Rugby first became official in 1823 in England and has since grown to be a sport played all over the world. Rugby has adapted over the years and has grown into the sport that people play today. Rugby has been known for being a full-contact, and for having some interesting rules compared to football. There exist basic laws of rugby, such as always passing the ball backward, the clock does not stop unless there has been a serious injury, players can kick the ball at any time, and lastly, players can only tackle the ball carrier. Rugby has many tournaments throughout the year the biggest tournaments being The World Cup and Six Nations.
Six Nations Championship holds importance to any rugby fan, and this year with only a few weeks in, France, England, Wales, Scotland, Italy, and Ireland all continue to compete for the top position. There have been many surprises with this year’s standing compared to previous years. With France and Wales in front with zero losses, the real surprise has become England in third place with one loss and Ireland in fourth with two losses according to Six Nations. However, no surprise comes from Italy being in the last place with two losses as they have not won a single game since 2015.
Many will count on France to win and believe they will even beat the former champion, England. With France beating Italy 50-10 the first week and then beating Ireland 15-13 the following week, they have come off as unstoppable this season, and plan to take the trophy from England.
Even with the Championship just beginning, one player has already been banned: Scot Fagerson, a prop (position in rugby) for Scotland, has been banned from playing the rest of Six Nations. According to Washington Times, he sent off with a four-match ban following his red card, after shouldering Wales prop Wyn’ Jones when attempting to clear a ruck, or in other words, shove others out of the way to get to the ball. However, the rugby community continues to discuss whether the red card should have been a four-match ban putting Fagerson out for the rest of Six-Nations for only a minor offense.
With Six-Nations only a couple of weeks in, no one can say who will win this year, but so far this season’s tournament has already been very interesting with France trying their hardest to beat England. If you feel like watching, both BBC and Hulu carry the matches.
Comments