Rugby union is a team sport which is played full contact, where all players run while holding an oval-shaped ball. It is played on a field 100 x 70 meters large, characterized by H shaped goal posts on each end of the field. There are two teams that play in rugby union, and the team that scores the most points wins the game. Players can score points in a number of ways:

• A try, where a goal is scored by grounding the ball within the goal, can win a team 5 points
• A subsequent conversion kick can award a team with 2 points
• A successful drop goal of penalty kick is worth 3 points

To kick-off a game, 15 players are on the field although they may be replaced for a variety of reasons, such as injury or tactical reasons. The team captains as well as referees toss a coin to decide which of the teams will start first. A drop kick is used to signal the beginning of the game, and the players go on to chase the ball into the opposition’s territory. The other team attempts to retrieve the ball from the player and advance it, and if they are successful in tackling the player with a ball, this results in a ruck.

Rugby games are divided into two forty-minute sets, divided by a break time. After the half-time break, each side exchanges ends of the field. During the game, pauses for injury or calls to disciplinary action by the referee are allowed by do not amount to the total playing time, so the total game actually lasts more than 80 minutes. It is the responsibility of the referee to keep time and he is usually assisted by a time-keeper. There are occasions that time expires while the ball is in play, and when this happens they continue the game until the ball is dead.