Back play
- Not to be confused with the area behind play referred to as backplay.
Back play refers to the attacking manoeuvres carried out by the backs of the team in possession of the ball.
[edit] Development
Following the change from playing with twenty-a-side to fifteen-a-side, back play became more prominent from the late 1870s.[1] Historian Tony Collins explains that, "from the 1860s, adult rugby was played by twenty players on each side. Most of them were forwards".[1] Criticism of the scrummage dominated games was growing, it was a feeling that was also held by "many in the RFU", Collins writes.[1]
In 1875, the teams playing in an Oxford versus Cambridge university match were reduced to fifteen players.[1] The next season, the teams contesting international games went to fifteen-a-side as well.[1]
Collins notes that "the move to fifteen-a-side led to a number of key changes to the way rugby was played".[1] He writes: "It made it easier for the ball to come out of the scrum. The danger of a forward breaking away with the ball also meant that a third three-quarter had to be added to defend against the quick breakaway. And passing the ball between backs became more common".[1]
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Collins, Tony (2011-04-23). "Why are there 13 players in a rugby league team?". Rugby Reloaded. Tony Collins. Archived from the original on 2011-04-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5yCw9Y6ua. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
