How to play a Defensive #Rugby Strategy

---

Playing defense in rugby is one of those unique “complex in its simplicity” types of situations. Essentially, there’s one main objective—force the offense to give up possession of the ball—and only a few ways to actually accomplish that end: win possession of the ball in a breakdown; force the offense to kick it away; prevent the offense from advancing the ball until they get frustrated and commit a penalty. Of course, as with most things in sports, that’s easier said than done. This guide focuses on some of the key factors involved in creating a well-rounded defensive rugby strategy.

The Defensive Line

When creating a defensive game plan, many of the elements will be contingent on specific in-game situations: what to do from a ruck, how the backs are arranged from a line out, etc. However, the most crucial (and relatively unchanging) structure involved is the defensive line. Basically, the defensive line refers to how defensive players should be arranged to effectively stop the offense from advancing the ball. Though the number and type of players involved in the defensive line will vary from one situation to the next, there are a few characteristics that should remain relatively constant.

• Equal number of players: Whether it’s from a ruck, a scrum, or while the ball is actually being moved, the number of defensive players in one particular area of the field should (just about) equal the number of offensive players. This is to prevent an overload from occurring, which is advantageous to the offense.
• Appropriate player matching: This is highly subject to the situation, but defensive players should try to match themselves up with a player of similar size and/or position. For example, a prop who’s defending a fly half results in a severe mismatch; though the prop is likely bigger and stronger, it would be very easy for the fly half to maneuver around him.
• Stay flat, close to the gain line: Regardless of the situation, all players in the defensive line should be within a few feet of the gain line, and arranged parallel to it. This limits the amount of space the offense has to work with, and makes it much easier to quickly advance on the ball carrier.

click to enlarge

For example, say a ruck has taken place; for at least a few moments initially, possession of the ball is up for grabs. Once one team establishes control of the ruck, the other team will fall back into a defensive line; this is portrayed in the image to the left, which you can expand by clicking on it:

• The red team wins control of the ruck, and becomes the attacking team; the blue team would therefore fall into a defensive formation.
• The defensive players (blue) will quickly line up across from an attacking player (red) of a similar position/size.
• All the defensive players will arrange themselves in a flat line across the field, and across from the attacking player they're defending.

All of this would happen in just a few seconds, as there is no rule that would keep the attacking team from trying to quickly play the ball out. In other words, the attacking team doesn't have to wait for the other side to get in a defensive line, so the defenders have to move quick.

Situational Defensive Tactics

Hot Tip: Stay Flexible

As important as it is to have and be able to execute a defensive strategy, it’s almost equally as important to be able to change that strategy on the fly. Making preparations based on what the opposing team has done in the past is a good way to enter the game with a solid defensive strategy, but understand that there’s no guarantee that the offensive team will perform as anticipated.

Success on the defensive side of the ball is directly linked to both having, and being familiar with, a solid defensive strategy. Teams concoct their defensive strategies based on a number of relatively unchanging factors, such as the abilities of specific players, overall player characteristics (bigger/stronger vs. smaller/faster), and previous success rates with different tactics. Another aspect that gets taken into consideration deals with the different in-game structures that occur—from scrums to drop-outs to penalties—and how the team performs during each of them.

Much like the arrangement of players in a defensive line, the various tactics a team uses in developing its defensive strategy depend both on the types of players on that team, and what that team anticipates from the other team in terms of offensive strategy. Here are a few hypothetical examples of how a specific situation results in a customized defensive tactic:

From the Ruck

Competing at the breakdown is one of the core principles of (union) rugby. As a result, teams will include specific tactics for how their players should react when involved in a breakdown. In this example, Team A is on offense, Team B on defense, and a ruck is occurring.

Read the Situation

Team A has larger than average forwards, and frequently sends three to four players (usually all forwards) into a ruck to increase the odds of winning it. Team B recognizes this habit, and also knows that although Team A’s forwards are bigger than their own, Team B’s forwards are faster than Team A’s.

React to the Situation Accordingly

To combat Team A’s habit of overpowering the other team in a ruck, Team B chooses to not match the number of players Team A sends into the ruck. Team B knows that according the laws of the game, once the referee decides a player is involved in a ruck, that player cannot leave the ruck unless they’re cleared away by an opposing player.

As a result of Team A sending more players into the ruck than Team B, it leaves Team B with more players outside the ruck than Team A. This is advantageous for Team B in two ways:

1. Because Team A committed more players to the ruck than Team B, it briefly creates a numbers advantage for Team B, making it more difficult for Team A to advance the ball.
2. Team B’s players are faster on average than Team A’s players. Combined with the fact that there are more available players on Team B than on Team A, it’s easier for players from Team B to quickly swarm on the ball carrier, which increases the chances that Team A will lose possession of the ball.

Team B successfully combated Team A’s habit of utilizing the size/strength of its forwards by not trying to win possession of the ball from the ruck, and instead chose to focus on quickly stopping the ball from being advanced after it’s picked up from the ruck.

From the Scrum

Hot Tip: Balance Both Sides

Although the majority of scrum tactics focus on the offensive side of the ball, it’s still important for teams to develop a defensive plan from the scrum. It can be as simple as two options, or as complex as creating a different plan for each area of the field. Though each team hopes/expects to win the ball in a scrum, as the old saying goes, no one wins them all.

Success at the scrum is crucial to winning rugby matches; this is true on both offense and defense. While a team can go on to win even after performing poorly from the scrum, it becomes much more difficult. This example focuses on how to defensively react from a scrum; it also focuses exclusively on the backs, as the forwards from both teams would be involved with the actual scrum.

Read the Situation

First and foremost, there’s a bit of uncertainty that exists for the first few moments of a scrum. The backs on both teams will arrange themselves accordingly once one pack wins control of the ball, but they must wait until one side of the scrum officially controls the ball. Again, using the Team A/Team B model, let’s say Team B’s pack gains control of the ball in the scrum.

React to the Situation Accordingly

As soon as the scrum half (the only back involved in the scrum) from Team A sees that Team B has control of the ball, he will immediately instruct the other backs to get into their respective defensive positions. Though the actual arrangement of Team B’s backs will depend on how Team A’s backs are lined up, most of Team B’s backs will immediately form a straight line running parallel to the gain line, at the very back edge of Team B’s scrum.

Unlike the ruck example, this tactic doesn’t result in a specific advantage over the other team, other than quickly putting players in the right position to disrupt the offense from advancing the ball. Because most teams have multiple scrum-based tactics, making the quick transition to a defensive formation is the first crucial move that should be made.

Good Defense Leads to Offensive Chances

The only way to score points in rugby is by controlling the ball. It is impossible to score points on defense; as soon as one player has the ball, that player’s team is immediately on offense. Staying consistent on the defensive side of the ball is one of the best ways to gain possession of the ball, and will make it much easier to win rugby games.

*Like this article? Then follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/Likerugby or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LikeRugby

First published in rugby.isport.com/

If you like this article, connect with Willem on Twitter @WillemTait 

Rugby is empowering women

Using rugby to promote female strength and beauty might be a stretch for Kiwis more accustomed to images of tough men muddied in short shorts, but that's what they're doing at Harvard University.

The Ivy League university is using their Harvard Women's Rugby team in a photo project called "Rugged Grace".

It's won coverage in the Harvard Political Review in which rugby was described as being "one of the most physically demanding sports in the world".

"Lasting 80 minutes long with no substitutions," the HPR said with some confusion over the rules, "the amount of physical contact an individual on the field might receive makes American football look like a walk in the park."

In the project, the photographers asked the rugby players to explore what sport and community meant for their bodies and identities.

"We asked team-mates to write what they loved and appreciated about each player on their body, in the hopes of opening a visual discussion about beauty, strength, and appreciation," the project said.

"Rugby is so much about physically throwing your body on the line for your team-mates during games and training, and that intense appreciation, love, trust, and support for each other is what we wanted to reflect.

"The sport necessitates a strength that we find beautiful and powerful."

HPR said some of the words written on the bodies directly addressed the physical: "squat master" on the muscles they built for their game, or "caught it" on one woman's hands. Others focused on the woman's personality: "fearless", "powerful", "open heart", "inspired/inspiring", "passion and drive."

One of the players, Helen Clark, was quoted saying it was refreshing to see a group of women being proud of the strength they've achieved through hours of training, and to see them celebrating the physical manifestations of that strength.

Know your rugby? Why not bet on the next game

"While many female athletes struggle to balance societal expectations that say women should be small and delicate with the expectation that athletes need to be strong, our team has created a culture that celebrates every kind of body," Clark said.

"We want to send the message that women's bodies are not merely decorations for billboards and magazine advertisements, but rather the physical presentation of strong, powerful people."

Harvard graduate Shelby Lin said the players all showed appreciation about each others' bodies, attitudes, and characters.

"I didn't expect the process to be so emotional, but after each day I felt full of pride for the women involved and how much we respect both ourselves and each other."

HPR also celebrated that the core rules of the sport were the same for men and women.

"The number of players on the field is the same; unlike basketball, the ball size is the same; and unlike lacrosse, the level of contact is the same," it said, saying rugby was a source of empowerment.

"Women players are taught to use the strength of their bodies in ways they had never even conceived," HRP said.

"Where society appreciates the meek timidity that is supposed to accompany female beauty, rugby encourages women to be a dominating presence-fearless in pursuit of her goals."

There is no ideal body type in rugby and the 10 separate positions require every kind of physique to have a role.

"Every body type is celebrated and appreciated. There is no such thing as an ideal rugby body."

The Harvard team said that more than a few of their girls had struggled with negative body image at some point in their lives.

"But if you ever had the chance to spend time with our team, you would never know it.

"We rejoice as a group when a girl proudly declares that she's gained a few pounds as the result of our weight training.

"We admire each other's widening thighs and thickening arms throughout the season."

They said it was a liberating feeling being part of a team with such body positivity.

"Rugby, and our team in particular, only pressures players to utilise and to be proud of the parts of their bodies that make them unique."

The photos by Shelby Lin and Lydia Burns demonstrate "that there is the potential out there for women to be proud of their bodies, no matter what".

The online comments to the HPR article were supportive with "Ironside", a male former player, saying parents have told him "rugby saved their daughters".

"We see one-time wall flowers blossom as they realise what they can achieve. Getting out there, being knocked down, getting bruised and battered and then getting back up again and into the play instils a level of confidence that carries over into everyday life."

First published in http://www.stuff.co.nz/

If you like this article, connect with Willem on Twitter @WillemTait 

How to coach a mini-rugby team

The list of requirements for a mini-rugby coach is long. You need to be patient. You need to be energetic. You need to be alert. Most of all, at the very least you need to have a basic understanding of what rugby is and how you play it. This, I find, is where I fall down.

I'm standing in the Old Alleynian rugby club grounds, surrounded bychildren. They're tiny. None of them even come up to my elbow. I'm stronger than them, faster than them and more intelligent than them. And I'm bricking it. All they need to do is ask how many points you get for a try, or why they're only allowed to pass backwards, or why the ball is even shaped like that, and I'd be stuffed. I haven't got a clue. I don't think I've ever so much as watched a rugby match all the way through, let alone played in one.

But I did used to work as a kindergarten teacher, which at least taught me the three main rules of looking after kids. Rule one: be approachable and enthusiastic. Rule two: naughty kids fall in line if you count down from five to zero at them. Rule three: one day the kids will discover that you're essentially powerless after you reach zero, and that will be the end of us.

I'm here, pretty much, because a bloke from my gym is the academy director of youth rugby at Old Alleynian, and was looking for volunteers. I agreed to go along because I like the bloke and I miss working with kids. Plus, if you're struck by the same terrible affliction as me, in which you spend every Sunday lying face down in bed with the curtains drawn, it's a great way to get you up and doing something active that's actually, as uncool as this sounds, rewarding.

Know your rugby? Why not bet on the next game

It's something anyone can do, provided they're willing to be subjected to a criminal record check. The Rugby Football Union estimates that 50,000 people volunteer at clubs around the country and the volunteers at Old Alleynian – who number more than 100 – include first aiders, managers, referees, tea-makers and coaches. There's a great sense of everyone pitching in together, so it doesn't matter if – like me – you're slightly haphazard. A bit of enthusiasm gets you a long way.

It's a good set-up. Every Sunday morning, rain or shine, dozens of kids turn up for a runaround. Although Old Alleynian is the swanky Dulwich College rugby club in south London, thanks to its community schools outreach rugby coaching programme, it actively recruits kids across Southwark, so there's a big mix of backgrounds. Genders, too. One of the most indomitable members is a pigtailed little girl called Connie, who very openly refused to take any nonsense from any of her peers.

The kids were already in session when I arrived, running up and down the field with abandon. After that, the head coach took a register and set up a game of tag rugby, where the kids yank Velcro tags off each other in lieu of tackling. My job was to oversee one of the teams: making sure everyone was in the right place, wearing their bibs, paying attention and not just standing in a corner spinning around uselessly, like I used to do in PE.

It was fascinating to see the mix of kids – the squat little brutes who clearly loved rugby, the floppy-armed daydreamers who didn't want to be there – and how you have to modulate your attitude towards each of them. Also, as a born-and-bred floppy-armed daydreamer myself, you quickly learn not to stand still for too long, unless you want a muddy five-year-old to clatter into your shin at the speed of sound. And, for the love of all that's holy, learn to keep score. Apparently it really, really matters to kids that they're winning 6-5 and not 5-4.

One of the phrases I heard most from the adults is "cat-herding". That's a painfully accurate description of what the task entails. You're constantly counting heads, but the heads are all tearing around as fast at they can and shouting at each other and wandering off to their dads on the sidelines to eat a banana. It can be exhausting.

But it's also completely worthwhile. As our session wrapped up and the kids scattered away to the car park, the head coach asked if I'd fancyvolunteering more regularly next season, and I said yes. I suppose this means I should learn how rugby works.

Stuart volunteered with Old Alleynian Mini-Rugby. If you'd like to volunteer at your local rugby club, click here.

Stuart's tips: how to be a successful kids' coach

Keep control. Prepare for your coaching session by trying to herd a swarm of flies into a plastic cup

Don't worry about the rules. For now, just be enthusiastic and energetic

This isn't about you. Don't spend the whole session showing the children how brilliant you are at rugby

You are an adult. Do not let the children intimidate you, no matter how many times they call you names

When all else fails, high-five the kids. High-five like the wind!

first published in www.theguardian.com/

If you like this article, connect with Willem on Twitter @WillemTait 

Template Springbok Rugby is poison for SA Rugby #OpinionArticle

Winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup was a momentous occasion for Springboks but it has done little for the development of the way rugby is played in South Africa.

I believe that the so-called 'Jake White template' has been detrimental to South African rugby on a number of levels.

Let me start by saying that I can't fault White's tactics in 2007. Given the weapons at his disposal, the approach he adopted was spot on.The efficacy of this approach (when correctly executed) is not in question. My aim here is rather point to the consequences of the mindset that in has become enrooted in SA rugby because of it's (limited) success.

What concerns me is that the territorially-based and defence-orientated approach employed back then has been widely adopted in the Republic and in many quarters is still held up as a blueprint for future success.

From a coaching perspective, it's not difficult to see why this methodology is popular. Giant men imposing themselves with hard, straight running and big hits have always been the hallmarks of the South African style.

The combination of a dominant line-out, an accurate box-kicking scrum-half, reliable goal-kickers that could find the target from long range, and a rock-solid defence that pressurised the opposition into mistakes made for a gameplan that was always going to be hard to stop. It still is.

Know your rugby? Why not bet on the next game

For some time now, South African teams at both national and Super Rugby have been trying to rekindle the glory years of domination between 2007 and 2010 when Heyneke Meyer's Bulls - playing a brand of rugby not wholly dissimilar to White's Boks - and John Smit's national team of 2009 were also winning silverware.

Yet, in many ways, SA has been going backwards ever since. Sharks fans will look at the Super Rugby table and tell me I'm crazy, but anyone who has watched South African derbies from a neutral perspective in recent years - and the last two weekends of Super Rugby are prime examples - will tell you that there is either a prevalent rugby mentality that suffocates positive endeavour or there is a serious lack of skills.

I would say it's a little bit of both, and they feed each other, in a vicious circle. The less a gameplan requires handling skills, the less those skills are developed. And as skill levels drops, so playing 'heads-up' rugby become less of an option. Coaches at schools imitate teams at the top. Round and round we go in a downward spiral.

At the centre of the circle you'll find South Africa's obsession with beating the All Blacks and winning the World Cup. Beyond those two things, as far as rugby is concerned, not much else really matters.

When 2007 is held up as an example of a winning strategy, it is often conveniently forgotten that success came without having to face New Zealand (thanks, France). The 2007 hangover was further ingrained in 2009 when Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu were found wanting under the high ball in the Tri-Nations.

Let me pause for a minute to note that, although the process has been slow, Meyer is making a genuine effort to bring more balanced, more attractive style to the national set up, but the playing resources at his disposal limit the potential for progress. Without Willie le Roux, the Bok attack would be pretty blunt.

There is a widespread belief - championed in the mainstream media - that since it's impossible to beat the Kiwis at their own game, South African teams should "play to their strengths". To that end, the Sharks' brave 14-man win in Christchurch earlier this year was hailed by prominent writers as evidence of how to beat New Zealand's best (ignoring, of course, how poor the Crusaders' execution was that day).

Know your rugby? Why not bet on the next game

I don't want to delve any deeper into the merits and limitations of the White-type gameplan because its an argument that could go on for days. As mentioned, the long-term consequences of this approach are my concern.

Peter de Villiers was labelled a lunatic when he suggested that the South African teams needed to change they way they play. I don't think PDV was a particularly good coach and his press conference antics ensured he left the Bok job with very little credibility, but he was correct when he said - right at the start of his tenure - that South African players needed to learn to play what was if front of them, to make decisions beyond a very narrowly-defined, predetermined script.

It was naive of P-Divvy to believe he could change the way the Springboks played overnight. In the end, he had a rather little influence on the style of his team as they largely reverted back what they were doing before. And many of the local franchises, provinces, clubs and schools continued to followed suit. It was a fork in the road for the game in South Africa. The wrong path was chosen.

Crux of the strategy used by most South African team is to cash in on an opponents' mistakes and to only 'have a crack' once in the opposition 22. Beyond the obvious flaw of coming unstuck when teams doesn't succumb to your pressure, it's an approach that offers very little room for an attacking mindset where opportunities are created. The game is planned to a template. Kick from here, run from here, maul from here, etc, etc.

The result is we have a generation of players who are near-incapable of thinking on their feet. And those who can, are seldom allowed to. The Stormers have managed to prove PDV's point perfectly. I could only shake my head in disbelief earlier this year as I sat listening to Duane Vermeulen explain how his team were still kicking for territory when they had a four-man overlap because they had been taught, for years, that "you don't play rugby in your own half."

Know your rugby? Why not bet on the next game

To his credit, former White assistant coach Allister Coetzee has seen the light and realised that an approach that yielded exactly one try-bonus point in the previous two years was a recipe for frustrating fans, not winning trophies, and has admitted that a change of culture is required. Unfortunately, old habits die hard and I struggle to see how that culture will evolve sufficiently if the figurehead that instilled it is still at the helm.

John Smit developed a habit of batting away criticism of his Bok team's style by saying they weren't playing 'boring rugby' but 'winning rugby.' Exactly how much was won is debate for another day, but the off-field consequences of failing to entertain the paying public are very real.

I chatted to a colleague from the north of England (i.e. a guy who has seen his fair share of 'slow' rugby) and his reaction to the Stormers v Sharks game at Kings Park at the end of May was "I don't understand how anyone could possible want to pay to see that."

It's little wonder viewer numbers are on the decline, especially in Australia. Do we need to seek new markets in places like Singapore, or is a better product for the local audience required?

Super Rugby is designed to reward positive endeavour via the bonus-point system. At the time of writing, SA teams had produced 10 try bonus points in 2014 compared to 25 in the Kiwi Conference and 19 in Australia. Only the Bulls and the lowly Lions have scored fewer tries than White's Sharks have this year.

It's obviously too simply to only blame a certain type of gameplan for the dearth of skills. The crisis in South Africa's education system where male teachers, and by extension rugby coaches, are becoming increasingly rare severely hampers the development of talented players at grassroots level.

Know your rugby? Why not bet on the next game

When I spoke to Meyer about the issue in the early days of his Bok tenure, he was also quick to highlight the nonexistence of Rugby League in South Africa. Unlike Down Under, kids in South Africa do not have the same exposure to the 'culture of offloading' in their formative years.

But that does not mean South Africa lacks raw talent.

Jacques Potgieter is a perfect example of a wasted talent. The former Bulls flank has been a revelation for the Waratahs, where instead of simply seeking contact to set a target, he looks to run into space. Wynand Olivier, once a favourite object of derision for fans, is relishing life in Montpellier, where he, François Trinh-Duc and Anthony Tuitavake are tearing up midfields across France.

The clean break stats for Super Rugby this year paint a dire picture, with three South African teams at the bottom the charts. Not a single SA side is to be found in the top six of the offload numbers.

Imagine if Gio Aplon was given a decent platform to use his skill. How good would Francois Hougaard be if he could play for the Hurricanes? Is Frans Steyn's true potential ever going to be realised? What will happen to Handré Pollard? Will his creative instincts be eroded in Pretoria in the fashion that Jan Serfontein is slowing being turned into another one-dimensional Bulls 12?

South Africa is blessed with gene pool that produces plenty a massive men. But an approach to rugby based purely on physicality is a recipe to fall short for the target of world domination. Who would you rather have in your side? A 100kg Brad Barritt or a 85kg Matt Giteau?

South Africa has significantly larger player numbers and greater financial resources than New Zealand. In the professional era, there should be no reason why the SA teams should continue to play second fiddle to their old rivals.

Know your rugby? Why not bet on the next game

By no means am I suggesting that Meyer suddenly revolutionise the way the Boks play as an example to the country - that would be suicide. But if South African teams are ever going to become the dominant force in world rugby, coaches in the Republic, at every level, need to stop asking themselves 'how are we going to beat the All Blacks' or 'how are we going to win this weekend'.

Instead, they must start asking 'how are we going to play better rugby.'

by Ross Hastie via PlanetRugby

If you like this article, connect with Willem on Twitter @WillemTait 

The History of South African Rugby

Introduction of Rugby Football to SA

The Dutch began to settle in the Southern tip of Africa from 1652 but it was only with the arrival of permanent British control in 1806 that the economy began to prosper and cultural and political power grew and extended its influence into the region. As elsewhere in the British Empire a wide range of British cultural practices were introduced during the mid 19th century including sports like football and cricket.

The Reverend George Ogilvie ('Gog'), born in 1826 in Wiltshire, England, is credited with introducing football to South Africa, following his appointment as Headmaster of the Diocesan College at Rondenbosch, near Cape Town in 1861 and remained until 1885. Actually, the game he taught was the Winchester football variety, a game he had learned at his former ‘alma mater’, the well-known Hampshire school, Winchester College, Hampshire England. Soon, the young gentlemen of Cape Town joined in and the local press reported a series of football matches between scratch sides conveniently named ‘Town v Suburbs’, Civil servants v All comers or ‘Home v Colonial-born’ etc. etc. but the first game took place on 21st August 1862 between the Army and the Civil service.

Circa 1875 Rugby football began to be played in the Cape colony, though the first club Hamilton RFC formed that year was playing the Winchester game. The following year two further clubs - the Western Province and Villagers - were formed. The former adopted the Rugby rules, while the latter opted for the Winchester code. Indeed it was Winchester Football that the two leading clubs Hamilton and Villager started playing against each other in 1876, and the history of football in South Africa might have been very different, but for the arrival in Cape Town in 1878 of William Henry Milton, the former England back.

By the late 1870s, rugby football was very much battling to survive against Winchester Football and the Western Province club had ceased to exist due to lack of support, but the arrival in Cape Town of William H. Milton in 1878 turned the tide in favour of rugby. Milton, who had played for England only a few years earlier (in 1874 and 1875), joined the Villagers club and started playing and preaching the rugby code. By the end of that year the football playing fraternity in Cape Town had all but abandoned the Winchester game in favour of the Rugby football variety. Ten years later, Milton (later Sir William, the administrator of Southern Rhodesia) represented South Africa at cricket, though by the time the first British tour arrived in 1891, he had given up playing rugby.
In 1883 the W.P.R.F.U. organized the first club competition for a cup, known as the Grand Challenge Cup, also around 1883 the Stellenbosch club was formed and the young Boers from the farming belt took to it likes ducks to water.

Around the same time the game began in Cape Town, started by a number of British regiments and by the end of 1883 Rugby was established right across the coastal belt of the old Cape colony and expanding in popularity. From there it expanded into Kimberley where in 1886 Griqualand West Rugby Union was formed. Next it expanded into the Western Transvaal towns, Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom whilst the Cape Town men introduced it to Pretoria and Johannesburg. Inter-town matches between Pretoria and Johannesburg were being played in 1888 and the following year the Transvaal Rugby Football Union was formed. Association football had been introduced to Natal earlier than Rugby and so Rugby took a little longer to get a foothold. But by 1890 clubs had been formed in Pietermaritzburg, the capital and headquarters of the British army, and in Durban.

In 1889 the South African Rugby Football Board was established to link up and govern the various unions. They held their first tournament the same year ay Kimberley where the Western province, Transvaal, Griqualand West and Eastern province competed. The Western province won the tournament and went on to win the next eight.

The current Top 10 best rugby earners in the world are

1. Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon - R9.7m per year)


2. Jonathan Sexton (Racing Metro - R9m per year)


3. Bryan Habana (Toulon - R8.7m per year)


4. Morgan Parra (Clermont Auvergne - R7.5 per year)


5. Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse - R7.5m per year)


6. Dimitri Szarzewski (Racing Metro - R7.1m per year)


7. Carl Hayman (Toulon - R7.1m per year)


8. Bakkies Botha (Toulon - R7.1m per year)


9. Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro - R6.9m per year)


10. Matt Giteau (Toulon - R6.9m per year)

Want to know how much Rugby players are earning?

Cynics comment that rugby is becoming more and more like football. But, how wealthy is the modern professional rugby player? The answer may surprise you.

The Payslip:

An average player in the Aviva Premiership earns approximately £81,000 per-annum.  Major stars such as Nick Evans or Martin Castrogiovanni will earn between £180,000- £300,000. Carl Hayman earned £330,000 at Newcastle. The precise numbers vary from club to club, depending on what positions they prioritise within their salary cap and the number of burgeoning youngsters they promote. 

Top-level academy contracts equate to around £10,000, with many university students and mid-level full-timers earning anywhere between £1,000-£7,000.

International players also have the benefit of test match appearance fees.  At the 2011 World Cup, England players received £8,545 per-test. England cricketers earn £9,000 per-test.

The money is unarguably good, but careers are short, physically demanding and each day a player risks serious, long-term injury. Many academy players struggle to get by on their wage.

The Top 14 in France does not have a salary cap and can offer substantial contracts. Toulouse are reputed to run on a budget of €33.1m with some players earning £750,000 or more per-year. Bordeaux have the smallest Top 14 budget, a ‘mere’ €8m, nearly double the Aviva Premiership maximum. The financial and lifestyle incentives, for moving,  are obvious.

Football:

Context is needed to fully understand these figures. At Chelsea, the average WEEKLY wage is reportedly £68,946 and the Barclays Premiership yearly average is £1.46m.

Bear in mind that most football sessions start at 10am and the ‘gaffer’ has them done and dusted by midday. A Rugby player is in at 7am and finished well after their footballing cousins have zoomed off, in their Lamborghinis, to play Call of Duty and chase supermodels around Mahiki.  

Mercenary? :

Jamie Roberts drew severe criticism from some quarters for pursuing the allure of the euro in moving to Racing Metro. A variety of comments in social and mainstream media, labelled him a ‘sell-out’, ‘greedy’ and ‘lacking commitment to Welsh rugby’.  Such comments are judgemental and are easily said from the pristine air of the moral high ground. In simple terms, who amongst us would not seize the opportunity to move to Paris, learn French, earn better or equal money, still represent our country and achieve this all before being tied down with a young family? Precisely.  

Top 14 Champions Toulouse have a massive budget

The changing face of rugby:

Anybody who believes rugby is sliding inextricably towards football’s culture of immediacy and greed, is wrong. Yes, players are well-paid but they do significantly more than a footballer to earn significantly less.  Events at Sale have been more representative of football but by and large, rugby teams still show a lot of patience with their coaching set ups.  A footballing equivalent of Stuart Lancaster could never have become England manager. 

Wealthy owners are not changing the face of rugby. Bruce Craig is an immensely wealthy man but he cannot go out and buy anybody he wants. Rugby has a salary cap of £4.26m.  Bath cannot become Man City overnight.  Wealthy owners must be embraced because for the time being, only four premiership clubs make a profit. The clubs are Exeter, Northampton, Gloucester and Leicester. Saracens lost £5.6m in 2011.

A day out at the rugby remains a pleasant experience and is truly welcoming to all ages.  Fans get disgruntled, but the fact the growing trend of booing kickers is criticised, is indicative that rugby still has its soul intact.  

For now, domestic based rugby players, are rolling in the mud and not money.

How to bet on a rugby game and make money

Today, rugby is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports to bet on, at least in certain parts of the world. The sport isn’t of course popular everywhere. It is not particularly beloved in the United States. However, in countries such as South Africa, the UK, New Zealand and Australia, it is extremely popular.

Bettors interested in rugby betting will find that there are many matches to wager on and also a wide variety of bets. It is possible to bet on more then match play outcomes. Individuals will also have the opportunity to wager on Supremacy, Outright Winner, Futures, First Try Scorer, Last Try Scorer, Season Points and Total Points. We will discuss them more in-depth a little later in this article.

Individuals looking to bet on rugby matches successfully need to immerse themselves in the game. Specializing in a particular country or a few countries isn’t a bad idea either. It gives bettors the chance to get well acquainted with a limited number of teams and players. It can be easy to spread oneself too thin by betting on large number of teams from various countries. Below, we will take a closer look at rugby betting, particularly, types of wagers, odds, major events in the sport and finally strategy and tips.

Rugby Betting Types and Odds

There are a number of types of rugby bets. While the ones we will list below are some of the most common, sportsbooks can make available additional bets or opt not to make some of the following available.

Supremacy: This is a wager on the number of points one team will beat the other by.

Futures: A futures bet is a wager on the outcome of a major tournament.

Season Points: Individuals that make this bet will be wagering on how many points a team will score in a single season.

First Try Scorer: This is a high paying bet because the likelihood of getting it right is low. It is a wager on which person will be the first to score the first try. Bettors can also bet on the team to score the first try as well. This one doesn’t pay out as good as the first player, because it isn’t as difficult a bet.

Outright Winner: The Outright Winner bet is a wager on what team will win a tournament.

Match Betting: This is one of the most simple and common rugby bets. This is a straight up bet on the outcome of a match. Individuals can choose a team to win or wager that they will tie.

Total Points: A person making this bet will be wagering on how many points total, two competing teams will score in a match.

Last Try Scorer: This is a wager on who will be the last player (or team) to score a try.

Rugby Betting Strategy and Tips

Because rugby is an international sport, it is generally best to choose a league or two to focus on, alongside the games’ main events. This will make it much easier to study the players and teams. Attempting to research a large number of teams can be extremely time consuming. Keeping up with their progress, injuries, winning/losing streaks, and all those things that affect ones wager can be extremely difficult. It is often times easier and more profitable to narrow one’s focus.

Most sportsbooks will offer odds for matches. This is generally a good indicator of which teams and players are best. While this information can be extremely helpful, bettors should always follow it up with their own research. Odds will differ based on the sportsbook and sometimes can be unreliable.

It is always important to only bet at reputable betting sites. This will decrease the likelihood that problems will occur, such as being paid late or not at all.

Rugby is an exciting game, which requires skill and toughness. It is also extremely popular, with many countries fielding leagues and teams. Most sportsbooks will offer rugby betting. Individuals looking to participate in rugby wagering, need to be sure to choose a reputable betting website and research the teams and players they will be wagering on.

Place your rugby bet now

If you like this article, connect with Willem on Twitter @WillemTait