Rugby

Rugby league football[1] (or simply rugby league)[2][3][4] is a full-contact form of football, played with a prolate spheroid ball[5] by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field.[6] One of the two major codes of rugby football, over the decades following rugby league's split from rugby union in 1895, its rules have been gradually changed, deliberately resulting in a faster and more open spectator sport.[7][8][9]

Frequently cited as the toughest and most physically demanding of any team sport in the world,[10] the primary aim in rugby league is to carry or kick the ball towards the opponent's goal line where points can be scored by grounding the ball; this is called a try.[6] After scoring a try, the team is allowed the chance to try at goal with a conversion - a kick for further points.[6] The opposing team will attempt to stop the attacking side gaining points by preventing their progress up the field by tackling the player carrying the ball.[6]

Rugby league is most prominent in Australia, England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, being the national sport in the latter.[11] France and Wales also have professional clubs. New Zealand are the current World Cup holders as of 2008.

The game is played at a semi-professional and amateur level in several other countries, such as Samoa, Tonga, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Scotland, Russia, Lebanon, Germany, Japan, the United States, Malta and Jamaica.