Postby My pseudonym is Ix » 14 Aug 2016, 04:50
*cracks knuckles*
First up, welcome to rugby! I've been involved in the game for (quick mental maths) around 14 years now, picking up a ball again this year after three years of refereeing. I've always found rugby, despite its reputation (at least in Britain) for being played by hoo-rah public schoolboy jocks, to be an incredibly welcoming and supportive game, and it has done a lot for me over the years. Plus, y'know, it's really great fun to both play and watch, and once you get into it there are huge amounts of hidden depth to find intrigue in.
Secondly, your guide to the sport itself. I apologise if you already know any of this, but consider this an introduction for those who may not be aware.
At the Olympics, you'll have been watching Rugby Sevens; the fastest, most physically demanding of the three main codes. Rules-wise, sevens is a stripped-down version of rugby union (with a number of tweaks to favour faster play), and tends to follow a play style of throwing the ball around probing for opportunities, before suddenly and explosively exploiting them. Players tend to be slim, fast, deceptively powerful in key moments, and must have the endurance for seven minutes of near-constant interspersed jogging and sprinting. There are also not really 'positions' as such; although there are lineouts and scrums to restart play, once the game has got going everyone mucks in as one on the defensive and offensive lines.
Rugby league is a variant of the code that originated in Britain in the 1890s, over an argument between northern and southern teams regarding payment of players (before the game became professional in 1995, and for some time after that as well, amateurism was a huge bone of contention within rugby union and players were frequently banned for the sport for playing league). Most rugby league teams in the UK are based in a small area of northeastern England, but nowadays the real heartland of the sport is in Australia and New Zealand (where it is arguably a bigger sport than union). Rugby league features teams of 13-a-side and no 'rucking' once a player has been tackled; after a tackle the referee will tell everyone to move out of the way and get the ball moving again. Teams get six tries of this to score before the ball is turned over to the other side. It also features no lineouts and largely noncompetitive scrums, meaning that (as in sevens) there aren't particularly 'positions' and all players tend to have the same "fast and powerful runners" build, at least at the professional level. Individual skill levels for things like passing and handling also tend to be higher due to the stripped-down ruleset, leading to some truly glorious NRL highlights reels I highly encourage you to look up on YouTube. Historically league has had less international appeal than union, particularly since the advent of union professionalism.
Rugby union is the oldest of the three codes, with the sport being founded (predictably enough, in a London pub) in 1873. As previously stated, union has been professional at the highest level for more than twenty years now, but there is a strong grass-roots rugby culture and there are amateur teams playing a mere two divisions from the very top in the UK. At least in part thanks to the stirling work of the sport's governing body, World Rugby, Union has long held international appeal- it is played across Europe, most notably in the UK and France, and the 'big three' southern nations of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand (the most successful rugby union nation in history) have long and proud union heritages- but we must also not forget the contributions of the likes of Japan, the Pacific Islands (well done Fiji) and, indeed, Canada. Union is a 15-a-side game, and I find it tends to be slower, more organised and more organic than either of the other three; the ball may be contested at the tackle, rucks, mauls, scrums and lineouts. This continuous cavalcade of contest chances means union is traditionally a game for 'all shapes and sizes'- big meaty guys play up front in the forwards, where they try to push one another out of the way and secure possession, whilst lighter, faster, players are usually more inclined to play in the backs, where they try to run round their opponents and do all sorts of clever things to score tries. There is, of course, huge amounts of variation within these broad labels, as you'll know if you've ever seen an outside centre arguing with a scrum-half.
**DISCLAIMER** I am primarily a rugby union player and fan, with my knowledge of sevens and league being passing at best, so I'm not quite able to speak impartially about the various codes from hereon in. I have, however, tried my best to be fair.
Thirdly, international competitions. Since sevens matches are so short, sevens is usually played in two- or three-day competitions when teams play multiple matches on each day. The international scale for this is the HSBC Sevens World Series, where the big international teams travel around the world taking over stadiums for a weekend at a time (during which time the fans tend to take the opportunity to dress up and generally have rather chilled-out fun). The sevens world champion is announced at the end of each season based on who accumulated the most points over various series events. For the 2016-17 series, the season runs from December to May, coming to Las Vegas on 3-5 March and Vancouver on 11-12 March (the Vegas Sevens has a lot of history behind it and is well worth a trip if that kind of party atmosphere floats your boat).
Rugby league has two major international competitions. The Four Nations held biennially and is contested between Australia, New Zealand, England and Another Team (Scotland for the 2016 competition). The Antipodes have an annoying habit of winning the whole time. There is also the Rugby League World Cup, which has finally settled on a regular schedule and is now held every four years (the next to be in 2017). Unfortunately, I've found news of their existence hard to come by even in England, so it'll probably be a little difficult to find unless you look particularly closely.
Rugby union is blessed not only with multiple international competitions, but also extensive TV coverage of almost all of them. The Six Nations, held between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland (inc. Northern Ireland), France and Italy in spring each year is rugby's oldest international competition and always produces some great rugby. The Southerners, for their part, have the Rugby Championship, contested between Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina every year- it is usually broadcast on Sky or ESPN, and world class rugby is guaranteed. There are a variety of smaller competitions elsewhere in the world (the Asian Five Nations, Rugby Europe Championship and Pacific Nations Cup, which Canada and the US competed in up until this year), but they are harder to find and watch. Every four years, however, the world comes together for the Rugby World Cup, the biggest rugby event in any code. The qualifying process includes around 100 teams, and it will next be held in Japan in 2019- the first time the competition has gone outside a top-tier rugby nation. In addition, between each world cup the home nations contest a Lions Tour, wherein the top players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland come together as one side to play a three-match series against either New Zealand, South Africa or Australia (rotating each year). This is a tradition going back well over 100 years, and is always a great occasion- the 2017 tour will be to New Zealand, who the Lions have only ever beaten once.
I should also point out at this juncture that both league and union sides play international touring friendlies in spring and autumn, but keeping track of all those.
Fourthly, local competitions. There are a number of highly-regarded domestic competitions held around both the year and globe in League and Union. The most historic Union league in the world is what is now called the Aviva Premiership, the top division of an English league structure that goes right down to grass roots level and runs from September to May each year. France has a similar competition, the Ligue National de Rugby, for its professional sides. Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Italy (for their part) divide themselves into geographic 'franchises' that draw from the local sporting population and contest the... *sigh* Guinness Pro12 (I know, it's a bloody stupid name) competition, also running from September to May. European teams also compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, the premier European Rugby competition. In the Southern hemisphere, as well as some well-regarded domestic leagues, they also divvy up into franchises to contest the Super Rugby championship from February to August, which is unique amongst rugby championships in the way it keeps getting bigger to accomodate more teams who want in- the 2017 competition will include five sides each from Australia and New Zealand, six from South Africa and one each from Japan and Argentina. Expect a North American representative in less than a decade, followed by internal fragmentation. In League, Australia has the very well-regarded National Rugby League, the UK has the Super League, and the best of each contest the World Club Series each year. I will confess to know little about each, except that the NRL is generally regarded as the superior competition in terms of entertainment value (which is probably why league is more popular in Australia than the UK).
Finally, and perhaps most pertinently to you, rugby in Canada. I can't speak for their prowess at league, but in rugby union Canada have a long and proud rugby tradition- they have contested every world cup and several of their players have gone on to have very distinguished professional careers. Perhaps most notably, Victoria's own Gareth Rees played for three different British clubs during the professional era, was the only player to play in each of the first four rugby world cups (1987-1999, captaining the 1995 team), is a World Rugby Hall of Famer and one of his boots is used as a rugby trophy by LRR's own Oak Bay High School. However, at a domestic level, Canadian domestic rugby is strictly amateur (as it is across most of the world) and local, due to a problem described by the Arrogant Worms as 'Canada is Really Big'. Its real heartland is on the coast, in BC and Newfoundland.
So, what do I recommend for you?
Well, I can't personally recommend any streaming sites, but if possible I can suggest getting friendly with the Sky and ESPN rugby programming. The next big union event to come up will be the start of the European domestic season in September, with the Autumn Internationals (or whatever sponsor-branded name they've got nowadays) starting in November, when the southern hemisphere nations will be coming to tour Europe; coverage is invariably available. The Sevens World Series is typically broadcast online and begins in December, whilst the Six Nations kicks off in February. Perhaps most pertinent to you, the US has just founded its own professional domestic league called PRO rugby, and there are plans to include Canadian teams in 2017- so watch this space.
That'll do you for stuff to watch, I reckon. However, I would personally suggest one more thing- to potentially revise your opinion about playing.
You might think you're unfit. You might have looked at the sevens and thought "I ain't got a patch on those guys", and you may well be right. But rugby, and in particular union, has always been a sport for all shapes and sizes to play, and proper grass roots rugby is always willing to take in newbies without a clue what they're doing. Rugby should be a fun, participative sport, and if you find there is a club near you, no matter how big or small, go along. Ask if there's anywhere you can start off with. Meet some people. See if you can't find some joy in them.
Good luck, and once again welcome to the brotherhood of rugby.
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not
it after all."
I can't speak with any authority regarding the development of rules in league and gridiron football respectively, but I believe the two were separate (albeit one could well have inspired the other).
