Rugby. It’s the rough and tough sport with little credit for it’s worth. Many people know it as the sport somewhere between football and soccer, but for it’s players this sport is it’s own entity entirely. We asked members of the Noblesville Rugby Club to tell us how.

1. THE PLAYERS
The game is broken into 40 minute halves with a ten minute break in between.
The teams play both defense and offense. “For both teams, a major rule is that you have to tackle below the waist, or else the ball is passed to the other team,” Senior and co-captain Victoria Jones said.

2. THE GAME
Rugby teams have a maximum of 15 members on the team with 7 substitutes.

3. THE LINGO
– A “try” is where the player places the ball in the dead space behind the opponent’s goal. It is awarded 5 points. “It’s similar to football, except you have tto set the ball down,” Junior Isaiah Jones said.
– A “conversion” is a free 2 point bonus kick awarded to a team who scores on a “try.”
– A “drop goal” can be kicked from the hand as long as the ball touches the ground for 3 points.

4. THE ODDITIES
Although rugby is similar to a mix between football and soccer, it has its own quirks. For example, a Lineout is a play where if the ball is being thrown into play, players can be lifted by their teammates in order to catch the ball.

5. THE FAMILY
Theres no “I” in rugby. “Before each game we always remind ourselves that if we work as a team and as a family, we will conquer this together,” Senior Shelby Cox of the girls team said.