Blacksburg RFC is a rugby union club located in Blacksburg, VA, that competes at the Men's Division III amateur level within the Virginia Rugby Union (VRU) local area union (LAU).
In turn, the VRU is one of three LAUs within the larger Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) territorial union (TU). The USA Rugby national sporting organization governs all levels of rugby in the United States, including the MARFU and the VRU.
Blacksburg RFC primarily draws players from the Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford MSA and the surrounding region, including present and former members of the Virginia Tech and Radford University community. Players range broadly in terms of playing experience, athletic background, age, and level of committment, so all interested players are very welcome to participate.
Blacksburg RFC advanced to the semi-finals in the 2007 MARFU Men's Division III Territorial Championships, and won the MARFU Men's Division III Territorial Championship in 2002. Blacksburg RFC won the VRU Senior Men's Championship in 1997 and 1999, and won the VRU Senior Men's Sportsmanship award in 1996, 2000, and 2003. |
Game Basics:
Rugby union (commonly referred to as "rugby" in the U.S., and also referred to as "rugger," "union," and other nicknames in various playing nations) is a team ball sport played on an outdoor field which emphasises ball-handling, tackling, kicking, and territorial gains.
Rugby union is played by 15 players at a time (plus seven substitutes in a standard match) on a playing ground 100 meters in length (plus in-goal areas) and up to 70 meters in width. Two sets of goal posts (each with two uprights 5.6 meters apart connected by a crossbar 3 meters above the ground) are situated in the center of each goal line ("try line").
An ovoid ball about 28-30 centimeters in length is used. A standard match consists of two 40-minute halves separated by a ten-minute halftime break. During play, two opposing sides contest the match by attempting to gain possession of the ball. The side with the ball attempts to advance by running forward, kicking forward and passing backward, while side without the ball attempts to gain possession of the ball and halt the other team's advances by tackling and fielding kicks. Players also contest physically for possession of the ball after a ball carrier is tackled to the ground (a "ruck"), when a standing ball carrier is held by a tackler (a "maul"), when the ball leaves the sides of the playing area (a "lineout") and to restart play after minor infractions (a "scrum").
Scoring occurs when a player is able to carry the ball over his opponents' goal line ("try line") and ground it in the in-goal area (a "try"). Under current laws, the scoring side earns five points for a try, and is then allowed to attempt a placekick through the goal posts and above the crossbar (a "conversion") for an additional two points if successful. After substantial infractions, players may also attempt similar place kicks from the field of play (a "penalty") for three points, or they can drop-kick the ball in open play (a "drop goal") for three points. These scoring values have changed over time; the origin of the term "try," in fact, comes from an era when players were grounded the ball in the other side's in-goal area received no points--only a "try" at kicking the ball over the goal posts and above the crossbar for a score.
A variation of rugby union, rugby sevens, is played by seven players per side over the course to two seven-minute halves. Rugby sevens is primarily played in the form of tournaments because its format allows several short and intense matches to be played by a side in the same day.
Players:
Because of the varying goals, positions, tactics, and skills involved in rugby union, people with a number of different physical and mental talents can excel at the sport. quick runners, hard tacklers, strong grapplers, talented kickers, clever passers, quick thinkers, and those with a variety of other talents all have a place in the sport. Rugby union training sessions and matches are both excellent opportunities to improve and maintain physical fitness, and levels of play worldwide range from casual amateur clubs to professional sides whose players make millions of dollars.
Background:
Rugby union shares similarities with American football (typically refereed to as "football" in the U.S.), Canadian football, rugby league, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, soccer ("football" in many playing nations), and a number of other outdoor ball sports worldwide. This similiarity stems from these varied sports have shared roots in early team ball sports. Over the last few centuries, these games which diverged into the different sports that exist today due in part to differing decisions by various groups regarding how to regulate ball handling, tackling, resumption of play after stoppages, team size, substitutions, and player compensation.
Rugby union's origins are British, but it is now played in more than 100 nations by men and women of all ages. The Rugby World Cup (RWC) , held every four years since 1987, is now generally recognized as the third-largest international sporting event worldwide, after the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics. The current Rugby World Cup champion is South Africa, having won the trophy in 2007. South Africa also won the world championship in 1995. Previous world champions include England (2003), Australia (1991, 1999), and New Zealand (1987).
Rugby union was once strictly limited to amateurs with players forbidden to receive compensation for play, but in 1995 the International Rugby Board (IRB), rugby union's worldwide governing body, declared rugby union an "open game" with professional sides and competitions allowed. In the regions where rugby union is most popular (including primarily the British Isles, Western Europe, Oceania, and South Africa), the advent of professionalism has allowed advancements in terms of promotion, player recruiting and development, and competition for sporting audiences. Meanwhile, rugby union remains a largely amateur game in many areas worldwide. USA Rugby boasts a membership of more than 60,000 rugby union players, including more than 20,000 high school-aged players. |
