Rugby World Cup Faqs

The 2015 Rugby World Cup (RWC) will be the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The RWC is managed by the World Rugby and is contested every four years. The first RWC was held in Australia and New Zealand in 1987. The winning team of RWC receives the Webb Ellis Cup.

Host

The 2015 RWC will be organized in England as recommended by the International Rugby Board. England was chosen in July 2009 only to host the completion. In 2011 Rugby World Cup, New Zealand was the host of the game.

Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony will be held in Twickenham Stadium, London, on Sep 18, 2015. The organizers have designed a plan to avoid England’s curtain-raiser against Fiji from being delayed by the opening ceremony. During the opening ceremony the performers are likely to showcase a story of the birth of the sport in a 20-minute show. The show will finish just 40 minutes before the kick-off in the Pool A test at Twickenham.

What is Rugby?

Rugby is a free-flowing game featuring a combination of strength, speed, and strategy in order to move the ball in the territory of the opponent. It is a full-contact sport, yet the players wear a little or no protective gear. Rugby was evolved from football (or soccer) and is also known as the ‘game played in heaven’.

History of Rugby Ball

The origin of the game is known to be from an incident during an event when during an English school football at Rugby School in 1823, a boy named William Webb Elis is said to have picked up the ball and run with it. The Rugby World Cup Trophy is named after Webb Ellis.

What is the shape of Rugby Ball?

The rugby ball is diamond or oval shaped, which can be used for easy passing. Richard Linon claimed to invent the rugby ball in its oval shape, but he did not patent either the ball or the bladder or the pump. Later in 1880s, there were several manufacturers of football in England who used the similar process to make the balls. In the Rugby union, the ball used is a prolate spheroid essentially elliptical in profile. It is traditionally made from brown leather and is manufactured in different colors and patterns.

What is the size of the Rugby Ball?

For the Rugby Union, the general size of the rugby ball should be 28-30 cm (11-12 in) long and 58-62 cm (23-24 in) in circumference at its widest point. Its general weight is 410 – 460 g (14-16 oz) and should be inflated 65.7-68.8 kPa (9.5-10.0 psi).

Rugby Pitch

The rugby playing field is generally known as a pitch or paddock. The Rugby league is played on a field with a size of 112-122 by 68 meters (122.5-133.4 x 74.3 yards). The longer boundary lines are known as touch lines and the shorter boundary lines are called dead ball lines; both lines are out of play. Most play occurs within the ‘field of play’. Near each end of the field is a goal line or try-line that is 100 meters (109.4 yards) apart. A scoring area known as the in-goal area extends 6-11 meters (6.6-12 yards) from each try-line to each dead ball line.

What is the difference between Rugby and football?

In nature, Rugby and American football are similar but are played with different rules. In football there are 11 players whereas in rugby the number of players depends upon the type of game – in rugby union there are 15 players awhile in rugby league there are 13 players. Moreover, there are differences in both the games on the basis of field size, goalposts, size and shape of the ball and equipments used by the players during the game. Advancing the ball and scorings also differs in both the sports.

What are the important rules of Rugby?

The International Rugby Board formulated the laws for Rugby. The main aim of the game is to score more points than the opposition. There are two teams a referee who controls the match. Some of the other rules for the game are:

Each team has 15 players with seven substitutes.
The players are numbered from 1-15 and the replacements are numbered from 16-22.
The game is of two halves 40 minutes each with maximum 10-minute half-time break.
The field should be rectangular in shape – 70 meters wide and 100 meters long.
The scoring is done in a number of ways – Try, Conversion Goal, Penalty Goal, and Dropped Goal.
The ball is moved from one player to another by a pass.
A coin is tossed before the beginning of the game. The captain of the team that wins the toss can choose either to “kick off” or the direction to play in the first half.
The Referee can award a Free Kick or Penalty Kick when a team infringes a law.
A player can be ‘tackled’ by a player from the opponent team when a player is running with the ball.
Rucks and mauls can be used to compete to get the ball and keep the game going.
No foul play will be tolerated during the game.

What is the score system in Rugby?

Rugby Score System is as follows:

Try-5 Points

When the ball is grounded over the goal line of the opponent in the goal area, a try is scored. A try is the highest number of points that can be scored by a rugby team at one time. In case a player scores a try, but for foul play by the opposition, a penalty can be awarded to him.

Converting a Try – 2 Points

After a penalty is awarded, the attacking team is given a chance to add two more points to their scoreboard by kicking a conversion between the posts from any place in line where the try was scored.

Penalty Goals – 3 Points

A penalty can be awarded to the other side if the referee determines that a team has broken any of the laws of the game. Out of the several options of how to best utilize the resulting possession, the team can opt for the choice to kick a penalty goal.

Drop Goal – 3 Points

The dropped goal is different from conversion or penalty kick as it takes place when the ball is in play. A drop goal can be scored when a player kicks for goal during an open play by dropping the ball trying to kick for the poles just after the balls hits the ground.

What are the important terms every Rugby fan should know?

All Blacks – The national team of New Zealand.
Attack – To move the ball forward in order to score.
Ankle Top – A form of tackle, also known as Tap Tackle.
Bonus Points – Method of deciding table points from a rugby union match.
Conversion – Kick for goal after awarding of a try, for two more points.
Crossbar – A horizontal bar that connects the goalposts.
Drop Goal – A kick by an attacking side done between the posts, to score three points if unsuccessful.
Drop Kick – The kick in which the ball is dropped to the ground before it is struck with the foot.
Field Goal – Drop kick through the goalposts during the regular play, worth three points.
Forward Pass – An illegal pass in which the ball goes forward.
Foul – Infringement of the laws.
Goal – Successful kick between the goalposts; it earns two to three points.
Goalposts – Vertical goals connected by crossbar.
High Ball – Ball kicked very high in the air placing a player to attempt to catch it.
Knock-on – Dropping, losing or knocking the ball forward from a player’s hand, which results in it getting awarded to other team.
Line-out – Formation of forwards to restart the play after the ball after the ball goes into touch.
Maul – Players converge around a ball carrier to push the ball and him forward.
Pass – Throwing the ball to a team mate.
Penalty Kick – Free kick that the referee award and can be used to kick for goal.
Red Card – The card shown to a player to be sent off the pitch for the rest of the game
Ruck – Pack of players who form a ball to push the opposing team backward and gain control the ball.
RWC – Short form of Rugby World Cup.
Scrum – Players from a team link arms, bend over and push forward against the similar group from the opposite side.
Tackle – To stop a player from running with the ball while wrapping his arms around him and then bringing him to the ground.
Touch, Touchline – The out-of-bounds line running on wither side of the pitch.
Try – A score of five points awarded when the ball is kicked or carried across the tryline and grounded by a player.
Tryline – Line at the end of each pitch on which the goalposts are placed.
Yellow Card – Card shown to a player being cautioned and sent off the pitch for ten minutes.

2015 Rugby Match Venues

There are 13 match venues where the matches will be played. The venues are:
Rugby World Cup 2015 Venues

Dates

The 2015 Rugby World Cup will be held from September 18, 2015 to October 31, 2015.

Teams

Rugby World Cup 2015 Qualifying Teams

Schedule

Rugby World Cup 2015 Fixtures

Team Statistics

Teams	PLD	PTS	TRS	CON	PEN	DG	YC	RC
New Zealand	43	2012	272	198	98	8	4	0
Australia	41	1423	181	132	91	8	3	1
France	43	1354	158	109	121	10	8	0
England	40	1246	131	97	121	20	4	0
South Africa	29	1009	115	88	73	13	5	2
Scotland	33	972	113	82	85	10	2	0
Wales	32	919	115	83	61	6	2	2
Ireland	30	819	96	73	64	9	3	0
Argentina	30	742	74	49	85	9	5	1
Samoa	24	585	68	47	51	2	3	2
FIJI	24	538	59	45	48	6	6	1
Canada	25	469	49	29	52	8	2	3
Italy	24	455	47	32	53	3	6	0
Japan	24	428	51	29	42	3	1	0
Tonga	21	335	36	25	35	1	10	3
Romania	24	305	33	14	40	1	3	0
USA	21	300	32	24	31	2	7	0
Namibia	15	144	16	11	10	4	3	1
Georgia	12	144	9	9	26	1	4	0
Uruguay	7	98	10	6	12	0	0	0
Zimbabwe	6	84	11	5	10	0	0	0
Russia	4	57	8	4	2	1	1	0
Portugal	4	38	4	3	3	1	1	0
Cote D’Ivoire	3	29	3	1	4	0	0	0
Spain	3	18	0	0	6	0	0	0

	PLD= Played	PTS= Points	TRS= Tries	CON= Conversions	PEN= Penalties	DG= Drop Goals	YC= Yellow Cards	RC= Red Cards