Page 60 - Gilbert & Me_Neat

Slowly other rules were implemented, like how to restart the game if the ball goes out of the
playing area (goes into touch – Line-outs are called) and what happens when the referee had
judged that there’s been an infringement (like, the ball thrown forward – a Scrum is formed), and
the goal posts were altered to facilitate ‘touchdowns’ or ‘Trys’ as they are properly known in
Rugby, to be converted by the ball being kicked over the crossbar. This resulted in the familiar
‘H’ shaped goal post used today.

NOTE: Line-outs are formed when an equal number of players from each team, usually six, form
two lines facing each other, but at ninety degrees to the touch line. The team that didn’t cause the
ball to go into touch, nominate one of their players to stand on the touch line and throw the ball
high into the air towards the field between the two lines of players. Then both teams try, by
hoisting one of their members high enough, to reach and knock the ball in their direction.

Scrums are a bizarre art-form. Comprised of eight players from each team, scrums are how the
game is restarted following an infringement. Formed by three rows of players in a three-four-
three formation, players take a crouched position and interlock their arms and heads so as to
form a single powerful forward moving force, whose only remit is to push the opposing team
backwards while gaining control of the ball, which is rolled into the middle of this contesting
pack of players. Once they have gained yards and / or control of the ball, it is knocked out
through the back of the scrum, grabbed by a player known as the ‘Scrumhalf”, and either kicked
or thrown as quickly as possible to give the controlling team as much distance advantage as
possible.

Rugby is a global sport played by men and women of extraordinary courage and mental and
physical fitness, and is mostly played with fifteen players per team. The top teams in the world
are currently South Africa, New Zealand, England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Japan, Fiji,
Samoa, Argentina, Australia and Canada.

However, here in Belize we play a slightly slimmed down version called ‘Rugby Sevens’. This
is actually the very popular Olympic version of the sport – as introduced in the 2016 Olympics –
but which was first developed in Melrose, Scotland, as a way of keeping rugby players fit and
conditioned during the off season. The same basic rules apply, except that there are only seven
players per team and instead of the eighty minute games, Sevens is played for fifteen minutes in
total (two seven minutes halves with a one minute intermission). It is a faster, far more exciting
version, requiring a very high degree of stamina and mental agility from the players. Line-outs
and scrums are reduced to three players from each team to compensate for the reduced number of
players on the field as well.

In Sevens, the top teams are Fiji (current Olympic champions), England, Australia, South Africa
and France.

Rugby Belize started in 2015 when Kings Park Scorpions (now the Belize City Vikings) and San
Pedro Sharks were established. We held our first international in 2018, at home against
Guatemala and have since played Mexico (away), Honduras (home) and El Salvador and
Guatemala (away). There are six district teams – Belize City Vikings, Belmopan Cavaliers,