What are rugby players called? A game for all ages - rugby: what kind of sport is it? Rugby set pieces

Rugby is a ball game played on the field. between two teams in order to bring the projectile into the opponent's end zone or hit his goal.

The team with the most points wins.

Unlike American football, where the projectile is also allowed to be carried in the hands, rugby is a more technical sport in which there are beautiful maneuvers.

Here, not only physical strength athletes, as in American football, but also skill, agility and speed players.

History of occurrence

In 1845 the first attempt to formulate a set of rugby rules took place, which was unsuccessful. The final form of the game has found only in 1871, when was it created rugby union and there were competitions between England and Scotland, which went down in history as the first rugby international match with official rules.

Who came up with when and where

The competition called rugby was born in England.

This is a flagrant violation of the rules, which went down in history and became the impetus for the creation of a new sport where the ball was allowed to be picked up by hands and carried across the field.

The competition got its name from the name of the city where the very memorable football match took place - the city of Rugby in Yorkshire.

Interesting! In Yorkshire, there is a memorial plaque on the wall of one of the colleges, which reads: “Let this plaque recall the glorious deed of William Webb Ellis, the first who dared to break the rules, grabbed the ball with his hands and ran with it. So the game of rugby was born. in 1823."

Rugby in English

The English version is a classic competition in which teams take part 15 people each: 8 attackers and 7 defenders.

Each athlete has specific functions and tasks on the site, which he does.

The projectile is put into play with a kick. For throws and hitting the opponent's goal, teams receive points. The team with the highest score wins more points by the end of the last half.

The match consists of two periods 40 minutes each with a break between halves 5-10 min. After a short break, the teams change gates.

Important! In the event of a dispute with points, additional time is assigned - 2 halves of 10 min.

Details about varieties

There are different types of rugby: beach, underwater, touch, tag.

Beach

The beach competition was born in 1999 when the Italian rugby team decided to practice not on grass, but on the shores of the Mediterranean.

Since 1999 Both men's and women's teams take part in these bright and spectacular competitions.

Unlike the classics, beach competitions the gate is rarely used. The field is sandy, small in size. Its parameters are regulated directly during the organization of competitions. Participating in the match from 4 to 7 people.

underwater

Underwater competition appeared in 1961 in Germany thanks to a handful of bored scuba divers. They came up with an entertainment for themselves: to play with the ball under water in the pool. Each team has 6 people. Target - shoot a projectile into the opponent's basket installed at the bottom of the pool.

Photo 1. Two teams in flippers under water, at the bottom of the pool there is a basket into which they are trying to throw the ball.

Interesting! As a full-fledged sport, underwater competitions have been recognized in 1978.

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Touch

This kind of classic rugby, like a touch, originated in Australia on July 13, 1968

The first official touch competitions took place in 1968

Teams taking part in the match 6-7 field players. This competition is less traumatic than the classic due to the fact that the grips of opponents are replaced by touches.

Touch is a limited-contact match, so it can be played by people of any age and gender.

Tag

This is a kind of "lightweight" rugby, in which teams participate for 6 people. The competition is also specially adapted for children. The equipment of each athlete complements the belt with two Velcro tags. Unfastening one of the Velcro is equivalent to a grip. And also here it is categorically not allowed to hit the projectile with the foot.

Rugby 7, 10, 15

Rugby 7- a game in which teams take part seven people.

The Scots are considered to be its founders. Ned Haig and David Sanderson from the city of Melrose. The rules are similar rugby 15(classic).

Rugby 10- a competition in which teams take part 10 athletes each.

Rugby 15- a game where teams participate 15 athletes in each.

How are they different from each other

All these types differ among themselves in the number of players displayed on the field, the duration of the tournament, the size of the site. For example, rugby 7 is called "daughter" classic game. The match in this competition consists of two halves 7 minutes with one break. Field and projectile dimensions are standard for both games.

What is Russian and women's rugby

In Russia, a competition called "Russian rugby" takes place on rolled snow fields. The rules are identical rugby 15. In Russia, there are both women's and men's teams. The first women's teams appeared in 1989 and in 1991 the national team from the USSR took part in the first World Cup in this discipline among women.

In 2004 was created in Russia the first and only women's rugby committee of the Russian Federation. Women's teams are represented in Russia rugby 7 and 15. The competition rules are the same as for the men's teams.

Photo 2. Two women from different teams, one of them has the ball, the opponent is trying to take it away.

Mobile game with fitball

This warm-up game, which takes place using a special projectile called "fitball". It's a big bouncy ball that can hold the weight up to 300 kilograms and is mainly used in the classroom physiotherapy exercises, for gymnastics, on group training V gyms.

Mobile exercises on a fitball are intended, as a rule, for children or for warm-up training. When working with children, such training is aimed at fostering teamwork, allowing them to develop a sense of rhythm and group interaction skills.

What the game looks like: photo

Photo 3. Teams play beach rugby on a spacious area with sand, there are gates on two lines.

Photo 4. Women's teams play rugby, two attacking participants take the ball from the opponent.

Photo 5. Two teams of children are playing lightweight tag rugby, a projectile in the hands of one of the athletes.

Useful video

A video report from which you can learn some Interesting Facts about rugby.

An important plus is accessibility for everyone

Initially, rugby may seem purely men's sports because of its rigidity. But the game is so popular that there are varieties of it, accessible to both women and children of any age, even very young ones. This discipline develops not only strength and agility, but also teaches you to work in a team and interact with each other.

It is believed that rugby appeared in 1823 year when someone William Webb Ellis while playing football at the Rugby school, he took the ball in his hands and ran with it to the gate. However, there were no clearly established rules for a long time, the teams agreed on them every time before the match. When the English Football Association was created in 1863, it forbade taking the ball in hand and trying to take it away from an opponent. So familiar to us football and rugby became separate sports.

In 1871, the Rugby Football Union was created, uniting twenty-one English clubs. Then the official rules of the game appeared. The Scottish Rugby Union was founded in 1873 and the Irish Union in 1875. In 1890 they merged into the International Rugby Football Board, which later included Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The first international match was played on 27 March 1871 in Edinburgh between England and Scotland. Soon rugby spread to other countries, in particular, to many possessions of Britain: Australia, New Zealand (1870), South Africa (1875).

Gradually, the game spread to other countries. The International Amateur Rugby Federation (FIRA) was created in 1934.

Speaking about the history and development of rugby, its place in sports world, you can not pass by the largest sports competitions modernity - the Olympic Games. The initiators of the inclusion of rugby in the Olympics were representatives of Romania, where rugby has long been very popular. Rugby first appeared in the program of the Paris Olympics in 1900. Locations in Olympic tournament distributed as follows: the first - France, the second - Germany, and the ancestor of the game - the team of Great Britain - was only the third. In 1908, in London, the British again failed to achieve first place, but the combined team, made up of players from Australia and New Zealand, won. In 1920, in Antwerp, the USA rugby players became champions, defeating the French team. For the 1924 Olympics in Paris, the Colomb stadium, huge at that time, was built for sixty thousand seats with a rugby field - 144x74 meters, including test fields. And again the US team became the champion, the hosts of the Games took second place, bronze medalists became the rugby players of Romania.

After that, for a number of reasons, primarily the lack of a single international federation, rugby dropped out of the Olympic Games program for a long time.

Major rugby competitions

Rugby World Cup

In 1986, the Congress of International Rugby Federations took place in Australia, which decided to hold the World Cup among national teams. The Men's Rugby World Cup has been held every four years since 1987, and the Women's Rugby World Cup since 1991. Its first owners were athletes from New Zealand (1987), Australia (1991, 1999), England (2003), South Africa (1995, 2007).

Six Nations Cup

Main annual international competition in the Northern Hemisphere - the Six Nations Cup, which is played between England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy. At first, four teams from Great Britain and Ireland (the so-called Home Nations) fought for this cup. France joined them in 1910 and Italy in 2000. The winner in 2006 and 2007 was the French team, in 2008 - the Wales team.

Within the framework of the Cup itself, more "small" prizes are raffled off. The team that wins all five matches gets Grand slam. Teams of the four "home nations" additionally fight for the Triple Crown, which is awarded to the team that manages to defeat all three others. Wales last won the Grand Slam and Triple Crown in 2008. The team that loses all five matches receives a "wooden spoon".

RUGBY Championship

In the Southern Hemisphere, a similar role is played by the RUGBY Championship, which is played by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina. Teams from Australia and New Zealand additionally play the Bledisloe Cup in matches between themselves.

If you are tired of a round ball, a sense of sporting nobility is looking for a way out, and the body asks physical activity, soaked in the spirit of the university, you should think about rugby. Ivan Lysko, coach of the HSE rugby team, Vice President of the Rugby Premier League, spoke about how this sport educates men in the British royal family, who is the best in the world with an oval ball, and how to get into the HSE team.

Ivan Lysko

Rugby is a royal sport

In all British countries, rugby is still considered an elite, aristocratic sport, a reflection of its historical past. There is even a saying in England: rugby is a hooligan game played by gentlemen, and football is a gentleman's game played by hooligans. Fortunately, now everyone can play rugby without exception, but still a certain flair of clubness remains, as well as a special spirit and culture of the game.

In England, rugby has historically been considered a varsity sport. Almost in all, and in the oldest universities in Britain - for sure, there are rugby teams and the traditional Varsity match - Oxford vs. Cambridge, is held at the main rugby stadium in England, in London. Rugby is also a compulsory sport for all members. royal family male, in the period of maturity they all go through this sports school and that's part of good parenting.

Types of rugby: beach, 7, 10, 13, 15

There are several varieties of rugby - these are rugby-7, rugby-13 (rugby league) and rugby-15, beach rugby, tag rugby. All of them differ not only in the number of players, but also in the rules and duration of matches. For example, wrestling on the ground is prohibited in rugby league and there are limits on the number of attacks. Classic rugby-15, where 15 people play in each team, is, in my opinion, the most tactically and strategically difficult game, the situation on the field is constantly changing, and you need to strictly follow the rules in great dynamics.

Rugby is a contact sport, and to the average person it may seem violent, wild and unusual.

Classic rugby was invented by accident in 1823 by William Webb Ellis in the town of Rugby and the school of the same name. According to legend, a student of the Webb Ellis school on one of football matches broke the rules by running with the ball in his hands to the goal, and in 1870 the rugby school had already introduced its rules of football, dividing the usual sport into two varieties. Meanwhile, the owner of the leather shop opposite the school began to produce a convenient new game oval ball, catching the trend in time - the name of the manufacturer is William Gilbert. Now it is a well-known firm that has been producing rugby balls to its own standards since 1882.

Rugby sevens, which appeared in Scotland at the end of the 19th century, is now the world locomotive for the development of all rugby, because it was included in the Summer Olympic Games that will be held in Brazil this summer. Rugby-7 is two teams of 7 people and two halves of 7 minutes, such magic of the number 7. Rugby-13, in comparison with the "seven", is a tougher and more straightforward game, where there are more rough collisions. Initially in England it was a game of working districts, and the miners were the first and most successful players.

Rules of the game

The rugby field is the same as in football, 100 m by 70 m. Rugby gates are protected by special cushions to reduce injury risk, and there is a scoring area behind the gates. In classic rugby, the game lasts two halves of 40 minutes. The team has 8 forwards and 7 defenders. The point is to bring the ball into the end zone over the goal and land it. It is also possible to score a goal from a free kick or a rebound shot - this method is called a "drop goal". The score of a spectacular match is usually more than 50 points. Training can take place indoors, but games can only take place on the field, even in winter.

Who is the best rugby player?

Leaders - New Zealand. Before the start of the match, local rugby players dance a haka dance - maybe this is the secret of success. Haka is the national ritual of the local Maori people, which is interesting, they have haki for any occasion: greeting, militant, festive, etc. And the haka that the New Zealand team dances is not at all militant, as many people think, it is just welcoming just looks menacing. In New Zealand, rugby is a cult, almost a religion, where people are obsessed with this sport. The All Blacks brand is very famous in the world - this is the nickname of the New Zealand national rugby team, which arose thanks to their unusual shape: completely black! This is impressive, the team has huge popularity, stable success and millions of contracts. Later, the passion for "mystical" dances was picked up by other Polynesian teams - Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, they also perform dances, and the beginning of the match turns into a show when the teams of the regions play with each other. Also in the southern hemisphere are very strong teams from Australia and South Africa. Among the European teams, one can single out eternal rivals - the teams of England and France, and the neighbors of the British in the British Kingdom - the team of Wales.

Pleasant bruises

Rugby is a contact sport, and to the layman it can seem cruel, wild and unusual. Rugby - hard sport for those who are ready for it. Injuries happen, but when a person is ready, trained enough, follows the rules, nothing threatens him. All types of correct grip and the ability to fall are worked out in training, prepared players enter the field. The common people, for example, are accustomed to boxing and do not think that it is cruel, although the goal in boxing is to harm the health of your opponent. In rugby, on the contrary, the players try to avoid collisions, and the goal is to bring the ball into the in-goal, to get away from contact with the opponent. Of course, there are power moments, there are bruises, but after the game it's even nice - you wake up in the morning, your body aches from fatigue and stress from constant resistance to the opponent, struggle, acceleration.

The captain approached the judge with a question: excuse me, can I ask you? The judge said no. Captain: Thanks, sorry. It is impossible to imagine this in football or hockey.

Spirit of rugby

There is such a thing as the spirit of rugby, which distinguishes this sport from others in that respect for the opponent on the field is mandatory and largely determines the outcome of the game. There really is some kind of elitism and nobility in this, confirming the seemingly already dispelled myth of “sport for the elite”. It happens that adrenaline takes over, and you start to lose control, but even despite the excitement in rugby there is no place for meanness, posturing and simulation. When you fake in football, you get dividends from it, but in rugby, the public and players will react very negatively to this and are unlikely to forgive. Therefore, mutual respect, fortitude, physical and moral overpowering of oneself are constant companions of a rugby player. You need to fall a thousand times, get up and remember that if you relax, your partners will bear a big load. Therefore, endurance, patience, teamwork, nobility are brought up. As a coach, I also teach physical skills - to fall, get up, endure to the end, insure partners, and moral - to respect judges and rivals. Rugby teaches parliamentary communication with the referees, and it can be funny to watch this: only the captain can talk to the referee and very respectfully. Recently in the English Rugby Premier League, the captain approached the referee and asked: Excuse me, can I ask you? The judge said no. Captain: Thanks, sorry. It is impossible to imagine this in football or hockey.

Thick and thin: build in the game

Rugby is a game that includes many playing positions that require different people with different anthropometric and physical data. The more agile will take one position, while the slower, bigger, and stronger one will take the other. I do not expect powerful and pumped-up guys to come to my section, although it would be great. In the rugby team there is a place for people with overweight- they are often placed in the first line of attack, and a lot of strength work falls on them - there are fights where weight and power are important, thanks to which players hold back opponents. At the same time, the frail guy plays at scrum half, directing the play of these eight bullies who are fighting for the ball.

Midfield players must be distinguished by speed, agility, and the ability to navigate. A position is also allocated to the high “dylda” in rugby - his task is to pick up the ball in the “corridors”, this is the standard position, when the ball goes into touch, the players line up 5-15 meters from the out line and throw the ball into the corridor while they are supported, literally - on hand, powerful players of the first line. There are also acrobatic elements, and often you have to fight for the ball high above the ground. In a word, a person with any data can find a place in the team. You can sign up for the HSE team at the FILI professional rugby club

The right equipment

In order to come to the training, you do not need to have any specific things. The rugby uniform consists of sneakers, a jersey and shorts/pants. At least to start training, and after that you may need a helmet, a T-shirt with foam inserts that protect your shoulders - there is really a lot of load on this part of the body, and a mouth guard is a traditional element of protecting your teeth. In professional rugby, protection helps to avoid bruises and bruises, and in training, the main equipment is the ball. In addition, we work out contacts and grips with the help of soft shields, or, as they are also called, pillows. For example, a player “enters” a pillow several times in order to remember the moment of contact, breakthrough and resistance at the level of reflexes. There is a simulator for working in a fight, but professionals already use it, it was even developed in France special robot, which simulates the game in a scrum and analyzes the data on the pressure (measuring in pressure) of the opponent, remembers and resists based on them. Simply space! That's professional sports. I heard that the England team used a special vision simulator before the 2003 World Cup, as a result, the number of ball losses was reduced, peripheral vision was wider, clarity was improved, people could catch more difficult balls.

Women in rugby

Women's rugby is actively developing, both classic and sevens. Rugby-7 is well represented in our country, our women practically do not play classical, alas. But our rugby-7 team has good chances not only to get to the Olympics, but also to compete for medals. In 2014, the Rugby 15 World Cup was held among women's teams in Paris, I commented on it on NTV + and was amazed. I admit, I was skeptical about women's rugby, because what I had seen before in the performance of women did not resemble my idea of ​​​​rugby. And when I saw the current level of tactical and technical readiness athletes, I was pleasantly surprised at how women's rugby had grown. This is also evidenced by the ratings of visiting matches, which were attended by 40 thousand spectators, so the direction will continue to develop.

Girls can also play rugby at HSE, some special training and data is not required - of course, it is better if there was experience in some kind of sport. We have an amateur level, and if there is a female group, it will be possible to train it separately.

• In Russia, the first rugby match took place on September 23, 1923, when the teams of the Society met in Moscow. physical education workers and the Moscow River Yacht Club.
• The amateur status of rugby-15 initially allowed the sport to be included in the Olympic program. However, in 1924, angry fans of the French team that lost the final rioted - because of this incident, rugby lost its Olympic status.
• There is underwater rugby, originally conceived for the training of German diving athletes. The ball for this game is filled with saline for negative buoyancy. There are 12 people in the team, of which 6 are in the water, and the rest are on the so-called "flying replacement" on the side of the pool.
• The longest rugby match lasted 24 hours 30 minutes and 6 seconds. This meeting took place on July 22-23, 2011 in England between the Mali Lions and Congleton Bears teams. The game ended with the victory of the "lions" 894:715. 44 players took part in the match.
• In the French village of Lariviere, 150 km south of the city of Bordeaux, there is the Church of Our Lady of the Patroness of Rugby (Notre Dame de Rugby), which was built over 40 years ago. The stained-glass windows depict scenes of rugby fights, and the Madonna holds an oblong ball with her foot. Inside, the temple is decorated with players' T-shirts and vintage balls, the church was built in memory of the French rugby players who died in World War II.

The essence of the game

Team in blue (Western Force) in attack

The game is played on a rectangular grass field measuring 100×70 m, the short sides of which are adjoined by rectangular scoring zones 10 to 22 m wide. The maximum size of the playing field is therefore 144×70 m, and the area is 1.008 ha. The duration of the game is two halves of 40 minutes of "pure" time (the referee stops the stopwatch while providing medical assistance to the players, during meetings with the side referees and the referee's work on video replays). After the expiration of 40 minutes, the game does not stop, but continues until the ball becomes "dead" (goes out or is played with a forward hand).

Players pass each other an oval ball, trying to bring it as close to the end zone as possible. If an attacking player brings the ball into the end zone and touches the ground with it, his team scores 5 points ( attempt, or skid; English try) and the right to an additional blow ( implementation; English conversion), which must be made from any point on an imaginary line parallel to the sideline drawn through the place where the attempt was made. Points can also be earned by kicking the ball into the goal from a free kick or from a specially executed kick during the game ( drop goal; English drop goal).

The ball can be thrown to a player of his team ( pass), but only back or parallel to the end line. The ball can be sent forward with the foot, but the striker himself or the player of his team who was behind the striker at the moment of impact can catch it.

Rules

Team structure

forwards

1. Forward of the first line of the open side (left pillar).
2. Player (hooker).
3. Forward of the first line of the closed side (right pillar).
4, 5. Forwards of the second line (castles).
6. Closed flanker.
7. Open flanker.
8. Contracting (figure eight).

Defenders

9. Halfback scrum (nine).
10. Wandering midfielder (ten).
11. Left winged three-quarter.
12. Inside center.
13. Outside center.
14. Right three-quarter.
15. Fullback (closing).

Player positions

Positions of players in a rugby team

It is also interesting that in rugby forwards are powerful, but not very fast players, responsible for the power game, including defense, and pressure to move forward. For fast breaks, three-quarters are usually responsible (in English backs).

Glasses

Points in rugby can be scored as follows:

• Attempt(5 points) - a player of the attacking team puts the ball into scoring area located between the goal line (including this line itself) and the dead ball line, and, holding it with his hand, touches the ground with it, or presses the ball to the ground with any part of the arm or body from the waist to the neck inclusive.

• Penalty try(5 points) - assigned if the player could have made a try, but this did not happen due to rough play on the part of the opponent. A penalty try is awarded to the center of the goal.

• Implementation(2 points) - Any player on the team that made the try (usually the player with the best kick) places the ball at any point opposite where the try was made and kicks the goal. If he hits (that is, the ball flies over the crossbar and between the vertical poles, even if it is higher than them), the try is considered realized. Players of the other team must be in their own end zone.

• Free kick(3 points) - for some violations of the rules (see below), the referee awards a penalty. If the team entitled to do so decides to kick it, the ball is placed on the spot where the infringement occurred and one of the players kicks at the goal.

• Drop goal(3 points) - any player, when the ball is in play, has the right to kick at the goal. To do this, he must drop the ball and, when it touches the ground, hit it (kicks on goal from the hands prohibited). In principle, such blows (eng. drop kicks) can also be used for conversions and penalties, but usually they are not used in these cases.

Game progress

Main competitions

Rugby World Cup

As part of this tournament, the following are also played: Bledisloe Cup (eng. Bledisloe Cup) (between New Zealand and Australia), Liberty Cup (between New Zealand and South Africa), Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup (between Australia and South Africa), Puma Cup (eng. Puma Trophy) (between Australia and Argentina). In 2009, New Zealand won the Bledisloe Cup for the seventh consecutive time.

European Nations Cup

Main article: European Nations Cup

European teams of the second tier compete for the European Cup of Nations. The teams participating in this competition organized by the European Rugby Association (FIRA-AER) are divided into several divisions. The cup itself is played in the first division, where competitions are held for two seasons. In the 2011 edition, teams from Romania, Georgia, Portugal, Spain, Russia and Ukraine play in the first division.

Other varieties of rugby

Rugby should not be confused with rugby leagues (or rugby 13s) - a game derived from rugby, which is today an independent version of football (just like rugby and American football are different). A variant of rugby is rugby sevens under the rules of rugby union, with minor amendments. Rugby 15s and Rugby 7s are governed by the International Rugby Board (IRB). Rugby 10 is another variation of rugby. There are also non-contact varieties of rugby - touch rugby and tag rugby - which are used for teaching children under 12 years old, as well as as a sport for the whole family.

see also

	Portal "Rugby"
	Rugby in Wiktionary
	Rugby at Wikimedia Commons
	Rugby at Wikinews
	Project "Rugby"

• beach rugby
• Tag rugby

Notes

Links

Olympic sports
Summer

• Rugby-15, rugby union (eng. rugby union, MFA: [ˈrʌɡ.bi ˈjuː.ni.ən]) or simply rugby is a contact team sport that originated in the 19th century in England, one of the types of rugby football. The game of rugby has spawned many related sports, among which rugby league and rugby sevens are the most popular. In addition, some elements of rugby have been incorporated into the rules of American and Australian football and their derivatives. A rugby match is a competition between two teams, each of which is represented by fifteen field players. On the front line of the field there are H-shaped gates, and behind the front lines of the field there are scoring zones of the teams. The main task of each of the opponents is to perform effective actions, that is, hitting the goal (hitting above the crossbar) or bringing the ball into the opponent's end zone. The rules allow touching the ball with your hands, which determines the main difference between rugby and football. At the same time, a restriction is imposed on the game with hands: the ball cannot be passed by hand if the receiving player is closer to the opponent's end zone than the passer.

  According to legend, the founder of rugby is William Webb Ellis, a student at Rugby School (Rugby). The first set of rules for rugby was published by the students of Rugby School in 1845. Half a century later, in 1895, a conflict between the English rugby union and a number of clubs from the northern part of the country led to the creation of a new type of rugby - rugby league. The reason for the disagreement was the union's ban on financial incentives for athletes who are forced to miss Sunday work in order to participate in rugby matches. For much of the 20th century, rugby governing bodies maintained the amateur status of the game, but in 1995 the International Rugby Board lifted most of the restrictions on player wages. So rugby the best representatives which has long reached a professional level, has become completely professional and from an economic point of view. The International Rugby Board (IRB) has been the game's leading governing body since its inception in 1886. Now rugby is played in more than a hundred countries around the world, and in a number of states this species sport is recognized as national.

  The most prestigious competition in the world of rugby is the World Cup, which has been held since 1987. This tournament is played every four years, the winner of the championship is awarded the Webb Ellis Cup. The best European teams participate annually in the Six Nations Cup, and the strongest team The Southern Hemisphere is determined by the results of the Rugby Championship, also held once a year. The International Rugby Board, within its classification, divides all countries into three tiers according to the strength of their national teams. Another version of the classification is also used, in which four categories are distinguished. The strongest club tournaments are considered to be the European Cup of European Rugby Champions, Pro12, as well as the championships of England and France. In the countries of the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) Super Rugby is played. In 1900, 1908 and 1920-1924, rugby was included in the official program of the Olympic Games.