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Originally posted by rez obviously rugby aint as big in melb than it is in other states. can someone fill me in on why there are two sets of rules, i find myself to be watching more and more rugby every year and i still dont understand the two diff leagues or series or whatever it was

Rugby League was started as a rebellion against Rugby Union. They're two very different games, so it's understandable that you'd be confused if you weren't sure which game was which

Rugby Union is a much more open, but the rules are more detailed and more complex. Union tends to be fast and free flowing, though it can get bogged down. Union is the game where once someone gets tackled, they lie down on the floor and place the ball behind them. Once they do that, anyone (opponents included) is allowed to take it. That's why once a tackle is made, all the attacking forwards (big blokes) jump on top of the guy who got tackled, so that none of the opposition players can get at the ball. Union has no limit on the number of tackles before you have to hand over possession, you keep the ball as long as you can.

League on the other hand, is a much more repetitive game. You're only allowed six tackles before you have to hand over the ball, so there's much more structure involved. The rules aren't as complex as they are in Union, but there's still a lot of detail there. There's less running in a game of League than there is in Union, but it's probably a more physical contest.

I guess the simplest way to tell the games apart is to look at the scoreboard. If the scores are both an even number (eg 14 points vs 6 points), it's probably Rugby League. If the scores are both odd numbers (eg 21 points vs 7 points), it's probably Rugby Union.

Thus endeth teh lesson

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