Rugby union gameplay Rugby union gameplay Rugby union is a contact sport that consists of two teams of fifteen players. The objective is to obtain more points than the opposition through scoring tries or kicking goals over eighty minutes of playing time. The Play is started with one team drop kicking the ball from the halfway line towards the opposition. The rugby ball can be moved up the field by either carrying it or kicking it. However, when passing the ball it can only be thrown laterally or backward. The opposition can stop players moving up the field by tackling them. Only players
Irish Exiles (rugby union team) and the Ireland women's national rugby sevens team. In addition to producing nearly thirty Ireland men's internationals, the Exiles programme has also produced three British and Irish Lions - Simon Easterby, Rob Henderson and Nick Popplewell. A number of Irish Exiles players have "slipped through the net" and have subsequently gone on to play for the England national rugby union team. These include Kieran Brookes, Paul Doran-Jones and Shane Geraghty. Recent graduates of the programme include Sam Arnold and Kieran Marmion. The Irish Exiles also field a women's rugby union team. A number of prominent members of the Ireland women's