Rugby is not a well-known sport in the U.S. WSU is no exception. It might not be commonly known that the men’s team was ranked as high as 19th in the national rankings.

For those that don’t know how to play rugby, the game is a mixture of football and soccer. American football is based off of the rugby style.

“Rugby is a lot like football except for there is no passing forward and no blocking,” men’s rugby Head Coach Matt Hudson said.

Rugby is played with 15 players on each side. All players must be able to run, pass, kick and catch the ball as well as defend and tackle other players. The game consists of two 40 minute halves.

The WSU men’s rugby team had a 9-4 record this year, with victories against Western Washington, Eastern Washington, Oregon State, Oregon, and two wins against Washington. The team ended the season in second place in the league and went to the playoffs in Salt Lake City, where it lost to No. 7 University of Utah.

“Our team did great this year. We had mainly freshmen or sophomores. Our goal next season is to crack the top 15 teams in the nation,” Hudson said. “We are trying to build a national powerhouse rugby team. We want to be a national force. Anyone who wants to play, experience or not, should come out and play.” There are four ways to score points in rugby. The first way is called a try, where you touch the ball in the other team’s in-goal area, similar to scoring a touchdown in football. A try is worth five points. One can also score on a conversion, which is the same as kicking an extra point in football, except it’s worth two points. A penalty kick, worth three points, is another way to score. The ball must be kicked through the uprights from the spot of the foul. The last way to score is with a drop goal, which is a drop kick through the uprights for three points.

The formation rugby is famous for is called a scrum, which is where a bound group of players from each team form a tunnel or lane. A player rolls the ball through the tunnel and the team pushes until one team pushes far enough to where they can kick it backward with their feet, thus putting the ball back into normal play.

“Many people are turned away from rugby because of unfamiliarity. It is one of the most popular sports in the world,” Hudson said.