ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Rugby union in the British Isles

Imagine you and your friends are playing a game of tag outside. You run around and try to catch each other, but you can't just touch the person with your hand to tag them - you have to "tag" them by giving them a big hug!

Now, imagine if you and your friends were playing this game with a big group of people from different neighborhoods, who all had their own rules and traditions for playing tag. Rugby union is a sport that works kind of like that!

Rugby union is a game played between two teams of 15 players each, and it's very popular in the British Isles - that's the group of islands that includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The players try to score points by carrying or kicking the ball across a special area of the field called the "try line." But it's not just as simple as running and kicking - there are a lot of rules, like how you can only pass the ball backwards and you can't tackle someone above their shoulders.

People have been playing rugby for a loooong time - over 150 years! In fact, rugby is said to have started when a boy at a school in England named William Webb Ellis picked up the ball during a game of soccer (which the Brits call "football") and ran with it. Other schools started playing this "rugby style" of football, and eventually the sport spread all over the world.

Nowadays, rugby is a big deal in the British Isles. People love going to matches to cheer on their favorite teams and players. And because there are so many different countries playing rugby union, there are lots of opportunities for travel and cultural exchange. But at the end of the day, it's all about having fun, being part of a team, and trying to score as many points as you can!