Topic: Analyze a Rugby Game
Analyze a Rugby Game
To begin to understand the game of rugby, we must first understand the origin of the sport and its development over the years to become what it is today. Rugby football is a style of football that traces its origins to the Rugby School in the United Kingdom. This became a precursor to the two current forms of rugby seen today, namely; Rugby union and Rugby league. William Webb Ellis is most notably credited with the invention of this game, when in 1823 at Rugby School; he was alleged to have caught the ball during a game of football and ran with it across the field towards the opposition goal. This story however has never been fully confirmed.
The formation of these two distinct codes of Rugby came about in 1895 when the Northern clubs broke away from the Rugby Football Union (rugby union) to form the Northern Football Rugby Union (which later became rugby league) over disputes of administration. They advocated for rugby to be played as a professional sport which entailed compensating their players for time lost to earn wages. The initial split was over administration but the rules of the game largely remained the same. However with time rules over the forms played developed the two codes into two distinct sports.
Enough about the history of the game lets delve a little into the basic rules of the game which will help us understand the game better especially for the novices. We begin with the main objective of the game which is get the ball across the opponent’s goal line or kick it over the crossbar between the goalposts. This is played on a rectangular shaped field with a standard size equivalent to that of an American football field and is referred to as a pitch.
It is a fast paced game consisting of two 40 minute halves, during which time the teams change ends at halftime. In, its most common form a team consists of 15 players, each of whom is assigned numbers based on their positions. More descriptively we have;
#1-8 Forwards: They are typically larger and stronger and their main job is to obtain possession of the ball.
#9-15 Backs: They tend to be smaller, faster and their main job is to advance with the ball up the field.
The game starts with a kick-off (KO) to the opponent from the mid-field and as long as the KO travels beyond the 30 yard line, any player may gain possession of the ball. Movement of the ball can be carrying, kicking or passing it.
Perhaps the most confusing part of the game when it comes to beginners is the method of scoring in Rugby. There are four ways of scoring in a rugby match.
1. Conversions- this earns a team two points. When a team scores a try, they can convert it by attempting to kick the ball through the goalposts from the 30 yard line. It can either be a place kick or a drop kick.
2. Penalty Kick- this is when a team is called for a major rule and the opposition is given a chance to ‘kick for points ‘if they are within the range of the goalpost. They must kick from the point of foul or anywhere on a straight line from that point. If it fails to go through the goalpost the ball become live and the game continues. A team earns 3 points for this.
3. A Drop goal kick- it is similar to a field goal kick in football, except that it can be taken from anywhere on the field by any player at any time during the game.
4. Try- this is the equivalent of a touchdown. When a team advances towards the opposition’s goal line with the ball it is called a try and it earns the team 5 points.
Some other points to note that of key importance include: a tackle, maul, ruck and scrum.
The tackle is when a ball carrier is brought to the ground. The player has to release the ball and roll away to allow other plays on their feet to play. The ruck is when players of a team converge over the ball and bind together like a scrum in an attempt to push away opposing players backward. The ball cannot be picked up by anyone until it emerges from the ruck. A maul this is similar to a ruck except players surround a ball carrier who is still standing. The maul ends when the ball emerges or the player with the ball runs out of the center. And finally last but definitely not the least, we have a scrum. This is when eight players from each team bind together in their own 3-4-1 formations in a crouching position. The two formations engage head-on to form a single mass of 16 players. The ball is then put into the tunnel with each team attempting to get control of the ball with their feet.
Game: The Enterprise Cup Final
Date: 6th April 2013
Location: RFUEA grounds, Nairobi.
Teams: Menengai Oil Nakuru RFC vs. Mwanba RFC, KO 4pm.
The curtains came down on the Enterprise Cup 2013 which was held this past Saturday at the RFUEA grounds which saw the three time cup champions – Mwamba go in for a fourth crown and emerge victories over seven time winners Nakuru RFC, ending the game at a final score of 15-10 (Blogger, 2013).
This years’ Enterprise Cup final saw a repeat of the 2008 faceoff between Nakuru and Mwamba that saw Nakuru take the cup home with a commanding 34-24. Three time champions of the Enterprise cup, Mwamba got off to a very spirited start in the series after demolishing Impala at the quarter finals with a very commanding 65-19 lead. They went on to battle it out against a very resilient Nondies, making it to the finals with a 35-25 lead over the Nondies team. Nakuru on their part made it to this year’s finals after battling it out with Quins at the quarters and emerging with a 21-5 victory. They then proceeded to gain another victory over KCB with an almost similar score of 21-3 at the semi-finals. This ensured them a chance to get a shot at the title for the seventh time and a maybe claim their first double cup (Blogger, 2013).
The first half of the game saw Nakuru maintain most of the possession of the game, dominating in the forwards while Kulabu (Mwamba) trying to nullify whatever progress being made in the forwards by Nakuru. Mwamba put up the only points of this half through a penalty try by Tito Oduk (Blogger, 2013).
The second half saw the introduction of Humphrey Kayange, playing at number 8 and Oscar Ouma at number 14 for Mwamba and Nakuru respectively. The second half of the game was, admittedly, more spirited in terms of the performance by the players, starting with Mike Agevi who stretched his team’s lead to eight points with an uncovered try after very strong teamwork from the backs. This was a very strategic use of advantage of numbers by Mwamba, after Nakuru’s Felix Oloo was sent to the bin (Blogger, 2013).
Though Nakuru showed great territory in the forwards, forcing Mwamba into several errors at the break down, their first points didn’t come through until later with a massive penalty kick that saw Javin Muraya bring the score up to 8-3 with a kick that was from close to 50 meters out. Martin Muita followed with a second penalty but failed and was shortly followed by Javin with another attempt that just fell short (Blogger, 2013).
Nakuru earned another penalty, this time inside the Mwamba 22 and opted to go for a scrum looking to exploit their dominance. They earned a second penalty on the take and opted for another scrimmage. Again Mwamba failed to contain their opponents numbers, forcing the referee, Bosco, to award Nakuru a penalty try. This was converted by Javin, giving his side a two point led over their opponents at a 10-8 score. This score definitely gave Nakuru a much needed morale boost, thus pinning their opponents inside their 22; Lavin Asego’s trademark heaven scratchers impressively handled in most occasions by Javin at 15 (Blogger, 2013). However there was little the utility back and his counter parts could do about a particular territorial kick from the Veteran (Lavin) fly half that found touch inside the Nakuru 22. Nakuru however managed to inch their way back into the black shirt territory, with this time Dennis Ombachi taking up the clearing duties and sprinting almost half the length of the pitch to score under the posts. Lavin making no mistakes from the conversion makes the score to 15-10. Mwamba held on for the last ten minutes of the game, despite mounting pressure from Nakuru, they manage to end the game at 15-10. Thus ending a 7 year wait for the Enterprise Cup glory. The man of the match went to Dennis Ombachi who despite a shaky start, he managed to get back on his feet and make a mark on the game, especially in the attacks (Blogger, 2013).
The strategies employed by both teams were well thought out and showed just how much each team understood its strengths and its short comings. Nakuru had a strong forward and had possession for most of the game however this was not enough to beat the very strong offense put up by Mwamba. Mwamba also did have an advantage of numbers which it put to good use especially in the scrimmages. It understood its strength making it win, just barely despite the very strong opposition it faced (Blogger, 2013).
The final score of the game stood at 15-10. There was two tries made by Mike Agevi and Dennis Ombachi of Mwamba which was converted towards the end of the game. Two conversions made by Lavin Asego of Mwamba and Javin Muraya which he converted from a penalty try award to his team. There were a number of penalty tries award to both teams most notably Nakuru, with one two successful penalty tries by Tito Oduk of Mwamba and Javin Muraya of Nakuru that was then converted. And onesuccesful penalty kick still by Javin Muraya (Blogger, 2013).
References
Poghie-Blogger. (2013), April Monday 08 ). Odd Shaped Balls Kenya. Retrieved April 07, 2013, from oddshapedballs.com: oddshapedballs-kenya.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-cup-winners.html?m=1
