a game played by two teams of players with a ball shaped like an egg. Goals are scored by kicking the ball over a high bar, and points called tries are scored by putting the ball behind the goal line.
Synonyms and related words
Rugby
Australian Rules football
the British Lions
conversion
Cultural note
Until recently, Rugby Union (with 15 players in a team) was a completely amateur sport (=the players were not paid), while Rugby League (13 players) has always had professional clubs. In England, Rugby Union was considered mainly as a game for ‘gentlemen’ who went to private schools. Rugby League is played mainly in the north, in areas that once had a lot of coal mines, so that it is seen as a working-class sport. In Scotland and Wales (where Rugby League is not played very much), the class differences are not so strong. The two sports used to have a bad relationship with each other, but this is now changing, and players can now move from one sport (or code) to the other.
rugby
noun uncountable
US /ˈrʌɡbi/
Other entries for this word
Rugby Unionnoun
touch rugbynoun
Rugby Leaguenoun
rugby sevensnoun
DEFINITIONS1
1
a game similar to football played by two teams of players. Goals are scored by kicking the ball over a high bar, and points called tries are scored by putting the ball behind the goal line.