To make it easy for you to join in the shouting at the referee and players, here are 10 things you need to know about rugby. The first thing to remember is that the game starts at 9.50pm….Go Bokke!!!

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1. Duration

A rugby game is divided into two halves of 40 minutes each, with a half time break of 10 minutes. Time taken to deal with injuries on the field are not counted as part of the 80 minutes.

2. Players

There are 15 players in each team, with 7 others chosen as replacements for players injured or substitutions.

3. Scoring

The aim of rugby is to get more points than the opposing team. There are four ways to do so:

• try – 5 points

• conversion goal – 2 points

• penalty goal – 3 points

• drop goal – 3 points

4. Referees and judges

The match is controlled by a referee. He is usually the guy running with the players and blowing the whistle when players do something wrong. He is assisted by two assistant referees, who can be spotted on the borders of the playing field with flags in their hands.

5. TMO

To assist him with certain decisions, the referee can call on the Television Match Official (TMO). He communicates with the referee via a radio link.

When a penalty is awarded to a team, they have four ways of restarting the game:

• kick at goal – if the ball successfully soars over the goal posts they score 3 points,

• kick at touch – kicking the ball over the touchline means the team gets to throw-in the resultant line-out,

• Scrum

• tap – the player just tap-kicks the ball into his arms and drives forward

7. Offside

The basic principal of offside rules is that a player may not derive any advantage from being in front of the ball.

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8. Advantage

Advantage is the time it takes the opposing team to gain enough territory or tactical opportunity to negate the other team’s infringement. This helps the game to flow better as play doesn’t need to be stopped for every little infringement.

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9. Red and yellow cards

A referee may show a player a red card for serious offences. This means that the player is required to leave the field. A yellow car is shown for less serious offences and the player will be required to sit in the sin bin (special area) for ten minutes.

10. Snacks and beverages

Watching rugby matches aren’t complete with a couple of six packs of beer, wine or brandy and cola in your fridge and snacks like biltong, potato chips and pizza in the cupboard. So make sure to stock up a few days before the match.

Hopefully these tips have made rugby less confusing and will help you enjoy the game as much as your man!