The first steps to becoming an All Black
The All Blacks are known for their exciting, fast-paced style of rugby, but when you’re new to the sport it can be very confusing.
You will hear words like “try”, “scrum”, and “line out”, and you’ll see players crashing into one another in tackles, passing the ball backwards, and kicking the ball up, out, and through goal posts.
If you want to know what’s going on, you need to understand the fundamental rules and skills of rugby.
Once you learn the basics you will have a deeper appreciation for the sport. You might even be ready to play your first game.
Essential Rugby Skills
What do you need for a game of rugby?
For most Kiwi kids, a ball and any patch of grass will do.
But an official game of rugby requires two teams of 15 players and a field no bigger than 100 by 70 metres.
There are goal lines and goal posts at each end of the field, as well as touch lines on each side.
The main objective of rugby is to ground the ball over the opposition’s goal line to score a try, which is worth five points. You can score an extra two points by converting a try. This is done by kicking the ball between the goal posts and over the bar.
The other ways to score points are by kicking a penalty goal, awarded when the other team does something illegal, or a dropped goal, which is when a player bounces the ball on the ground before striking it through the posts.
Both of these are worth three points each.
During the game, teams are either on attack, which involves carrying, protecting, passing, kicking, and running with the ball, or defense, which involves tackling and competing for possession of the ball.
“Rugby is an invasion and evasion game. Once possession has been gained, the objective is to move the ball forward, by carrying or kicking, into opposition territory and ultimately score points.” - Peter Harold, NZR
Test your skills against the best
See how your skills compare against players from our Teams in Black or others in your group. Test your rugby talent – passing, line-outs, kicking and the scrum. You can release the energy and excitement in this interactive experience and have fun!
A Position for Everyone
The good thing about rugby is that there’s a position for people of all sizes and abilities - from the small, fast halfback, to the tall, powerful lock.
If you take the time to master the basic skills of rugby, there’s no reason why you can’t be an All Black or Black Fern in the future.