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Rugby league was initially played by a breakaway faction of the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) known as the Northern Union . When similar breakaway factions occurred from RFU-affiliated Rugby Unions in Australia and New Zealand , in 1907 and 1908 they formed associations known as ''Rugby Leagues'' and used the modified Northern Union rules. The Northern Union later changed its name to the Rugby Football League . Thus, the game became known as Rugby League HISTORY See Also: History of rugby league Like most forms of football, rugby league's roots can be traced to early Football History , through the playing of ball games which bear little resemblance to modern sports. It is then important to acknowledge the Development Of The Modern Codes and two separate schisms in football history. In the nineteenth century football was most prominently played in private schools. Each school had its own rules based on whatever playing field that was available to them. The rules could be categorised as either handling or '''kicking''' forms of football. The kicking and handling forms were later codified by The Football Association and the Rugby Football Union '''(RFU)''' respectively. In 1895 rugby football was later beset with a Schism that resulted in the formation of the rebel Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). Although many factors played a part in the split, including the success of working class northern teams to the irritation of the gentry who ran the game, the main division was caused by the RFU decision to enforce the amateur principle of the sport, preventing 'broken time payments' to players who had taken time off work to play rugby. Northern teams typically had more working class players who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to southern teams who drew their players from the middle and upper classes who did not depend on such payments. There were similar movements in other countries. In 1895 a decree by the RFU banning the playing of rugby on pitches where entrance fees were charged led to the famous meeting on 29 August 1895. Twenty-one clubs (plus Stockport who negotiated by telephone) met at The George Hotel in Huddersfield and formed the Northern Rugby Union (later to become known as Rugby League). Within fifteen years more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the Rugby League revolution. The NRFU made changes to the rules in order to increase the number of spectators as they were now dependent on money from the turnstile. Organisations allied to the NRFU changed their names from union to '''league''', hence the names ''' Rugby League ''' and ''' Rugby Union '''. COMPETITIONS Rugby league is played in more than 30 countries and at all levels. International Rugby league at the international level is run by the Rugby League International Federation . The main international competitions that are played are:
Intranational level Club level The two main Rugby League competitions are the National Rugby League (in Australia and New Zealand) and the Super League (in Great Britain and France). The champion team from each competition play for the World Club Challenge each February. Australia ''Main article: Rugby League In Australia '' Rugby League in Australia is run by the National Rugby League , which administers the club competition, and the Australian Rugby League , which is in charge of the national team, the Kangaroos
The National Rugby League is the result of a merger between the Australian Super League and the Australian Rugby League in 1998 . It is played by 15 teams based on the east coast of Australia and Auckland.
United Kingdom ''Main articles: Rugby League In England , Rugby League In Wales , Rugby League In Scotland and Rugby League In Ireland Rugby League in the and Scotland teams. The RFL administer the premier professional European competition, Super League (Europe) , and co-operate with the British Amateur Rugby League Association in administering the amateur game in England. The two main competitions under their auspices are:
New Zealand ''Main article: Rugby League In New Zealand '' Rugby League in New Zealand is under the control of the New Zealand Rugby League , which runs the national competition, the Bartercard Cup and the national team, the Kiwis . One New Zealand club, New Zealand Warriors , play in the otherwise Australian National Rugby League . The game in New Zealand is strong and lately several star players have risen to prominence. Amongst them are Sonny Bill Williams and Benji Marshall . In 2005, the optimism surrounding New Zealand rugby league was justified by their victory over Australia in the Tri Nations final held in the UK. Papua New Guinea ''Main article: Rugby League In Papua New Guinea '' Papua New Guinea is the only country to have rugby league regarded as its National Sport . The game is administered by the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) which runs the national competition, the SP Cup and organises the National Team , known as the Kumuls. France ''Main article: Rugby League In France '' Once a strong test playing nation,the game in France suffered after an assault by the Vichy government in the 1940's. In December 1941, Philippe Petain signed an order drafted for him by the French Ministry of Sport banning rugby league. Rugby league's assets were seized, grounds were taken over, and players were 'invited' to play Rugby union. Those who didn't were blacklisted. The repercussions of this many believe are still felt today, although the standard of football from the Chanteclairs is gradually improving. French club Les Catalans play their first season in the Super League (Europe) in 2006. The governing body of Rugby League in France is ''Fédération Française de Rugby à Treize'', and the national competition is the French Rugby League Championship . The domestic competition in France is the French Rugby League Championship . French rugby league's most famous player is undoubtedly, Robert Puig-Aubert. Other countries PLAYING RUGBY LEAGUE See Also: Playing rugby league Rugby league is played by two teams on a rectangular field with a length generally double the width. The in-goal areas, located at each end of the field, are used to score a Try . At the intersection between the field of play and each in-goal area are also a set of goal posts in the shape of the capital letter ''H'', used for point scoring via a Field Goal , penalty goal or Conversion . The aim is to score more points than the other team, and each of the above scores carry different numbers of points. Although the exact number for each has varied over time, currently tries are worth four points, conversions and penalty goals are worth two points and a field goal also known as a drop goal is worth one. Rugby league consists of an attacking team who has possession of the ball and a defending team who must attempt to stop the attacking team from scoring. In order to score points the attacking team must move up field. To do this they use a combination of kicking and running head-on into the defensive line to either force back the defence or break the defensive line. The defending team must devise tactics to limit the effectiveness of the attacking team's Ball Running and Kicking . The attacking team has Six Chances To Attempt To Score . The defending team tries to stop the attacking team from scoring by Tackling the player with the ball. When a player is tackled, the entire defending team, with the exception of two Markers , must move back 10 metres towards their in-goal area. The tackled player must then Play The Ball . After each tackle the attacking team is usually closer to the opposition's in-goal area and hence goal posts. If the attacking team is tackled a sixth time, a change over also known as a hand over takes place, where the defending team becomes attacking and vice versa. Attacking Tactics
Defensive Tactics
PLAYERS See Also: Rugby league positions Players on field are divided into Forwards and Backs . Each position has a designated number, 1 through to 13. Numbers 14 and higher are given to players on the bench, who only come on to the field to replace a starting player who is either injured or tired. Backs The backs are generally smaller and more athletic. Backs are likely the most creative and evasive players on the field, preferring fine skills, tactics and/or set plays to break the defensive line in favour of brute force.
The half-back position mentioned above is named after the rôle or location of the player with respect to the Scrum during the scrum. To understand the half back or any other players role in the scrum, see Rugby League Positions . Forwards The forwards' two responsibilities can be broken into 'normal play' and 'scrum play'. For information on a forward's rôle in the scrum see Rugby League Scrummage . Forward positions are traditionally named after the players position in the Scrum yet are equal with respect to 'normal play' with the exception of the hooker. Forward positions are traditionally broken into:
For further information on a players see Rugby League Positions . RUGBY LEAGUE WORLDWIDE The game of rugby league is most commonly played in . Of these two areas Oceania is the strongest region. Rugby League is highly popular in Australia , New Zealand , and the Papua New Guinea where rugby league is recognised as the national sport. It is extremely rare for players outside of NRL to gain attention for international honours, and so the European game is often seen as a finishing ground for retiring players and those seeking a more advanced career, such as New Zealand legend Stacey Jones who joined Les Catalans in 2006 after ten years as a star of NRL . Amongst the European nations, rugby league has struggled to become accepted outside of the "heartland" towns of northern England where the game originated. Despite having had many strong teams through history, Rugby à Treize in France has struggled to compete with Rugby Union since the Vichy government banned the sport during World War Two. However, early 21st century developments have seen Georgia , Germany , Estonia , Malta and take part in international rugby league tournaments or matches. There are now over 20 nations currently active in their rugby league pursuits. Australia have won every world cup since 1975 . Until November 25 , 2005 , they had also not lost a tournament or series of any kind for nearly thirty years. This record was finally broken when they lost to New Zealand in the final of the 2005 Tri-Nations Series . GLOSSARY ''‘ball-runner’ vs ‘ball-player’ (also ‘ball-running’ vs ‘ball-playing’)'' : A descriptive categorization of a players technique based upon their favoured ‘action’ (play) when receiving the ball. A ‘ball-runner’ prefers to run at the defensive line and will look to pass/offload to his supporting teammates upon reaching, breaking or busting through the defensive line but ''not'' before. Alternatively a ‘ball-player’ prefers to pass ''before'' the defensive line rather than at or after meeting it, and can imply they possess a degree of creativity in their ‘passing game’. Although not mutually exclusive (players can combine both ‘ball-running’ and ‘ball-playing’ in their overall ‘game’) it is an important distinction in playing styles that requires a different approach from coaches & players and different sets of skills to employ and counter in attack and defence. ''calls'' : Plays across the Rugby League field often originate not from set plays but from the spontaneous ‘calls’ of players on field. Players will call for passes, kicks etc… when they sense an opportunity and playmakers will often respond. Teams sometimes have a high priority call meant to override other calls, e.g. the NSW in State Of Origin have for many years used an “Arko” call in reference to the nickname of the former head of the Australian Rugby League – Ken Arthurson , because he always got his way… The Dummy-half must decide between many competing pass calls (and his own play options) which he will choose to service at every play-the-ball ''change over'' or ''handover'' : Change over refers to the attacking team relinquishing possession of the ball and the defending team gaining possession of the ball. This means the previous defending team becomes the current attacking team and vice versa. ''dummy-half'' : In attack the player who stands behind the tackled player and receives the ball from the 'play-the-ball' which he can then pass or run with. Any player who receives the play-the-ball is called the dummy-half for that play, although it is common for the hooker to be referred to as the "dummy-half" independent of individual plays. ''chip kick'' : A chip kick is simply a punt kick that is very short and very low. It is usually performed so that the kicker or another member of the team can quickly recover the ball; thus the ball must not go out of reach of the receiving player. ''first receiver, second receiver etc...'' : The order a player receives the ball starting with a pass from the dummy-half, hence being the 'first receiver' and so on, of a pass in that play. (The dummy-half is excluded from this numbering scheme i.e. he is the 'zero receiver', as although he is the first ball handler he does not receive a pass) ''game'' : ‘Game’ is a catch phrase that can be used to describe the total sum of an individual players or teams collective talents, skills, limitations, playing style, on-field playing actions etc… in Rugby League. Often it is limited to describe a particular group of skills e.g. a “players passing game” or a “teams kicking game”, but it can be used generally e.g. “they were off their game tonight” or “the fullback still has mistakes in his game”. Alternatively ‘game’ can refer to an individual match or the game of Rugby League itself. ''goal line'' : The goal line is the line between the 'field of play' and the in goal area, thus there is a goal line for both in goal areas. The goal posts are also situated on the goal line. The goal line represents the goal of the attacking team. A try can be scored by 'touching down' on or beyond the goal line in the in goal area. ''head and feed'' : A team is said to have the head and feed of a scrum. The feed refers to the action of placing the ball into the scrum. ''in goal area'' : The in-goal area is a special area where points are scored in the form of a try. There are two in-goal areas on the field, one for each team. A defensive team must defend the in-goal area behind them from the attacking team. The attacking team must defeat the oppositions defences to score a try in their in-goal area. ''left/right arm carry:'' : When running with the ball a player can employ a one-arm (hand) carry by tucking the football into their shoulder/arm-pit. This allows a more secure hold when impacting in the tackle, it frees one hand to fend off tacklers, and allows one-arm offloads. Often players secure the ball exclusively with either their left or right arm. Being predictable, this becomes an important consideration for defenders trying to avoid the fend of the empty arm whilst targeting the ball-carrying arm to try and wrap the ball up and shut down the possibility of an offload, or to attempt to strip the ball from the attackers possession (Strips are only legal in a one-on-one tackle). ''offload'' : A pass, usually short & one-handed, made by an attacking player to his supporting teammates ''after'' he has reached the defensive line, i.e. while the defenders are attempting to tackle him. The advantageous opportunity for the attackers created by the offload is called second-phase play. ''place kick'' : The place kick is a kick from a tee. This act of kicking the ball from the tee is similar to hitting a goal ball from the tee. The tees in both sports provide the same support, to lift the ball off the ground. In rugby league higher tees are used to kick the ball higher. ''playmaker'' : A player who provides the organizational structure and creative impetus in a team via his passing game, (and usually though not always) his kicking and running game. A playmaker will organize his team by talking and structure attacking sets with his plays. From first receiver scrum halfs are usually the teams primary playmaker, although stand offs often play a similar role in the modern game. ''play-the-ball'' : After a player has been tackled, and provided the team has not completed the number of tackles allocated to it under the six tackle rule, the player stands facing the opposition try-line, places the ball on the ground, and projects it backwards with one foot to the waiting dummy-half. ''rushing up'' : Rushing up is the act of a defender coming out of the defensive line in a hurry in anticipation of a pass. The aim is either to intercept the pass or tackle the player upon receiving the ball from a pass. It is somewhat risky to leave the defensive line but is very effective in stopping the attacking play. Also called a 'shooter'. 'Rushing up' can also refer to the entire defensive line (or sections of it) moving up quickly together, not just a single player coming out of the line. ''the half backs'' : Narrowly defined they are the scrum half and stand offs. They form a ‘halves combination’ and are usually the teams organizers and creative playmakers. The definition can sometimes be extended to others who play a traditional halfback stand off role in a team from another position, most commonly fullback, loose forward or hooker. Sometimes the hooker, as ‘dummy-half’ is automatically included when ‘the halves’ are referred too. ''the tackle'' In compromises of the tackled player who 'plays the ball', the dummy-half who receives the play-the-ball, two optional defensive markers who ignore the 10m offside rule and stand face to face with the player playing the ball, although they must stand directly in line with that player, and the A and B Defenders who stand either side of the gap in the defensive line that is left behind the play-the-ball ('A' usually refers to the defender on the left of the gap, and 'B' to the defender on the right as viewed from the attacking team). ''second-phase play'' : The play generated by an offload, which is effectively a second play under the same tackle, hence the name. The defensive line is typically standing still or retreating after an offload and is often disorientated and disjointed, presenting an excellent opportunity for the attacking team to capitalize on. ''short-side & open-side'' : From a play-the-ball (tackle), tap or scrum the ‘short side’ is the segment of the field to either the left or right that is shortest, and the ‘open side’ is the segment of the field to the left or right that is longest. The defensive line on the short-side doesn't usually push up as quickly as the open side prsenting oppurtuinites for the attack against defenders who think that the lack of space means the attack will ignore them go to the open side. Often teams ‘switch the point of attack’ by passing to one side from dummy-half only to have the 1st receiver throw a long pass (or run) behind the ruck to attack the other side in an attempt to catch out lazy defenders who have ‘switched off’ once the ball initially moved away from them. ''slide defence:'' : A defensive technique where each defender in the line will mark up against an opponent and (on the open-side) ‘show them the outside’ by standing several metres inside their opposite, encouraging them to try and beat them out wide. The defensive line will then ‘slide’ sideways with their opposite attackers as they attempt run wide and tackle them side on. The weakness of slide defence is the inside pass & run that cuts back towards the centre of the field, catching the defenders wrong-footed. See ‘Up & In defence’ (to be added). SEE ALSO
Also there is second movement EXTERNAL LINKS
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