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
Rugby union in Japan Rugby union in Japan Rugby union in Japan is a moderately popular sport. Japan has the fourth largest population of rugby union players in the world and the sport has been played there for over a century. There are 125,000 Japanese rugby players, 3,631 official rugby clubs, and the Japan national team is ranked 11th in the world. Before the arrival of rugby, Japan was home to a game known as "kemari" (), which in some ways was a parallel development to association football, and to a lesser extent rugby football. It is said that "kemari" was introduced to Japan