Rugby union Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known in most of the world as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by male and female players of all ages. In 2014, there were more
Rugby union in India Rugby union in India Rugby union is a minor sport in India. However, it is a fast-growing sport as some Indian sporting clubs are beginning to embrace the game. Rugby union is the second most popular winter sport after association football in India, which itself trails greatly in popularity to cricket and field hockey. India is World Rugby Rankings|rated 77th in the rugby playing nations as of May 2016. The IRFU has 24,010 registered players, 7,160 of whom are female. This is their highest ranking ever. India is the current Division 3 South-Central title holder in the Asia Rugby Championship.