Rugby, believe it or not, is not considered to be a sport in the state of Iowa. A sport is defined as, “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment” (“Sport”). But yet somehow, rugby does not fall into the category. Rugby fans and players who are around the sport enough can see, that the ‘athletes’ get tired, are very competitive, work as a team, and work against the other team for one common goal. Win. All these elements seem to sound very similar to the Dictionary definition. When the state or schools are confronted, the only reason rugby can not be considered a school sport is because ‘it is too dangerous,’ ‘someone will get hurt.’ Is not every …show more content…
What these people do not realize is that there are many rules, or laws put in place to help ensure a safe game. The main laws that were established to help assure a safe game include; no high tackles, must wrap up on tackles, no blocking, and an offsides line was put in place to to prevent players going down field and making big hits (“High School Rugby”). For a tackle to be considered a high tackle a player must initiate contact above the chest, and visibly be putting an opposing players head or neck in a position where it could be injured. For a tackle to be considered legal, the player must wrap his arms around the opponent, and follow him to the ground. A player can not block opposing players from the ball carrier, and must be behind the ball in an offensive position to be considered offsides. If a player fails to follow this rules, it can result in any number of penalties ranging from a free kick, to a yellow or red card (“High School Rugby”). If a player receives yellow card, they must sit out for two minutes, and the player's team is not allowed a substitution for them, so they have to play down one person for the allotted time. If a player receives a red card, they will be suspended from the match, and the following match, while their team is not allowed a substitution for the current game, but can play with seven for the next game (“High School Rugby”). With these rules in place, rugby, is just as safe as any other sport, because players know the rules, and know the consequences. Another issue involving safety is lifting on a line out, trying to get above the opponent to win the ball. This area is considered dangerous, because it is a hard skill to learn, and a hard skill to teach properly. In order to keep the game moving efficiently on lineouts without putting players in danger, an