Until now, Fantasysportsdad.com has been focused on sports leagues mainly played in the United States. After watching the Rugby World Cup final between England and South Africa I decided to look into fantasy leagues a little farther from home. After a little research I found some of the most popular fantasy rugby leagues.
First off – What is Rugby?
Rugby is one of the most popular sports in the world, although it doesn’t get much attention in the United States. It originated in the 19th century in England, and has been a part of international competition since 1871 when Scotland faced England at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh.
The traditional game involves two teams with 15 players each and up to 8 substitutes. The ball used is oval shape, and the game is played on a large rectangular field with goalposts placed at each end. If you watch a game you will definitely see the similarities between American football, soccer and rugby.
The game is broken down into two halves, 40 minutes each, with a 10-minute halftime in between. There is no extra time like there is in soccer, and a game that ends in a tie is called a draw.
During the game, the team with the ball will try to advance the ball either by running with it or kicking it forwards. You are not allowed to pass the ball forwards. The opposing team will attempt to stop them buy either tackling or getting the ball back.
The field is called the “pitch”, which you are probably familiar with soccer. The pitch is split into 3 different areas, a main playing area that must not exceed 100 meters, and then 2 in-goal areas that are similar to end zones in American football, which can range from 10 to 20 meters. The goal posts are in the shape of a “H”, and are located at the beginning of the dead ball area.
Positions in Rugby
Of the 15 players on the field at one time, 8 of those are forwards, and 7 are backs. The different forward positions include Hooker, Prop, Second Row, Flanker and Number 8, and the backs are the Scrum Half, Fly Half, Inside Centre, Outside Centre, Wingers and Full Back. We will go over these positions more in depth in a future post.
What are the Scoring Rules?
There are 4 ways to score in rugby. They are as follows:
A try is when a player gets the ball and places it down in their opponents dead ball area that is located behind the goal. The team gets 5 points for this.
After getting the try, there will then be a conversion, which is a free kick attempted to earn 2 points. It must pass through the upper posts just like an extra point in American football.
A penalty kick is awarded when the opposing team gets a penalty, and can earn the team 3 points. This will vary distances but must go through the goal posts as well.
The last type of scoring is a drop goal, which can be kicked out of their hands as long as the ball first bounces off of the ground, and this can also gain your team 3 points.
How does a Rugby Fantasy League Work?
Similar to any other fantasy leagues, you draft players and win or lose based on the stats that they accumulate. Obviously every fantasy league will be slightly different. PlayOn is one of the most popular fantasy sites in the UK as well as Australia, and here are some of their scoring rules.
Here are the positions you choose from:
Where do I sign up?
There are many different rugby leagues around the globe, all starting and ending at different times. Once again, PlayOn is your best bet to find these games, click here to sign up. They also have other daily fantasy games available to play.
What do you think?
If you are familiar with rugby, this is a no brainer in my opinion. There are free and paid contest just like any fantasy league, daily or otherwise, so you can play whatever is comfortable for you.
If you are like me, and know about the sport but never really got into watching it, this is a great way to immerse yourself into the game. Obviously watching a championship match for your first game will probably make it seem a little more exciting than it actually is, the game yesterday between England and South Africa was very intriguing.
Either way, if you are a fan of fantasy sports this is something to look into! In the comments below tell me if you have ever experienced rugby, either playing of watching. Leave any advice for beginner rugby viewers, it is greatly appreciated! Have a great day!
It is very nice of you to lay down a simple foundation on what fantasy football league is for those that do not understand all that it entails. This does not mean though that I was not able to learn a thing or two from this post because even I do not know it all on rugby. Your post has explicated on some issues like position. Nice article.
Awesome that you could do a post on how rugby itself all started out. I have to say that it seems like a very perfect game and I still do not know why it is not embraced around here though. I watch some games but I do not really understand the fantasy thing. Gladly, you have explained all about that for me here. I will signup and hope i dont get bored along the tine. Lol
I had never thought about it either, but as a country that loves football like we do in surprised rugby has not done better over here, this is where American football has its roots! I don’t think you’ll get bored 😁
Hello Travis,
I am a rugby fan, but I didn’t know that there were famous leagues outside the United States. I think your post is very detailed and can help anyone, even the ones that have no idea what rugby is, to learn the rules. I love your website and I bookmarked it in order to see what’s next!
Awesome glad you enjoyed it. I did read about the American leagues but it is much more popular around the world, particularly in the United kingdom, South Africa and Australia. Basically any place that has British ties except us I guess!
This is really great info that can be considered before we start Indian Fantasy Cricket This will be great experience to create a team for Rugby and enjoy our winnings.