Rugby League

Rugby league is a full contact game, played by two teams of 13 players.

It is one of the two major codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union. Players on field are divided into forwards and backs. Each position has a designated number, 1 to 13. Numbers 14 to 17 are given to players starting on the bench, who will come into the game as substitutes for other players who are injured, in need of a rest, or less suited to the coach's strategy for that particular phase of the game.

Rugby league is played in more than 30 countries, though it is most commonly played in the United Kingdom (predominantly northern England) Australia and New Zealand.

Some basic rules:

• The simple aim of Rugby League is to score more points than your opponents

• A Rugby League match lasts for 80 minutes (two 40 minute halves). Timekeepers monitor this and sound a siren or hooter as a signal to the ref when the game is over

• You score tries (worth four points) by touching the ball down over your opponent's try line. You can convert that to six by kicking a goal. The other means of scoring are a penalty goal (also worth two points) and a drop goal (worth one point)

• There are two teams of 13 players with four reserves on the interchange bench. Each team can make a maximum of 12 changes involving any combination of players. Rugby League players have to be multi-skilled but some players do focus on roles within their teams including carrying the ball into the opposition line (forwards), attacking on the fringes (backs) and distributing the ball (hooker and half backs). All players work together in their team's defensive formation

• The ball has to be passed backwards. It can be passed as many times as you like until a player is tackled in possession