What is Rugby Union

• Rugby Union Background From Wikipedia - a great place to start to find out about the sport
• Introduction to Rugby from Brooke Weston; perfect for a beginner
• Rugby Explained By BBC Sport - what is a maul .....
• A definition of Rugby Union
• Rec Sports Rugby Union A definitive document; part1 is the introduction

The History of Rugby Union

• Rugby Football History History of Rugby Football, aspects including 6 nations, Tri nations, World cup, Timeline, Origins, scoring, etc. etc.
• History of Rugby "The popular belief is that in 1823, a pupil at Rugby school in England...", but ... read on
• Colonial Rugby History of rugby in the 1800s and early 1900s, particularly in colonial Australia.
• Rec Sport Rugby Union Faq History see also Part 2
• Rugby pioneers An interesting Blog on rugby history by Frederic Humbert
• Evolution of the Rugby Ball Sean Fagan explains it all!

Rugby Union Rules

• The Pitch details Provided by Richmond Rugby
• Laws and Regulations - Ruby Union Rules from the International Rugby Board, including experimental law variations
• Tackling Issues From CNN Sports Illustrated; discussing Rugby Union Rule changes in 2004 - scrummage issues - "use it or loose it"
• Improving the game 2006; IRB try out new Rugby Union Rules to simplify and make the game more enjoyable. 5 areas up for discussion
• Game Laws - Rugby Union Rules presentation by Wikipedia
• Rugby Laws discussion Discussion, based on real incidents, of rugby Union Laws from Balls Out!
• Learn Rugby Laws A free resource to help referees, players and fans enhance their knowledge of the Laws of Rugby Union.
• Test your RU Knowledge A Rugby Union Rules quiz

Rugby Union Equipment

• Equipment Guide From BBC Sport Academy; minimise the chances of injuries, as well as increase your enjoyment of playing the game
• Myoquip A commercial organisation providing innovative range of of variable resistance, strength-increasing equipment; They have some helpful articles on the background to improving this aspect of the game as well as a Blogspot with more background info.
• MyoQuip Blog

Bajada Scum

The Bajada scrum practised by The Pumas, has a very unique way of binding - not through the legs, like most teams, but with their arms around the props waists. Although the physics of scrumming are the same, all the power is directed into the hooker, scrumming along an imaginary arrow drawn pointing inwards from either side of the No 8. The scrumhalf gives a three part call after the 'engage': on pressure all members of the pack tighten their binds and fill their lungs with air.; on the call "one" everyone sinks. the legs at this point should be at 90 degrees;on "two" the pack comes straight forward while violently expelling the air from their lungs. a key note is that nobody moves their feet until forward momentum is established. If the first drive is insufficient the scrumhalf begins the call again and the opposing pack is usually caught off guard and pushed back - from a helpful visitor to our library

Tips for Coaching Rugby Union

• Online Coaching resources From the International Rugby Board.
• International Rugby Academy of New Zealand Located at the Adidas Institute of Rugby in Palmerston North and the Royal New Zealand Police College on the outskirts of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. They provide intensive world-class rugby tuition to players and coaches throughout the rugby world.
• Rugby 365 coaching articles A new article roughly every month
• Some Thoughts on Rugby By Tickey de jager - a downloadable pdf document with useful analysis of all facets of the game for coaches
• Coaching Rugby Helps rugby union coaches at all levels of the game to introduce and coach Rugby Union to players of all ages; online coaching advice, tips etc
• Rugby Coaching Notes on Kicking
• Rugby Coach Free and ready to use material for (rugby) coaches. Motivation, fitness, mental training, teambuilding, bananas and reviews of interesting books and videos and other coaching links
• Rugby Football Union Coaching Technical articles (fitness, lineout skills, centre play, understanding Rugby for beginners, back play etc) books and video resources, Coaching Forum.
• Coaching the Scrum From Rugby Coaching Notes

Rugby Union Fitness Training

• Fitness For Rugby Pre-match warm-ups; Fitness aspects
• Peak performance
• Strength Training For young players from Community-Rugby; approaching the task correctly
• Myoquip.blogspot Discusses MyoQuip's variable resistance strength machines but also has numerous articles and commentaries on strength training and biomechanics in relation to rugby and other sports
• Rugby training How to develop strength, speed and endurance

Rugby Union Science

• Rugby v. American Football U-tube video looking at sportscience
• Science of Rugby from abc.net - not too deep!

Rugby Union Safety

Sports science has am important role to play in understanding the forces involved and injury prevention.

British and Irish Lions

A touring side featuring the best rugby union players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They come together once every four years to tour New Zealand, South Africa and Australia in rotation.

• History of Lions Tour
• Sporting Life has news for Rugby Union
• Lions Rugby Official website for the Lions
• British Lions tour Guide The official site.
• The Lions are Coming The official advice on tour and travel packages
• BBC Sport Articles:

Women's Rugby

• Women's Rugby in Wales Fixtures, results, news, contacts
• Scottish Women's Rugby Official Site

Rugby Union Organisational bodies

• International Rugby Board From the IRB; theoretical, practical and organisational information relevant to all levels of play.

Rugby Union Events

• New Zealand Rugby Info & Travel Independent rugby & travel guide for fans travelling to New Zealand for the 2011 World Cup

Rugby Union Competitions

• International Rugby from Tiscali Planet Rugby

Rugby Union News

• BBC News Covers current International tours and events
• News feed From NewsNow - up to the minute information from all sources.
• Planet Rugby Definitive international rugby resource with breaking news, exclusive features and a searchable archive
• Rugbyenews Receive the latest analysis of the game from experts, by email. From Rugby Press International.
• Rugby365 Global coverage; links, comprehensive news, articles etc
• RugbyDirt.com Is a rugby portal providing loads of information on rugby. Get the latest rugby news, read rugby articles and rugby blogs written by our experts. Download the latest rugby wallpapers and get updated on the latest rugby events. Look for rugby related jobs in our rugby classifieds section.
• Rugby Heaven An international rugby super-site from Australia, covering the International competitions and Provincial Rugby in Europe, S. Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

Rugby Union Portals

• Rugby Football Union
• RU Advancement Newsgroup Faq
• Rugby eNews Provide up to date news on the International scene, by regular newsletters. On-site is archived information, calendar, tables and links
• RugbyRugby Brings you the latest action from USA Super League, Canadian Super League, Canada, USA, Zurich Premiership, Heineken Cup, Six Nations, Tri Nations, Super 12 and World Cup 2003 news plus features, fixtures, results, kit, jerseys, shirts and comment from the world of rugby union.Women's Rugby World Cup fromAdidas - full coverage, including History
• Talk Rugby
• Openside Flanker provides a ranking system for International teams based on results against each other
• Rugby Union Blog from BBC Sport Covering World Rugby

Rugby Union 10-a-side

Basically the laws of the IRB are usually applied with some location variations such as duration of the game, number of people etc

All about Rugby Union in South Africa

• A History From Wikipedia
• Coverage by Rugby365 News, profile, fixtures, results, opinions.
• Coverage by Planet Rugby News, profile
• Super Rugby Provides all the action at the top level of the game
• South African Rugby An informative Blog

Play/Watch Rugby Union in South Africa

Rugby Union Portals in Asia

• Rugby in Asia features Asian rugby news from grass-roots through to international games. It also reports on Asian rugby teams and personalities, details tournament schedules, fixtures and allows the reader to access information on the whole Asian rugby scene in one place.

Play/Watch Rugby Union in Jordan

Play/Watch Rugby Union in Saudi Arabia

• Riyadh RFC The home of Rugby in Riyadh

Play/Watch Rugby Union in Canada

• Canadian Rugby News International, National and Provincial coverage, Womens, University/College, Over 40's!
• Rugby Union Canada Referees and the Laws, news, Super League, National Team
• Alberta Junior Rugby Alberta Minor Rugby Association bye laws, history, divisions, calendar of events, links to Canadian Rugby Sites including the Provincial Unions.
• Calgary Rugby Union Results, schedules, links
• Ontario Rugby Union Provincial teams, senior league, 4 branches, links

All about Rugby Union in the USA

• Balls Out North American site with global coverage and interest, Useful links to Local rugby sites arranged by State; Rugby Budda answers questions with depth and feeling.
• USA Rugby Network Provides free club websites, schedules, tournaments, news and more. Track your club today!

Play/Watch Rugby Union in the USA

• Boca Raton Rugby Club In Florida
• Boston Rugby The official club website
• USA Rugby Composed of 37 Local Area Unions (LAUs), which are grouped into seven geographical Territorial Unions (TUs); National Teams, Club Rugby, Championships; learn about rugby.
• USA Rugby Men's National Team The Eagles
• New York Rugby Sevens The largest sevens tournament in the United States. The tournament has been held on the Saturday following Thanksgiving since 1959 and traditionally marks the end of the Fall rugby season in the New York Metropolitan area. Territory Union Sites ( and their local area unions) Mid-Atlantic (Eastern Penn, Potomac, Virginia)
• Pacific Coast (Arizona, Northern California, Pacific Northwest, Utah)
• Southern California (North, Southern California - South)

Play/Watch Rugby Union in Australia

• Lane Cove Rugby Football Club Northern Sydney

All about Rugby Union in Fiji

• Fiji Rugby Union Teivovo; team Fiji, Competitions, schools, provincial information etc

Play/Watch Rugby Union in Fiji

All about Rugby Union in New Zealand

Play/Watch Rugby Union in New Zealand