Alright, let me tell you about my little rugby rules adventure yesterday. Seriously, I felt totally clueless watching a game highlight where everyone was shouting “touchdown!” and jumping around. I knew football touchdowns, sure, but rugby? Wasn’t the whole point just kicking that weird ball? Had to figure this out myself.
Starting From Square One
First things first, I grabbed my laptop. Dove straight into looking up basic rugby rules. No fancy analysis, just searched “how rugby scoring works”. Ended up finding tons of pages talking about “touchdowns”, but guess what? They actually called them something else! Kept seeing this word “TRY”. That threw me off big time.
Here’s what I thought I knew (and was totally wrong):
- Touchdown = catching a pass in the end zone like NFL. Simple, right? Wrong.
- Scoring mostly came from kicking goals over the posts.
- Players just piled on each other constantly. Chaotic mess.
Watching a quick “rugby for beginners” video helped a bit. I needed visuals, man. They explained the scoring bits, but it felt rushed. Time to test this myself. My dog wasn’t gonna help, so I needed a different plan.
The Backyard Experiment
Okay, this part was kinda silly. I marked out a tiny pretend “try zone” in my yard – basically just stuck two random sticks about 6 feet apart to pretend they were goalposts. Found one of those small, dense soccer balls I had lying around. Close enough to a rugby ball for this, I figured. Wanted to actually do the actions.
My main question: How the heck do you actually score this “try”? Rules kept saying you need to ground the ball in the opponent’s area.
What I physically tried to understand it:
- Walked/jogged to the edge of my garden bed pretending it was the try line.
- Got down on one knee and carefully pressed the ball down with both hands onto the grass. That’s what “grounding” meant? Felt weird, like planting a flag.
- Realised it wasn’t about running and diving heroically over a line (like NFL). You just gotta get the ball down while in control on or over the line.
Felt super basic, but actually doing the motion made it click. So, that pressing the ball down? That earns your team a chance for more points, the “conversion kick”. Got it.
Trying Out the Kicks (Mostly Failed)
Okay, so the “try” happened. Cool. Now, that kick afterwards. The video said you place the ball anywhere back from where you scored the try, in line. So I picked a spot maybe 10 yards away from my makeshift posts and set the ball on a tee (actually a rock).
Here’s the thing: I tried kicking that round soccer ball through those two sticks. Sounds easy? Ha! First try, smacked it sideways. Second try, it went low and rolled away pathetically. Third try… actually made it wobble between the sticks! Felt good, but honestly, kicking a proper oval ball must be nuts. Made me respect those players even more.
Putting the Points Together
So, after my little yard session and more reading, here’s how rugby scoring finally made sense in my head:
- TRY (my big “touchdown” confusion): Get the ball down over the opponent’s goal line while keeping control. 5 Points. Not 6 like football. Big difference!
- CONVERSION Kick: After a try, kick the ball between the posts and over the crossbar. 2 Points. (Way harder than it looks on TV, trust me).
- PENALTY Kick: If the other team messes up badly, you get a free kick at goal. 3 Points.
DROPGOAL: Player drops the ball and kicks it as it bounces, through the posts. 3 Points. Seriously? Why make it so hard?!
Moral of My Story
Thinking “touchdown” just means carrying the ball into the end zone everywhere? Don’t be like me yesterday. A try in rugby is way more about actually grounding the ball securely, and it’s worth 5 points, not 6 or 7. Trying the basic moves myself – walking that ball to the grass, trying to plant it down, attempting those awkward kicks – finally switched my brain on. Reading alone wasn’t cutting it. You gotta get a feel for how they actually earn it. Now when I watch a player press the ball down like that, I actually get it! Feels good to clear up that fog.
