100%;background:transparent;color:inherit;;"> <tr> <th style=";" colspan="2" class="navbox-title"> <div style="float:left; width:6em;text-align:left;"> <div class="noprint plainlinksneverexpand" style="background-color:transparent; padding:0; white-space:nowrap; font-weight:normal; font-size:xx-small; ;;border:none;;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Team_Sport" title="Template:Team Sport"><span title="View this template" style=";;border:none;;">v</span></a> <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Team_Sport" title="Template talk:Team Sport"><span style="color:#002bb8;;;border:none;;" title="Discussion about this template">d</span></a> <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Team_Sport&action=edit" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Team_Sport&action=edit" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#002bb8;;;border:none;;" title="You can edit this template. Please use the preview button before saving.">e</span></a></div> </div> <span style="font-size:110%;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_sport" title="Team sport">Team sports</a></span></th> </tr> <tr style="height:2px;"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-abovebelow" style=";" colspan="2"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport" title="Sport">Sport</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_governing_body" title="Sport governing body">Governing bodies</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sportspeople" title="List of sportspeople">Sportspeople</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport" title="National sport">National sport</a></td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px;"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";;">Basket codes</td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-odd"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball" title="Basketball">Basketball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korfball" title="Korfball">Korfball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netball" title="Netball">Netball</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_netball" title="Indoor netball">Indoor</a>)</div> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football" title="Football">Football</a> codes</td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-even"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"></div> <table cellspacing="0" class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="width:100%;;;;"> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-odd"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football" title="Association football">Association football</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_soccer" title="Beach soccer">Beach</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsal" title="Futsal">Futsal</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_soccer" title="Indoor soccer">Indoor</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football" title="Australian rules football">Australian rules football</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuju" title="Cuju">Cuju</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_football" title="Gaelic football">Gaelic football</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies%27_Gaelic_football" title="Ladies' Gaelic football">Ladies'</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpastum" title="Harpastum">Harpastum</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_rules_football" title="International rules football">International rules</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemari" title="Kemari">Kemari</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_football" title="Medieval football">Medieval football</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mob_football" title="Mob football">Mob football</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camping_(game)" title="Camping (game)">Camping</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Shrovetide_Football" title="Royal Shrovetide Football">Royal Shrovetide</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppies_and_Downies" title="Uppies and Downies">Uppies and Downies</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcio_Fiorentino" title="Calcio Fiorentino">Calcio Fiorentino</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_soule" title="La soule">La soule</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_hurling" title="Cornish hurling">Cornish hurling</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volata" title="Volata">Volata</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";padding-left:0em;padding-right:0em;;"> <div style="padding:0em 0.75em;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gridiron_football" title="Gridiron football">Gridiron</a> codes</div> </td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-even"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_football" title="Arena football">Arena football</a> <span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football" title="American football">American football</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-man_football" title="Eight-man football">Eight-man</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_football" title="Flag football">Flag</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_football" title="Indoor football">Indoor</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-man_football" title="Nine-man football">Nine-man</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-man_football" title="Six-man football">Six-man</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_football_(American)" title="Touch football (American)">Touch</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_football" title="Canadian football">Canadian football</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";padding-left:0em;padding-right:0em;;"> <div style="padding:0em 0.75em;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_football" title="Rugby football">Rugby</a> codes</div> </td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-odd"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_league" title="Rugby league">League</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_league_nines" title="Rugby league nines">Nines</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_football_(rugby_league)" title="Touch football (rugby league)">Touch</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <strong class="selflink">Union</strong> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_sevens" title="Rugby sevens">Sevens</a>)</div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";;">Handball codes</td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-odd"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_handball" title="Team handball">Handball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_handball" title="Beach handball">Beach handball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_handball" title="Field handball">Field handball</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat-and-ball_games" title="Bat-and-ball games">Safe haven codes</a></td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-odd"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball" title="Baseball">Baseball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_baseball" title="British baseball">British baseball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket" title="Cricket">Cricket</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_cricket" title="Indoor cricket">Indoor</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickball" title="Kickball">Kickball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapta_(game)" title="Lapta (game)">Lapta</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oina" title="Oina">Oina</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-line" title="Over-the-line">Over-the-line</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pes%C3%A4pallo" title="Pesäpallo">Pesäpallo</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounders" title="Rounders">Rounders</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softball" title="Softball">Softball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoolball" title="Stoolball">Stoolball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigoro" title="Vigoro">Vigoro</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";;">Stick and ball codes</td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-even"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"></div> <table cellspacing="0" class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="width:100%;;;;"> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-odd"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurling" title="Hurling">Hurling</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camogie" title="Camogie">Camogie</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse" title="Lacrosse">Lacrosse</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinty" title="Shinty">Shinty</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";padding-left:0em;padding-right:0em;;"> <div style="padding:0em 0.75em;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey" title="Hockey">Hockey</a> codes</div> </td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-even"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandy" title="Bandy">Bandy</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broomball" title="Broomball">Broomball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey" title="Field hockey">Field hockey</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_field_hockey" title="Indoor field hockey">Indoor</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floorball" title="Floorball">Floorball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey" title="Ice hockey">Ice hockey</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knattleikr" title="Knattleikr">Knattleikr</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringette" title="Ringette">Ringette</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinkball" title="Rinkball">Rinkball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_hockey" title="Roller hockey">Roller hockey</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline_hockey" title="Inline hockey">Inline</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_hockey_(Quad)" title="Roller hockey (Quad)">Quad</a>)</span><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossall_Hockey" title="Rossall Hockey">Rossall Hockey</a> <span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_hockey" title="Street hockey">Street hockey</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";padding-left:0em;padding-right:0em;;"> <div style="padding:0em 0.75em;">Polo codes</div> </td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-odd"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canoe_polo" title="Canoe polo">Canoe polo</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_polo" title="Cycle polo">Cycle polo</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_polo" title="Elephant polo">Elephant polo</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polo" title="Polo">Polo</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segway_polo" title="Segway polo">Segway polo</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yak_polo" title="Yak polo">Yak polo</a></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";;">Volleyball codes</td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-even"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_volleyball" title="Beach volleyball">Beach volleyball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistball" title="Fistball">Fistball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepak_takraw" title="Sepak takraw">Sepak takraw</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volleyball" title="Volleyball">Volleyball</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="height:2px"> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navbox-group" style=";;">Other codes</td> <td style="text-align:left;border-left:2px solid #fdfdfd;width:100%;padding:0px;;;" class="navbox-list navbox-odd"> <div style="padding:0em 0.25em"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft" title="Airsoft">Airsoft</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_pelota" title="Basque pelota">Basque pelota</a> (<a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontenis" title="Frontenis">Frontenis</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_alai" title="Jai alai">Jai alai</a>, <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xare" title="Xare">Xare</a>)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi" title="Buzkashi">Buzkashi</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling" title="Curling">Curling</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateball" title="Gateball">Gateball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabaddi" title="Kabaddi">Kabaddi</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball" title="Paintball">Paintball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tchoukball" title="Tchoukball">Tchoukball</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_(sport)" title="Ultimate (sport)">Ultimate</a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> ·</span> <a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_polo" title="Water polo">Water polo</a></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>   <div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <span dir="ltr"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Rugby_union" title="Category:Rugby union">Rugby union</a></span> | <span dir="ltr"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Team_sports" title="Category:Team sports">Team sports</a></span></div></div>  <div class="visualClear"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="column-one"> <div id="p-cactions" class="portlet"> <h5>Views</h5> <div class="pBody"> <ul> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c">Article</a></li> <li id="ca-talk"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Rugby_union" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t">Discussion</a></li> <li id="ca-edit"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=edit" title="You can edit this page. Please use the preview button before saving. [e]" accesskey="e">Edit this page</a></li> <li id="ca-history"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&action=history" title="Past versions of this page [h]" accesskey="h">History</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="portlet" id="p-personal"> <h5>Personal tools</h5> <div class="pBody"> <ul> <li id="pt-login"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Rugby_union" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o">Log in / create account</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="portlet" id="p-logo"> <a style="background-image: url(https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Wiki.png);" href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"></a> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> if (window.isMSIE55) fixalpha(); </script> <div class="generated-sidebar portlet" id="p-navigation"> <h5>Navigation</h5> <div class="pBody"> <ul> <li id="n-mainpage-description"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z">Main page</a></li> <li id="n-contents"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia">Contents</a></li> <li id="n-featuredcontent"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Featured_content" title="Featured content — the best of Wikipedia">Featured content</a></li> <li id="n-currentevents"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Find background information on current events">Current events</a></li> <li id="n-randompage"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random article [x]" accesskey="x">Random article</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-search" class="portlet"> <h5><label for="searchInput">Search</label></h5> <div id="searchBody" class="pBody"> <form action="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search" id="searchform"><div> <input id="searchInput" name="search" type="text" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" value=""/> <input type="submit" name="go" class="searchButton" id="searchGoButton" value="Go" title="Go to a page with this exact name if one exists"/>  <input type="submit" name="fulltext" class="searchButton" id="mw-searchButton" value="Search" title="Search Wikipedia for this text"/> </div></form> </div> </div> <div class="generated-sidebar portlet" id="p-interaction"> <h5>Interaction</h5> <div class="pBody"> <ul> <li id="n-aboutsite"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Find out about Wikipedia">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="n-portal"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="About the project, what you can do, where to find things">Community portal</a></li> <li id="n-recentchanges"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="The list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r">Recent changes</a></li> <li id="n-contact"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="n-sitesupport"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate" title="Support us">Donate to Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="n-help"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia">Help</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="portlet" id="p-tb"> <h5>Toolbox</h5> <div class="pBody"> <ul> <li id="t-whatlinkshere"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Rugby_union" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j">What links here</a></li> <li id="t-recentchangeslinked"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Rugby_union" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k">Related changes</a></li> <li id="t-upload"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Upload" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u">Upload file</a></li> <li id="t-specialpages"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="List of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q">Special pages</a></li> <li id="t-print"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p">Printable version</a></li> <li id="t-permalink"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rugby_union&oldid=258219128" title="Permanent link to this version of the page">Permanent link</a></li><li id="t-cite"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Cite&page=Rugby_union&id=258219128">Cite this page</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-lang" class="portlet"> <h5>Languages</h5> <div class="pBody"> <ul> <li class="interwiki-ca"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugbi_a_15">Català</a></li> <li class="interwiki-cy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rygbi%27r_Undeb">Cymraeg</a></li> <li class="interwiki-de"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_Union">Deutsch</a></li> <li class="interwiki-fa"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%AF%D8%A8%DB%8C_%DB%B1%DB%B5_%D9%86%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87">فارسی</a></li> <li class="interwiki-fr"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_%C3%A0_XV">Français</a></li> <li class="interwiki-gv"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://gv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby">Gaelg</a></li> <li class="interwiki-gd"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://gd.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugbaidh">Gàidhlig</a></li> <li class="interwiki-ko"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%9F%AD%EB%B9%84_%EC%9C%A0%EB%8B%88%EC%98%A8">한국어</a></li> <li class="interwiki-hr"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union">Hrvatski</a></li> <li class="interwiki-it"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_a_15">Italiano</a></li> <li class="interwiki-la"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpastum_XV">Latina</a></li> <li class="interwiki-lb"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_Union">Lëtzebuergesch</a></li> <li class="interwiki-mr"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A8">मराठी</a></li> <li class="interwiki-ms"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragbi">Bahasa Melayu</a></li> <li class="interwiki-nl"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_Union">Nederlands</a></li> <li class="interwiki-no"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union">‪Norsk (bokmål)‬</a></li> <li class="interwiki-oc"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugbi_de_XV">Occitan</a></li> <li class="interwiki-pl"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union">Polski</a></li> <li class="interwiki-sco"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union">Scots</a></li> <li class="interwiki-sl"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby">Slovenščina</a></li> <li class="interwiki-fi"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union">Suomi</a></li> <li class="interwiki-zh"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%81%AF%E5%90%88%E5%BC%8F%E6%A9%84%E6%AC%96%E7%90%83">中文</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="visualClear"></div> <div id="footer"> <div id="f-poweredbyico"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.mediawiki.org/"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/skins/common/images/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png" alt="Powered by MediaWiki"/></a></div> <div id="f-copyrightico"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://wikimediafoundation.org/"><img src="/web/20081217055536im_/http://en.wikipedia.org/images/wikimedia-button.png" border="0" alt="Wikimedia Foundation"/></a></div> <ul id="f-list"> <li id="lastmod"> This page was last modified on 15 December 2008, at 22:33.</li> <li id="copyright">All text is available under the terms of the <a class="internal" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License">GNU Free Documentation License</a>. (See <b><a class="internal" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights" title="Wikipedia:Copyrights">Copyrights</a></b> for details.) <br/> Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://www.wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc</a>., a U.S. registered <a class="internal" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501%28c%29#501.28c.29.283.29" title="501(c)(3)">501(c)(3)</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Deductibility_of_donations">tax-deductible</a> <a class="internal" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-profit_organization" title="Non-profit organization">nonprofit</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charitable_organization" title="Charitable organization">charity</a>.<br/></li> <li id="privacy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081217055536/http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policy" title="wikimedia:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="about"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="disclaimer"><a href="/web/20081217055536/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer" title="Wikipedia:General disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script> </body></html>