Author: Alexander Wolf

We all know the Italians are mad about football. Italy is home to one of the top football leagues in the world, Serie A. World famous clubs such as Juventus, Milan and Inter Milan call Italy home. However, did you also know that Italians love rugby.

Do they play rugby in Italy?

Rugby is played predominantly in Northern Italy. The game was first introduced to Italy in Genoa in the 1800s by English immigrants. However, it wasn’t until Italian workers returning from France in the early 1900s did the game garner support.

Italians have claimed an ancient connection to rugby, arguing the game evolved from the Ancient Roman sport known as harpastum. 

Little is known about the exact rules of harpastum but it involved players running with a ball in hand and trying to seize territory while the opposition side would attempt to tackle them and retrieve possession.

Ancient Greek historian Athenaeus describes a harpastum match, “Harpastum, is my favourite sport. Great are the exertion and fatigue attendant upon contests of ball-playing, and violent twisting and turning of the neck. Hence Antiphanes, ‘Damn it, what a pain in the neck I’ve got.’

He describes the game thus: ‘He seized the ball and passed it to a team-mate while dodging another and laughing. He pushed it out of the way of another. Another fellow player he raised to his feet. All the while the crowd resounded with shouts of Out of bounds, Too far, Right beside him, Over his head, On the ground, Up in the air, Too short, Pass it back in the scrum.’

Even though there is no direct traceable connection between rugby and harpastum, the sport did spread throughout the Roman empire and was played in Britain. Due to its combination of violence and grace I am sure the Ancient Romans would appreciate the modern game of rugby.

Is Rugby Popular In Italy?

Rugby is popular in Italy, particularly in Northern Italy due to its proximity to France’s rugby heartland. Italy currently has over 79,000 registered players and over 1000 clubs. Rugby is currently the 13th most popular sport in Italy.

Even though rugby is a popular sport in Italy it does not enjoy mainstream national popularity. Rugby is mostly a regional sport with the vast majority of clubs being based in Northern Italy. Rugby has never garnered much support in the south of the country.

Italy has a respectable number of registered players at almost 80,000 who represent over 1000 clubs. However, these numbers are nothing compared to Italy’s most popular sports such as football, swimming, tennis and skiing. Football is by far the most popular sport in Italy with over 4.3 million participants. Swimming and skiing are also highly popular sports with 3.5 million and 2 million participants.

During Mussolini’s reign he attempted to increase the popularity of rugby by making it Italy’s national sport. He enjoyed the toughness and violence of the game and wanted to drive Italians away from football which he saw as an effeminate English sport.

Mussolini, realising that rugby was also invented in England attempted to claim that rugby was a direct descendent of harpastum, further connecting his regime with Ancient Rome. Mussolini abandoned his plans of supporting rugby after he found the clubs and players were too independent and were not the fanatical supporters he had hoped for.

Despite Mussolini’s best efforts rugby in Italy never took off in the south and to this day its popularity is constrained to Northern Italy.

Can You Play Professional Rugby In Italy?

Italy has a professional rugby competition known as the top 10. Nine of the ten teams are located in Northern Italy. Two Italian teams, Aironi and Benetton Treviso also compete in the Pro 14.

For many years the top 10 competition also known as the top 12 was a purely amateur league. In recent years it turned into a semi professional competition with some players earning respectable amounts and others being paid peanuts or nothing at all.

This has changed in recent years. The competition is now sponsored by Peroni and all players receive payment with a large percentage players receiving enough to support themselves solely off their rugby skills.

There is potential for Italian rugby salaries to explode if Italian rugby officials can get the rest of Italy as enthused about rugby as the Northern diehard fans. If the sport can reach national prominence, tv rights and sponsorship deals should hit the roof and this influx of money will trickle down to the players.

Italian officials face an uphill battle in increasing rugby’s popularity within Italy as southerners are staunch football supporters and not even the infamous dictator Mussolini can shake their fondness of football.

How Much Do Italian Rugby Players Get Paid?

Italian rugby players on average earn $50,000 per year. Low level professionals in the domestic, top 10 competition earn $24,000 per year while top players who compete in the Pro 14 and represent the national side can make over $200,000 per year.

Italian rugby players’ salaries have been rising in recent years. It wasn’t that long ago that there was no professional pathway for players to make a living. However, over the last 10 years the premier domestic competition now known as the top 10 has become a fully professional league. 

Players salaries are still modest compared to other professional competitions in France and England but with the average player earning $50,000 they are now able to support themselves from playing rugby.

Conclusion

Rugby is played by over 79,000 registered players who run out onto the rugby field, representing over 1000 clubs. Rugby is popular in Italy, currently ranking as the 13th most played sport in the nation. Italy has an established professional league known as the top 10 where players on average earn $50,000 per year. 

However, rugby remains a regional sport in Italy. The majority of rugby’s support in Italy is found in the north of the country where 9 of the 10 professional clubs are based. Rugby has always been popular in the north of Italy most likely due to its proximity to France. Italian officials have been trying for years to get their southern compatriots excited about rugby but so far their efforts have been in vain.

We know that rugby is a brutal sport where players are tackling and throwing each other with such violence that an assortment of injuries such as cuts and concussions are commonplace. Rugby players are even known to throw punches when tempers get out of control. Taking all this into consideration can rugby be considered a martial art? Let’s find out!

Is rugby a martial art?

Rugby is not a martial art as the goal of the sport is to score points and not to physically incapacitate an opponent. Even though rugby is a contact sport involving tackling, tackling is used to prevent the opposition from scoring rather than hurting them. In rugby striking and choking your opponent are explicitly banned.

The goal of a martial art is to defeat an attacker by using physical techniques which subdue and control the aggressor. Common martial arts techniques include grappling, submissions and strikes. Two of the most popular martial arts are Judo and boxing.

Some may argue that rugby is a martial art because it features grappling techniques (tackling) which could be effectively used in a fight. However, the difference is rugby players when they are tackling their opposition are not attempting to win a fight instead they are attempting to prevent their opposition from scoring. This is why there are strict rules on tackling (no shoulder charging, no contact above shoulders, no lifting past horizontal). If the aim of tackling in rugby was to hurt your opposition these safety measures would not exist.

 The goal and focus on rugby is not on fighting or combat rather on scoring. If the rugby score was dictated by how many opposition players you were able to injure by tackling them then you could argue that rugby is a martial art.

It has been argued that rugby is a martial art because occasionally players will attempt to punch and strike each other. However, this is not a strong argument as fighting using submission hold and strikes is banned in rugby and results in penalties and suspensions. If fighting was allowed in rugby and influenced the score of the match you could argue that rugby was a martial art.

Are Rugby Players Good Fighters?

The average rugby player is not a good fighter as they do not train to fight. If you have seen rugby players fighting it usually involves them throwing sloppy looping punches that rarely land. However, due to the size and strength of rugby players if even one of those poorly thrown punches lands you may be knocked out.

Athletes excel at skills they practice. As rugby players do not practice fighting they are not skilled in combat. However, due to the size and athleticism of  the average rugby player they would easily defeat the average untrained man in a fight. They would most likely use fairly quickly to trained fighters.

Many rugby players to improve their cardio and tackling ability have begun training in MMA, wrestling and BJJ. A rugby player who happens to have extensive training in these martial arts would be a good fighter and have more than enough skills to easily defeat most people in a fight.

Can A Rugby Player Beat A Boxer?

A rugby player can beat a boxer, particularly if they use their tackling skills to take a boxer to the ground, pin them and then use strikes to knock out the trapped boxer. Boxer’s do not know how to defend against takedowns therefore a rugby player has a good chance of tackling them to the ground and winning the fight.

The early UFCs showed the world that a grappler has a big advantage over a pure boxer in a fight. It is much easier for a grappler to close the distance and take down a boxer than it is for the boxer to land a knockout punch. Once grapplers close the distance it is very easy for them to takedown the boxer as the boxer is a novice in wrestling.

Once on the ground the boxer has no ability to use his superior striking and does not have any methods to escape the pin of the grappler. From this position the grappler can quickly finish the boxer with strikes without having to worry about any offense coming from the trapped and helpless boxer.

As rugby players are experts at tackling which is similar to a wrestling double leg they should be able to follow the same strategy that wrestlers used in the early UFCs. If a rugby player can close the distance between himself and the boxer without being punched he should be able to tackle his opponent to the ground and from there he should have a high chance of winning the fight.

Interestingly a number of rugby players have taken up boxing and some have even competed professionally. Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams have both competed numerous times in professional boxing with Gallen possessing a record of 10-1-0 and a notable win over UFC and K-1 legend Mark Hunt while Williams has a record of 7-0 with a win over former heavyweight contender Francois Botha.

Can A Rugby Player Beat An MMA Fighter?

A rugby player would not beat an MMA fighter as an MMA fighter is better in all aspects of fighting compared to a rugby player. A rugby player’s only weapon is his tackling ability but that won’t phase an MMA fighter who would have superior wrestling and grappling skills.

It most likely will be an early shower for a rugby player if he foolishly decides to take on an MMA fighter. A rugby player will be thoroughly outmatched in the striking department. His only shot is getting a takedown but as MMA fighters spend hours everyday working on their wrestling that seems unlikely. If a rugby player does manage to take the MMA fighter to the ground he will most likely be submitted quickly as rugby players have no knowledge of grappling and BJJ.

The only chance a rugby player has against an MMA fighter is if there is a large weight difference between the two athletes. By large I mean huge, were are talking 40-50kg. This size difference may allow a rugby player to knockout an MMA fighter with a glancing blow or give him the strength to pick the MMA fighter up and slam him to the ground resulting in a win. However, even a massive size advantage may not be enough for the rugby player to overcome the skill advantage an MMA fighter has over him.

Conclusion

Despite rugby involving tackling and the occasional fight it is not a martial art because the goal of the sport is not to defeat an opponent in combat but rather to score more points. Even though tackling may be an effective technique in a fight as rugby players use it to stop their opposition from scoring it can’t be considered a martial arts technique. While rugby players may not be martial artists due to their size, athleticism and tackling ability they have more than enough ability to defeat the average man in a fight and maybe a boxer in the right circumstances. However, their chances of defeating a skilled MMA fighter are very low.

Rugby has tackling just like American Football but if you have noticed rugby players don’t wear helmets like their football playing cousins. Most players opt to wear no head protection while some choose to wear a soft foam headgear offering minimal protection against concussions.

Are Helmets Worn In Rugby?

Helmets are not worn in rugby. The majority of rugby players do to wear any protection. Players are permitted to wear a foam padded headgear known as a scrum cap, however this offers minimal protection due to lack of jaw protection and thin, soft padding.

Rugby players are famous for wearing no pads or helmets. They run out onto the field in just a jersey, shorts, boots and socks. This macho attitude of not relying on any safety equipment has been a part of rugby since the early days. You were considered soft or weak if you needed protective equipment to survive a game of rugby.

However, as the game has become more professional and the true nature of the havoc the game can cause on athletes’ bodies more and more players have been adopting protective equipment.

Nowadays some players will wear shoulder pads, most wear mouthguards and you will see many players covered from head to toe in all sorts of different tape in hopes of supporting disfigured or compromised limbs.

Despite the rise in protective equipment worn by rugby players helmets are still banned from the game. Instead players are allowed to wear soft foam padded headgears. These are known as scrumcaps. It is debatable if these scrumcaps offer any protection against head injuries and concussions. The data suggest that the support is minimal at best. 

Scrumcaps may not offer much protection against concussions but I suppose a bit of protection is better than none. Many players seem to agree with around 20% to 30% of players now wearing headgear. 

What scrumcaps are really effective at preventing is cauliflower ear which can afflict many forwards. Scrumcaps reduce the friction that the ears suffer when they are being rubbed and bashed during tackles, mauls, at the breakdown and during scrums.

Why don’t they wear helmets in rugby?

Rugby players don’t wear helmets because there are explicit rules that limit contact with the head which do not exist in football. In rugby tackles above the shoulder are illegal and so is tackling a player who does not have possession of the ball or is in mid air.

The common view is that rugby players do not need helmets because the laws of rugby protect their heads from injuries such as concussions.

In rugby there are strict rules about tackling. These rules have been designed to limit brain injuries as players are unable to wear substantial headwear protection so the governing bodies have attempted to step in to offer protection through the codifying of strict rules.

When tackling you can not make contact to a player above their shoulders. This is considered an illegal tackle and will result in a penalty and the offender being potentially sent off the field. This is to prevent players from making contact with vulnerable neck and head area.

During a tackle you can not lift a player past the horizontal line. This is known as a spear tackle and is considered to be a serious foul. This is players from having their heads slammed into the ground. Spear tackles can cause spinal injuries and concussions.

In a rugby match you are prohibited from tackling a player who does not have possession of the ball. This prevents players from being unexpectedly tackled when their bodies are not prepared for contact. These blindside tackles are a major cause of whiplash and concussion.

Finally a player can not be tackled while they are in the air. If you have watched a rugby match you will see when a player is attempting to catch a kick they will leap into the air to avoid being tackled. The prohibition on tackling players in the air prevents rugby athletes from suffering nasty falls from big heights where there is potential for them to land on their neck or head and suffer catastrophic injuries.

Even though there are many laws attempting to protect players heads it is common for rugby players to suffer head injuries either from players committing fouls or from accidental head clashes where players get their heads in the wrong position during contact and end up suffering nasty blows.

The argument has been made that helmets make football more dangerous than rugby because the helmet gives players a false sense of security. They think that the helmet makes them impervious to head injuries and concussions. This results in football players placing their health in jeopardy by taking more risks on the football field because the helmet provides a false sense of invincibility.

The helmet can also be used as a weapon on the football field. Football players will often use their helmet to bump off would be tacklers or use it to drive into attacker players to aid in tackles. If you try to use your head as a battering ram when running with the ball or to help make tackles on the rugby field you are going to seriously hurt your neck and suffer a nasty concussion. 

Even though football has become synonymous with CTE and concussions if we actually look at the latest data we actually see that rugby players are more likely to suffer concussions than football players.

Rugby currently has a concussion rate 18 concussions per 1000 hours of game time which is one of the highest of any sports. While football has a lower rate of concussions at 15 per 1000 hours of play.

So despite all the talk about how helmets make football more dangerous for players’ brains and that the NFL should look into banning helmets, the data shows a different story. Rugby players are in fact more likely to suffer concussions than football players and rugby may need to look into allowing players to wear more substantial head protection during matches.

Conclusion

Rugby players are not allowed to wear hard helmets like you see in football. Instead they have the option to wear soft foam headgears known as scrumcaps. Rugby players do not wear helmets as there are a number of rules that protect players from suffering contact to the head these include no tackling above shoulders, no tackling a player without the ball or who is in the air.

Despite the rules that are in place to protect rugby athletes’ heads and to prevent concussions they are not effective as rugby currently has a higher concussion rate than football (18 per 1000 vs 15 per 1000).

The rugby rule book is as long as the bible. It is filled with pages and pages stipulating all the ways players can fall foul of the referee. You need a PHD in rugby to decipher many of the rules. We will take a look at some of the more well known rugby encroachments and some more obscure ones as well.

What are you not allowed to do in rugby?

In rugby you are not allowed to pass the ball forward. You can not tackle above the shoulders. You have to remain behind the ruck to stay on side. You have to stay behind your teammate when they are kicking the ball.

If you want a comprehensive list of all the things which are banned in rugby we will be here all day. The aforementioned are some of the most common and basic rugby infringements. Let’s take a look at a few more illegal rugby moves.

Can You Hurdle In Rugby?

You can hurdle in rugby. However, you can not jump to avoid being tackled. A hurdle is viewed as a big step where the player barely leaves the ground for a second or less. Whereas a jump is viewed as a big leap in the air.

There is often a fine line between an aerial hurdle and a jump. It is up to the referee to determine if the player was hurdling or jumping. If the referee determines the player was in fact jumping they will be penalised.

Rugby players can not jump to avoid tackles because the defending side is not allowed to tackle a player who is in the air. Jumping to avoid being tackled is viewed as a gaming of the rules and would put the defending side at a disadvantage.

There is also a safety element. Rugby player’s wear metal studs, referees want to protect tacklers from having a 100kg man stomping on their head while wearing such studs.

Can You Trip In Rugby?

You can not trip in rugby. A rugby player can not use his legs to make a tackle, they must only use their upper body. A player caught tripping will be penalised and potentially sent off the field.

If you come from a wrestling or Judo background you might be perplexed to find out that rugby players are allowed to trip or involve their legs to help bring down a player. Trips and leg reaps are especially common in wrestling and Judo where athletes use them with great effectiveness to send their opponents flying to the floor. However, if you try to use some of those techniques on the rugby pitch you will be having an early shower.

Rugby banned the trip as it was viewed as a cheap move. It was thought that a proper rugby tackle should involve a player using his arms to drag his opponent to the ground. This rule still remains today, as players must use their arms when making a tackle and not use their legs to trip their opposition.

There also was the thought that trips could increase leg injuries and lead to many destroyed knees. This may be true as knee injuries are particularly common in Judo when athletes can get their legs intertwined with each other and attempt to use tripping techniques. You would have to think when you add the collision impact of rugby to the mix knee injuries would only be more common than in Judo.

Can You Stiff Arm In Rugby?

Yes, you can stiff arm in rugby. The stiff arm has to be done in pushing motion rather than a strike otherwise it is illegal. The elbow should be bent before making contact. You can even stiff arm to the face. 

Stiff arming is a very popular and effective technique in rugby. In rugby it is known as fending. When a player gets close to the ball runner he will push his arm into the tackler preventing the tackler from making contact with him, allowing the ball runner to continue running. A powerful stiff arm can send a would be tackler flying backwards, giving them no chance of making the tackle. 

Rugby players will usually stiff arm an opposition’s chest, neck or head. A stiff arm to the head is usually the most effective as if you can control an opposition’s head you can exert high amounts of control over your opponent. The only problem with going for a stiff arm to the head is it is a much smaller target than the chest so there is a possibility you may miss. 

The stiff arm is a combination of timing and raw strength. If you are not the strongest player on the rugby pitch you will need to ensure your timing is perfect and you catch your opposition just as they are reaching for you. However, if you are a beast blessed with hulk-like strength as long as you get a good push your opposition should be quickly eating a mouthful of grass.

You need to be careful when stiff arming on the rugby field as you could be penalised if the referee thinks you are striking your opposition which is illegal. As long as you keep your elbow bent and use a pushing rather than a punching motion when making contact you should be fine.

You also need to make sure you stiff arm with an open hand. If you make contact with a closed fist you will almost certainly be penalised.

Can You Head The Ball In Rugby?

If you have possession of the ball in rugby you can not head the ball forward as this would count as a knock on. However, if the ball is in open play and you do not have possession you can head the ball. Accidentally heading the ball is also legal.

Everything in rugby is open for interpretation. Heading the ball is another grey area in rugby where sometimes it is illegal and sometimes it is perfectly acceptable.

Heading the ball is illegal if you have possession of the ball and then head it forward. For example you can not throw the ball up and head it forward. This would count as a knock on as you lost possession and the ball has travelled forward. A rugby player can only legally kick the ball forward all other movements such as passing and heading are illegal.

If a rugby player does not have possession of the ball they can legally head the ball forward. For example a player is chasing after a kick the ball bounces up and instead of catching it they head the ball forward and then pick it up. This is legal as the player never had possession before heading the ball.

An accidental heading is also legal in rugby. For example a teammate passes the ball into an unsuspecting player’s head this is play on. Or if a player gets hit in the head from a kick, again this is legal.

Can You Intercept The Ball In Rugby?

You can only intercept the ball in rugby if you are deemed on-side which occurs if you are behind the ruck when the phase starts or the attacking side has run at least 5m into the open field. If you are off-side you will be penalised if you try to intercept the ball.  

When you can and can’t intercept the ball in rugby can be a little confusing. Most people think that if you are not behind the last man’s feet at the ruck you are automatically off-side and can’t intercept the ball. This is not the case. If the attacking side has run at least 5m forward they are now considered to be in open play.

A player who was never behind the ruck is now deemed to be on-side and can actually intercept the ball from behind. However, if the attacking side is tackled and a new phase begins the defender will have to get back behind the ruck or wait until open play is called again to be on-side.

Conclusion

There are a lot of rules in rugby. It can take a lifetime to truly understand all of them. Many hours have been spent debating the mintuate of rules among rugby players and fans. Don’t worry if you don’t know all of them. As long as you understand you can’t pass forward, tackle above the shoulders and need to stay behind the last man’s feet at the ruck you will know more than enough to understand the game.