I have a passing interest in rugby (both union and league, as far as whatever differences they have that I immediately remember), which inspires these relatively intricate questions:
Was there a sudden date that the all-weather ball became standard? Are leather balls still allowed in organized play (regardless of any disadvantages they may have)?
When watching league on cable in the mid-90s, I noticed a pile of sand was used to support the ball for conversions. I see that nowadays all manner of tees are available. When did this happen, and was it regulated? Could someone still choose to use sand or stand the ball up on the ground unaided?
Is there a particular reason for the Doppler-ish way the officials blow the whistle, or is it tradition?
I was watching a sevens match on YouTube, or rather, highlights thereof. It appeared to be union. Upon conversions (where, to my understanding, all conversions must be drop kicked), the ball was apparently dropped from a point considerably closer than a point along or behind the 22 meter line. In fact, it appeared the kicker had little problem in converting this way, his kick overshooting the crossbar by at least 10 meters. Is this a special case, or are drop kicked conversions played shorter?
In my experience, the referee (he’s the only one who has a whistle) only blows the whistle in a distinct way when he’s signaling the end of a half.
A player attempting a conversion must attempt it from any point perpendicular to the try line (parallel to the touch line) from where it was touched down in the try zone. They usually pick the distance that gives them the best angle to distance ratio, if you will. As sevens is usually played in tournaments, drop kicks (as opposed to place kicks) are often required for conversions, to speed up play. It is also common for the conversion to be attempted from behind the try zone, kicking the ball back into the field of play, which also speeds up tournament play.
Santo Rugger has nailed the details of where conversion drop kicks are taken (and why).
Both Union and League 7s have 7 players on a team. The major differences are:
when tackled to the ground, a League player then stands up and taps the ball backwards to a team mate; in Union, the player must release the ball on the ground and other players (not on the ground) compete for it (=rucking)
when the ball goes off the side of the field, league restarts with a scrum (these look really silly to me); Union has a line-out, where the ball is thrown back in.
Sevens is a fantastically fast game, where passing, running and tackling are vital. There’s usually a score every couple of minutes and the players come off exhausted. Here’s the International Sevens circuit - well worth watching!
So, theoretically, a drop kicked conversion may be taken anywhere on the field, be it a meter off the try line or the middle of the field if one had a Jim Thorpian instep?
Is this the same with rugby in general—the ball may be place kicked anywhere on the field, so long as its on a point of the imaginary line perpendicular from where the try was scored? If so, I don’t know why I had it in mind that the 22 meter line was the “foul line”, as it were.
Yep, as long as it’s in line with where the ball was touched down. I’m not at all familiar with League.
You’re probably thinking of a ‘22 drop’, which happens when the attacking team kicks the ball out the back or sides of the try zone. It’s similar in logic to a touch back in American football. If the attacking team commits another minor offense in the try zone, a 5 meter scrum will be awarded to the defending side.
Yes, but the closer you move to the try line, the more likely the opposing team is to charge down your conversion.
The end-of-half (or match) whistle is three blasts, one longish one, one short one, and one really long one.
Sand and tees were used about equally when I was playing schoolboy rugby. When you were watching in the mid-90s, rugby (union) was still an amateur sport.
In 1995 the game was “opened”, meaning, in effect, it became a professional sport. This was about the time at which plastic tees became ubiquitous, so my WAG would be that players started using them at the request of their sponsors.
You really can’t stand the ball on the ground. Players will “dig” with the studs on the heel in order to make a depression to stand the ball in for kickoffs, but this makes it a lot harder to get loft on the ball.
Waisale Serevi used to be the drop-kick converter for Fiji’s sevens team. IIRC he took next to no backswing and used to get the ball just high enough to clear the bar (but was usually pretty darn straight). A drop-kick’s fairly hard to charge down as there’s minimal run-up and the defenders cannot charge until you “offer to kick” - that is, begin the necessary movement. It’s less accurate than a place, though. Place-kick conversions may also be kicked from any point through a line running through where the try was scored and parallel to the touchline (perpendicular to the goal-line) and, since range is typically not a problem, are usually taken well back to widen the angle (and make them harder to charge).
Wikipedia comments:
“In the 1980s leather-encased balls, which were prone to water-logging, were replaced with balls encased in synthetic waterproof materials”
I doubt that leather balls are illegal, but the disadvantages mean that no one uses them any more.
I remember going to see Wigan RLFC when I was younger (maybe 10-15 years ago) and they’d have a small lad run the bucket of wet sand onto the pitch. I seem to remember a few years after that, some team introduced a radio controlled car to bring the sand on (why, I don’t know).
Plastic tees in rugby league are a very recent innovation. I think the introduction of the Super League was when plastic tees started gaining hold. They do have the advantage of not collapsing and having to reset the ball though, nor do they leave mounds of sand, abrasive to the eyes, all over the pitch.
Halves are usually signaled by a hooter, in rugby league.
In order to properly address the ball, it needs to lean forward a bit, and the tees are always perfectly round. When you build your own sand tee/mound, you can make it higher on one side and lean the ball more.
That said, I haven’t so much as toe-poker a rugger ball in nearly 15 years. Maybe the plastic tees are much better now.
