(Image: Supplied)
Even if you’re not a huge rugby fan, at some point you’ll find yourself watching the game, whether you’re at a braai, a pub or a restaurant and out with your man, friends or family.
Whether sport is your thing or not, Rugy World Cup fever will come for you and when it does, you want to cheer knowing exactly what’s happened without having to look at the score first to make sure you’re celebrating for the right team. Heck, even if you’re just there for the eye candy, knowledge is power, so why not surprise your mates with a “Habana! What a guy-that try was excellent!”.
WE BRING YOU: RUGBY 101
The Basics:
15 players start the game and are split into eight forwards (or “the pack”) and seven backs (or “the backline’). The pack is responsible for winning the ball and the backs needs to do something with it; Score! In other words, the pack decides who wins the match and the backs by how much. So you can thank the lovely JP Pietersen for the 46-6 defeat over Samoa not too long ago
Within the team it can be broken down into a front and back row, loose forwards, the halves, centre-field and the back three.
While they perform in units they each have a specialised role that matches their skills and body shape. Just think of the lean mean running machines like Habana and Mvovo who are the wings while our bigger manly-men like Beast and Etzebeth (a little eye candy never hurt anybody) are loose-head prop and lock. The game is played in two 40-min halves with a 10-minute half-time; just enough time to refill your drinks…but you knew that one already.
Fashion forward:
Whatever you do, don’t commit a fashion faux pax by wearing the opposition’s colours! You may think you look cute in red but you’ll be snarled at by fellow fans for such an obvious blunder. Rather play it safe and wear green and gold. Add a splash of green paint to your cheeks – stylishly applied of course – and you’re dressed to impress. Well at least you’ll look good in your selfies, taken while watching rugby, much to the astonishment of your friends (who secretly may be doing so too).
Green and gold is the colour of the (Rugby World Cup) season as we stand behind our boytjies #GoBokke
Learn the lingo:
It doesn’t take much to read the score, so armed with these babies, you’ll be in there with the boys refuting the ref and all.
- Scrum: Similar to a huddle, it’s used to restart play after a minor penalty or infraction. Each team’s forwards lock together like a pack of hungry dogs and out-manoeuvre each other in the scrum so that the hooker can get the ball back to the number 8 and regain possession for the team.
- Ruck: This happens if the ball is on the ground and one or more player/s from each team close around it. Players are not allowed to handle the ball in the ruck, and must use their feet to move the ball or drive over it so that it emerges at the team’s hindmost foot, at which point it can be picked up.
- Maul: Also knowns as the “truck and trailer”, it involves three or more players. Using the skill and qualities of the forwards, mauling is a way of keeping control of the ball and moving the ball towards and sometimes into the opposition’s in-goal area. The objective of mauling is to wrestle the ball from the opposition and keep possession.
- Advantage: This is when the non-offending side has an opportunity after an infringement to gain territory. The ref signals this with his arm held out horizontally towards the non-infringing team. If no tactical or territorial advantage is gained, the ref blows the whistle and sometimes, during a game, an infringement may be committed where a stoppage in play would deprive the non-offending team of an opportunity to score.
- Penalty: This is used to restart the game after a major infringement like a high tackle, offside or joining a ruck from the side. The team with the penalty can either choose to kick a field goal, kick into touch, take a quick restart or go to scrum.
- Drop goal: A kick that is taken during play when close to the opposing line, If successful, three points are earned but the ball must hit the ground (“drop”) before being kicked. Stars at this tactic are Morné Steyn and of course let’s not forget Joel Stransky and his winning drop goal in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final against New Zealand, making them our darling champions.
Armed with these beauties, you should be sufficiently informed come Saturday to really get in there and support your boys in green and gold and really know why you’re cheering-we know we will!-as our boys make it all the way to the finals.