Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league.
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby XIII in non-Anglophone Europe and South America, and referred to colloquially as football, footy or league in its heartlands, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m (74 yd) wide and 112–122 m (122–133 yd) long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the two major codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union. It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over the issue of payments to players. The rules of the game governed by the new Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income the new organisation and its members depended.
Women's gridiron football, more commonly known as women's tackle football, women's American football, women's Canadian football, or simply women's football, is a form of gridiron football played by women. Most leagues play by similar rules to the men's game. Women primarily play on a semi-professional or amateur level in the United States. Very few high schools or colleges offer the sport solely for women and girls. However, on occasion, it is permissible for a female player to join the otherwise male team.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It promotes and runs the sport, organises international matches for the England national team, and educates and trains players and officials.
The United States national rugby league team represents the United States in international rugby league competitions. The team is managed by the USA Rugby League (USARL).
The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in rugby league football. With origins dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, the team has competed regularly in international competitions since 2008, when their current governing body, the Federazione Italiana Rugby League, was formed. They are currently ranked 13th in the IRL World Rankings.
The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was the national governing body for rugby league in the United States from 1997 to 2014.
While rugby league has been played in the United States since 1954, with Australia and New Zealand playing games there on their return from the Rugby League World Cup in France, serious attempts to start the sport in the United States began only in the late 1970s. The establishment of a national team and a domestic competition in the late 20th century has seen more recent progress.
The Bucks County Sharks were a rugby league football team based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The team currently plays in the USA Rugby League.
The Philadelphia Fight are a semi professional rugby league team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. They currently compete in the USA Rugby League, having formerly competed in the now defunct AMNRL. They play their home games at A. A. Garthwaite Stadium in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
The Jamaica national rugby league team represents Jamaica in international rugby league tournaments. Administered by the Jamaica Rugby League Association, the team made their full international debut at the 2009 Atlantic Cup against the United States.
The Jacksonville Axemen are a semi-professional rugby league team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They currently play in the USA Rugby League (USARL). They play their home games at the North Practice Soccer Fields at the University of North Florida.
Rugby union in the United States is played at youth, high school, college, amateur, professional, and international levels and governed by USA Rugby. There were over 125,000 players registered with USA Rugby as of 2016. Over 2,500 rugby union clubs exist around the country, including those who are part of college rugby. Professional club competition has existed as Major League Rugby (MLR) since 2017.
Old Mission Beach Athletic Club Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in San Diego, California. OMBAC RFC is directly affiliated with the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club.
The 2010 American National Rugby League season was the 13th season of the AMNRL. The Pittsburgh Vipers are the newest team to enter the competition and the Bucks County Sharks have withdrawn from the competition.
Canada Rugby League (CRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in Canada. Founded in 2010, the CRL organizes the Canada national rugby league team and supports the development of the game through the country's domestic competitions.
The Utah Warriors are a professional rugby union team that competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its first season in 2018. The team is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was founded in 2010 as Utah Warriors and re-refounded in 2017 by Rugby Utah Ventures.
The North American League was an independent baseball league that began play in the 2011 season. The league consisted of a merger of three independent leagues, the Northern League of Illinois, United League Baseball of Texas, and the Golden Baseball League based in the Western United States and Western Canada and was a last-ditch effort to save the teams in said league. The league's chairman of the board was Dave Kaval, former CEO of Diamond Sports and Entertainment, league president was Brian MacInnes and main board member was James C. Peters.
Vili Tolutaʻu is an American rugby union player who plays as a forward for the New England Free Jacks in Major League Rugby (MLR). He also represents America playing for the United States men's national team.
