Comparing Rugby with American Football
Rugby is a relatively simple game by which a team consisting of fifteen men has to - by passing, kicking or carrying an oval ball - score more points than their opponents. A score is made by grounding - "thouching down" - the ball in your opponents end zone.
The team unlike football teams are made up of fifteen men who make up the offense and defense. These fifteen men are then broken down into two "units" called the forwards and the backs.
Units and their positions.
The Forwards
There are eight of these, and they take part in scrums, line-outs and all those disorganized-looking pile-ups in which each team tries to win the ball. The close physical contact with each other engenders a sense of community not shared by the backfield players, who are often regarded as some sort of effete snobs. With the changing strategy of the game, however, forwards are being released from their roles as toilers for the backs, and are to be seen more and more with the ball in their hands, running and THINKING.
Props (#'s 1 & 3), Hooker (#2)
With the hooker between them they form the front row of the scrum and are the foundation of a good team. Unfortunately, they are a much maligned trio on account of their sometimes frightening ugliness. Hand-some props are not unknown but the classic type is distinguished by having no neck and a face like a Piltdown man. Standing 5'9" and weighing 240lbs...., such men appear to be born (or hewn) at the age of thirty and remain at tthe same age for fifteen years, when they grow old overnight and retire from the game. Hookers are usually shorter, quite bald and toothless, with arms hanging ape-like at the sides.
Second Row (#'s 4 & 5)
The powerhouse pair, usually the tallest and heaviest men in the team, were once recognizable by the inevitably cauliflower ears, but the fashion for wearing scrum caps or tape around the head has reduced the incidence of this feature. In the scrum they are usually hidden in a cloud of steam, but they are prominent in the line-out as they soar to catch the ball.
Flank Forwards (#'s 6 & 7), Number (#8)
Together they form the "back row" of the scrum, which performs a function like the US Cavalry or Marine Corps in a game -- always first to the action with dash and elan. Actually, flank forwards are backfield players in disguise, for they have only a tenuous connection with the scrum and in modern rugby their role is a glamorous one, for though their errors are hard to detect, everybody sees their brilliant contributions.
The Backs
In "John Doe's Schooldays" when the game was played with about fifty or sixty on a team, these were the "dodgers" as opposed to the "chargers". Their primary purpose still is to do brilliant things with the ball once the forwards have provided it.
Half Backs (#'s 9 & 10)
The scrum half is often a dimunitive man of great courage who follows at the heels of the forwards like a terrier, throwing the ball out when they produce it. He is as vital as the quarter-back and comes in for much hostile attention. His partner, the stand-off half, must know him like a blood brother and be able to catch anything he throws to him, before opening out the game by running or kicking. English stand-offs are usually tall and elegant; Welsh-men, small, dark and elusive; whilst the French "demi d'ouverture" is spectacularly brilliant (except on wet days).
Three-Quarters (#'s 11, 12, 13, 14)
Centers in the middle, wings on the ends, this quartet swings the ball laterally down the line on power plays, providing one of the great thrills of the game. These glamorous people often keep their hair in place through-out a game, but they are much abused by their forwards when they drop the ball.
Full back 15
A lonely figure who acts as safety behind the other fourteen. He must make the last-ditch tackles, catch and kick unerringly, and have lots of cool. He is often the goal-kicker and so is blamed for losing games.