How many players are on a rugby team?
A rugby union team has 15 players on the field, while rugby league uses 13. Rugby sevens, played at the Olympics, has 7 players per side.
Rugby union players are split into eight forwards, who compete in scrums and lineouts, and seven backs, who are usually faster and score most tries. Teams name up to eight replacements for a match.
Rugby league split from rugby union in England in 1895, mainly over payments to players. League uses 13 players and has fewer scrums, with a tackle-count rule that gives each team six tackles before handing over possession.
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens is a fast version with matches of just two seven-minute halves. It joined the Olympics at Rio 2016, where Fiji won the men's gold, the country's first Olympic medal of any kind.
Did You Know?
The sport takes its name from Rugby School in England, where, according to legend, William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it in 1823. The Rugby World Cup trophy is named after him.