Rugby

In 1862, a new sport was introduces to South Africa. The sport was called Rugby. It is often referred to as the “father” of American football. Rugby is a fast pace game with very few stoppages. The game can be played with either 7 or 15 players. All players must be able to pass, catch, kick, and tackle. The field is 100 meters long and 70 meters wide.  The ball is made of leather and is oval shape much like a football but doesn’t have laces.  The match starts with a kickoff and the players can only advance the ball forward by running with it. You can only pass the backwards.  You could kick the ball forward and after the ball is kicked any player from either has the right to the ball.  You get 5 points for a try which is like a touchdown in American football.  2 points for a conversion much like an extra point.  3 points are awarded for a made penalty kick and for a made drop kick. This is not a drop kick that you would see in professional wrestling. If the ball goes out of bounds a line out is how you would restart play and that’s much like a throw in during soccer.  A scrum is most known rugby formation and is only formed after minor rule violations.  After a player is tackled a ruck is formed and play can continue after the passer passes the ball to another player.  Rugby tackles are much more violent than a football hit because there is no padding worn on the players.  If rugby players did wear padding it would create a false sense of invincibility like football players have due to the facemask.  The most known rugby team is the New Zealand All-blacks.        
http://www.allblacks.com/