What's the difference between football and rugby?
Those tow games are quite different. First, there's the size of the teams. In football, a team has 11 players. In rugby there are 15 players on each team. The biggest difference is that in football, only the goalkeeper can use his hands. In rugby, the ball is usually carried forward by players, though kicking is permitted.
In rugby, players pass the ball by throwing it to team mates, don't they?
That's right. However, players can only pass the ball backwards. They cannot pass the ball forwards to their team mates. That's a foul.
I know how goals are scored in football, but how about in rugby?
If a team carries the ball over the goal line, they score points. A team can also score points by kicking the ball between two tall posts at each end of the pitch.
There's a lot more physical contact in rugby, isn't there?
Yes. Players usually need to bring a player down to stop him from moving forward with the ball. This is called ' tackling ', as in football.
The ball is a different shape in rugby, isn't it?
Yes. It's not perfectly round like a football. A rugby ball is oval in shape. There's a match on TV this afternoon. Why don't you watch it with me? I'll try to explain the rules and tactics while we're watching.