How Rugby Union Works
Decode the controlled chaos of rugby union. Learn why players pass backwards to go forward, what happens in a ruck, and how teams fight for field position.
Like Duolingo, but for How Rugby Union Works. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Making Sense of the Pitch and Set Pieces and Field Position. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in How Rugby Union Works
- Carrying the ball across the try line is not enough to score
- A player must deliberately ground the ball by applying downward pressure onto the turf
- Opponents can prevent a try by holding the player up and stopping the ball from touching the ground
- Hands may only pass the ball backward or flat relative to the passer
- To advance downfield with the ball in hand, players must run forward into space
- Kicking is the only legal way to propel the ball forward to a teammate or open territory
- Grounding a try awards 5 points and earns the right to attempt a conversion
- A successful conversion kick through the posts adds 2 points
- Kicking a penalty goal or a drop goal in open play awards 3 points
- Advantage lets play continue rather than instantly stopping for an opponent's infraction
- The attacking team can attempt high-risk attacking moves knowing that if it fails, the referee brings play back for the original penalty or scrum
- If the attack gains sufficient territory or a clear tactical benefit, the referee calls advantage over
- A player brought to ground in rugby must immediately release or place the ball
- The tackler must immediately let go of the ball carrier and the ball upon hitting the ground
- Neither player is allowed to trap or hug the ball while lying on the pitch
- A rugby tackle must first bring the runner to the ground
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives How Rugby Union Works the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If an attacker crosses the try line, how can defenders still stop them from scoring?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
Where How Rugby Union Works takes you
- 1
Making Sense of the Pitch
- Passing Backward to Move Forward
- The Breakdown and Tackling
- 2
Set Pieces and Field Position
- Scrums and Lineouts
- The Territorial Chess Match
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
How Rugby Union Works is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start How Rugby Union Works today.
Download Tomo, search How Rugby Union Works, and play your first lesson in under a minute.