Glossary of rugby union terms player without showing a yellow card. Glossary of rugby union terms Rugby union is a team sport played between two teams of fifteen players. It is known for its rich terminology. This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of rugby union. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. 22 The 22 m line, marking from the tryline. 89 An "89" or "eight-nine move" is a phase following a "scrum", in which the "number 8" picks up the ball and transfers it to number 9 ("scrum-half"). 99
Scrum (rugby union) the "first up, first down" down method, with the first players to a scrum packing down in the front row and the rest of the forwards filling the remaining positions. Although the 1905 All Blacks are often credited with introducing specialised scrum positions, the 1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team had in fact practised this. As well, Thomas Ellison, one of the Natives, invented the 2-3-2 scrum formation. This seven man scrum was very popular in New Zealand until being outlawed in 1932. The extra man available because he was not in the scrum was called a "wing forward" and