Rugby


Background
It is most likely that rugby got its start in BC in the late 1860s or early 1870s when brief mention of ‘football’ appeared in print, but certainly it was played regularly after 1876 in Victoria by local players and sailors on the British ships stationed at Esquimalt.  Vancouver’s first match was in 1887, just two years before the BC Rugby Union was organized in New Westminster in 1889.  For over one hundred years the game continued to grow right across BC mainly for men, but currently the huge growth of women’s rugby, the introduction of mini-rugby for boys and girls, and age-group championships demonstrate the diversity of people now playing the game.

How to Watch Rugby
Rugby is an outdoor sport played with an oval-shaped ball by two teams of 15 players.  Points are awarded for scoring a try or kicking a goal.  A try, which is worth five points, is scored when the ball is grounded within the opponent's in-goal area.  A goal is scored by kicking the ball over the crossbar of the opponent's goal while remaining between the posts.  A penalty or dropped goal is worth three points; a conversion is worth two points.  Rugby is one of the few ball games where the ball cannot be passed forwards.  If the ball goes into touch (out of the field of play), the game restarts with a line-out.  If the game stops because of an infringement, play restarts with either a scrum, free kick or penalty kick (depending on the severity of the infringement) awarded to the non-infringing team.

Athlete Development
BC Rugby is reaping the benefits of program development that began ten years ago, as is the level of rugby competition at the BC Summer Games.  In 1997, community based mini-rugby was launched in BC.  The young player’s version of the game for four to thirteen year olds, with graduated ball and field sizes, now attracts over twenty-five hundred participants each year representing clubs throughout the province.  Mini-rugby essentially starts as ‘tag’ with a ball for pre-school children, and then progressively introduces additional sport specific skills as the athletes mature.  By grade eight, the full game with fifteen-a-side is played.  Today, the first groups of mini-rugby players have played at every level of high school rugby, grades eight to twelve, and at the Provincial Championships.  Coaches report that basic rugby skill levels of incoming players is higher.  Instead of teaching passing, catching and tackling skills, they are now concentrating more on teaching decision-making and game strategy.  High school rugby is also growing with well over six thousand boys and three thousand girls registered.

Competition at the Games
For the 2010 BC Summer Games, the boys’ tournament will feature under-14 players playing thirteen-a-side and the girls’ tournament will have 15-17 year olds playing seven-a-side.

For more info on Rugby, contact the BC Rugby Union at www.bcrugby.com or (604) 737-3021.