Sevens World Series

[MJ5150]

We don't get much rugby in the USA, but last night we were given a special treat on Universal Sports.

We got a recap of the Hong Kong Sevens event, then got to watch New Zealand and England. I am still learning about the game, but that was a treat to watch.

Question....after a player scores, they always dive on the ground or touch the ball to the ground. Is that to make the try official/legit? Is the diving necessary?

-Mike

[MJ5150]

Caught some more of this Tuesday. I'm really becoming a fan. The USA and France played in the game I was watching. USA won, although it didn't start out well.

-Mike

[Kawai-chang]

You have to physcially touch the ball to the turf in the try zone for it to count. Now, you'll occasionally see a guy get in and instead of immediately touching it down, will run toward the goal posts and touch it there. This is because the point after kick attempt is done in a straight line out from where the ball was touched down in the try zone. So, the closer to the center you are, the easier the kick.

PS: guess where the word "touchdown" originated?

[Kawai-chang]

The diving isn't necessary, just something they do.

[MJ5150]

Thanks for the clarification. How long have you been following the sport? It's still new to me.

-Mike

[Vorago]

Do you know :: Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more Rugbydump.com :: ?

If you don't, you should

[macaroni tony]

I'm a new fan of Rugby. It's like football with all running backs

The first time I watched it (about 2wks ago), I sat through a whole tournament before I realized it! I didn't know the games were so short...

I was very impressed with New Zealand. I root for that team now.

One more thing....I am impressed with what I can see of the "rugby culture" in general. These guys hit hard, and get up without complaining or trash talking each other. Try celebrations, when they're even celebrated, are classy. The guys wear shorts and polos like gentlemen. They wear just about no protective gear, whatsoever. I'd have to assume that the fact that football players get to "hide" behind their facemasks adds to the brash nature sometimes seen between plays

[MJ5150]

Good summary of the sport. I enjoy it as well. Thanks to the NBC channel Universal Sports, I get to watch it a couple times per week. I'm not positive, but I think the games they show are a few days or weeks behind.

-Mike

[macaroni tony]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Good summary of the sport. I enjoy it as well. Thanks to the NBC channel Universal Sports, I get to watch it a couple times per week. I'm not positive, but I think the games they show are a few days or weeks behind.

-Mike

Yeah - that's the channel I see it on. I was psyched to see the college 7s on regular NBC a couple of weeks ago It was great to have the announcers explain some of the rules as the game went along

[MJ5150]

Don't you think they'd score a lot faster if they instituted the forward pass? It always breaks my heart to see them throwing it backwards all the time. I find myself yelling at the screen....throw it FORWARD fellas, that is the direction you want to go.

-Mike

[macaroni tony]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Don't you think they'd score a lot faster if they instituted the forward pass? It always breaks my heart to see them throwing it backwards all the time. I find myself yelling at the screen....throw it FORWARD fellas, that is the direction you want to go.

-Mike

I like the no-forward pass rule personally - makes it a little more challenging. More strategy involved; they can't just bull their way straight to the (end zone?)

I saw the Samoan team play...and they sucked! I expected them to be pretty good from what I know of Samoans...but they had one lightning fast 20yr old kid that just blew my mind!

[cheezewiz]

I'm a noob to rugby too, but I enjoy watching it quite a bit.
My cousin's 16 year old son is quite a player. He just got to go on a tour of South Africa to play in a tournament for his English team.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Good to see some guys on the other side of the pond getting interested

I'm a massive rugby fan (and quite a large player, if not so good!). The environment is great. I play with one of the top amater (sp) clubs in Scotland (granted, not in the top team!), and the mixture of people is awesome. You guys from every background you could imagine. Tradesmen, Managers, Teachers, Laywers, Doctors etc etc.

As was covered, the ball needs to hit the ground on the line or behind the line and a conversion (kick) is taken in line from that point. So it's easier to make a kick that's right infront of the posts than one in the corner.

There are a number of different types of rugby. Union and League are the two main forms. Union is a bit more start stop, generally harder hitting. League is faster paced. There is also 7's. 7's rugby started in a small Scottish town called Melrose. Every year there's ther Melrose 7's tournament. If you get a chance to watch that, it's certainly worth it. All the top players in Scotland are there, plus a lot of teams from abroad!

In Union, a Try (touchdown) is worth 5 points, a Conversion (kick after a Try) is worth 2 points. If they get a penalty (taken as a kick) is worth 3 points and a drop goal (kick taken from open play) is worth 3 points.

I went to the 7's World Series in Edinburgh (final day of the tour). Great atmosphere and some brilliant Rugby.





I can try and help out if anyone is interested in any of the rules of breakdown of play.

I also agree with what was said about it being a game where decorum is certainly important (but a bout of fisticuffs here and there is to be expected )

There's a saying over here:

Football is a Gentlemans game played by Hooligans;
Rugby is a Hooligans game played by Gentlemen.

Not too far from the truth (football being in relation to soccer of course).

[MJ5150]

What is that, the 50th time you posted that picture around here???

You bring some of your boys over here to play some NFL style football, and we'll see if you can even score once.

-Mike

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Also, Rugby World Cup starting soon. Keep your eyes open for that, I'm sure a lot of it will be televised, even in the US!

And if you get the chance, watch the next Lions tour

(The Lions being a team formed from the best players in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland).

Another one to watch out for, is the Barbarians. The Baba's are an invite only club. When they play, they play with the best players from around the world.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

What is that, the 50th time you posted that picture around here???

You bring some of your boys over here to play some NFL style football, and we'll see if you can even score once.

-Mike

Only the second

I would love to see some crossover play. Gridiron seems to be picking up over here, but just as Rugby will never be huge in the US, gridiron will never be huge over here.

Keep in mind, you have over 4x more registered adult rugby players than Scotland does

[i_got_a_mohawk]

YouTube - ‪Huge Rugby Hits!!!!!!‬‏


As you can tell, I'm maybe a little bit excitable. Plus it's the off-season here, I'm not getting my rugby fix! (pre season training starts in a few weeks tho )

[MJ5150]

Oh hey, here's me rocking my 6 Nations beanie and official Scotland supporters ball for the 2011 WC.



-Mike

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Good man!

I don't expect Scotland to get too far sadly!

I think we'll get past the pool stage, but it could be close. England would be a tough one to beat and Argentina are an amazingly good team.

I feel for the USA, Australia, Ireland and Italy in the same pool (only 2 teams from each pool advance).

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

7's rugby started in a small Scottish town called Melrose.

Thanks for the info about Melrose. I just ordered a beanie from there. I am having a hard time finding any Rugby Sevens gear though.

-Mike