Glossary of rugby union terms 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 The "99" call was a policy
Rugby union positions the opposition scrum-half or defend the blindside. On defence in open play they generally cover for deep kicks after the ball has been passed wide. Traditionally, scrum-halves have been the smallest players on the team, but many modern scrum-halves are a similar size to the other players in the team. Five scrum-halves are members of the International Rugby Hall of Fame; four of them are also in the IRB Hall of Fame. Ken Catchpole of Australia was made captain on his debut at 21 in 1961, and went on to captain the Wallabies in nearly half of his 27 Tests.