There’s a lot of misinformation out there about rugby league. People highly tend to get confused between Rugby League and Rugby Union. Here are some facts and myths to help you clear up what is and isn’t true about the game.
Facts About Rugby:
Rugby Has Been Around for Nearly 200 Years
You wouldn’t know it based on what a lot of people say about the sport of rugby compared to other games, but the sport has been around for an astonishing amount of time. The game was invented in 1823. This was when W.W. Ellis caught a ball by accident during a traditional soccer or football game and decided just to run with it during the game.
This is how rugby was born, and it’s been developed for centuries since then. Later on, came Super League, National Rugby League, and others. Now when talking about Rugby League, it is played by 13 players and not by 15 players and also the rules differ after the tackle is made during the game. If you’re a fan of this rich history, you might even consider owning a piece of it, like the classic Scotland rugby jersey, to show your support and connection to the sport’s heritage. Wearing such jerseys can create a strong sense of camaraderie among fellow rugby enthusiasts.
Rugby Betting Is Popular
Some people think that rugby betting isn’t popular, but it’s actually a wonderfully popular form of betting that you can get involved in at any time. One of the reasons for the false idea that it isn’t is just because some countries play it less and think their own country’s past times are the only ones out there.
Fortunately, there are a lot many people who follow the sport as well as the league. NRL or National Rugby League is a popular sport in Australia and New Zealand since its inception. NRL matches are played in both countries between March to October. The season culminates in the premiership deciding game, the NRL Grand Final, traditionally one of Australia’s most popular sporting events and one of the world’s largest attended games.
The betting markets during the season grows high and people across the world take a keen interest in it. The online betting trend has also emerged with time and people love to bet around these games on the web. You can find all the related information for the upcoming rugby matches and betting trends by visiting trusted websites. There are multiple bets placed on Rugby League and are quite popular when it comes to rugby.
There is a World Championship
Many people also don’t know that rugby has its own world championship, just like the Super Bowl for American Gridiron and the World Cup for football. This is called the Rugby Union World Cup. It takes place every 4 years.
The first version of it occurred in 1987. It was played between New Zealand and Australia, with New Zealand coming out as the eventual winner. Since then, the event has been gaining a lot of momentum on the world stage and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest this will only continue into the future.
Literal Pig Bladders Were Used for a While
Eventually, these were switched out because the people who blew up the balls kept getting sick for some strange reason. It turns out that putting your mouth on what used to be the inner part of what a pig uses to go to the bathroom isn’t an especially good idea if you want to avoid things like diseases. Eventually, people saw reason and the change was made and no one looked back.
Myths About Rugby:
Only Huge People Can Play Rugby
There’s a myth out there that the only people that can play rugby are huge monsters that weigh 300 pounds and are over six and a half feet tall. However, this simply isn’t true. While it is absolutely true that rugby is a physical sport, it’s definitely not true that smaller people can’t play it.
Brute force will only get you so far. You need to be smart and clever as well as fast too. You need to have a good strategy. Lateral passes will often get around big people if their team isn’t set up strategically to handle the move.
Only Men Can Play
Partly due to the fact that there was this idea that rugby is only about being big and tough and smashing past everyone, there’s also this conception that only men can play rugby. However, this is simply not the case. In fact, there are several women’s teams that are out there playing right now.
This includes teams from Singapore, for example. And, actually, women have been playing the game since at least 1891. The game has expanded in the last 100 years, and there are many teams that play with women now.
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