ARTICLE FOR REGION.

DRAFT:
The difference between Rugby (Union) and Rugby League.

Attention sports fans and fans of Rugby. This also applies to people who love knowledge oin general. What's the national sport of Papua New Guniea and the most popular sport of the Cook Islands. At first you might think Rugby (the national sport of New Zealand). Well yes and no. Whilst Rugby (Union) may be the national sport of New Zealand, the answer for the other two nations is actually Rugby League! Did you know that there is a difference? Don't feel bad for not knowing though, many Australians who don't live on the east coast don't know either. Are you suddenly curious? Well wonder no more, because in the matter of a few paragraphs you will recieve the answer to a question you've probably never thought of asking. If you, as I do, believe that you should learn something new everyday, well, here's your interesting fact for the day. What's the difference between Rugby and Rugby League. For those of us who live in the Eastern states of Australia, you already know that traditional "Rugby" is refered to as "Rugby Union" to avoid confusion with Rugby League, so I will be refering to it as "Rugby Union" for the rest of the article for the same reason. I will also use the acronyms RU and RL to refer to Rugby Union and Rugby League respectively. Now I know what you're thinking.... blah blah blah... GET TO THE POINT. And you know what? You're right! This was a pointlessly long introduction. So here we go...

Whilst Rugby originated in England, Rugby League was originally created in Sydney, Australia (that's my home city, yeay!) in the late 1800s/early 1900s (the official year of foundation is 1908) when there was an administration conflict in Rugby Union, leading to the schism between the two sports. At first, the only difference was administration, but eventually the two codes evolved into different sports. So here are some of the differences between modern-day RL and modern-day RU:
1. Number of players on the field. RU has 15 players on the field at any given time, whilst RL has 13 players
2. A try in RU is worth 5 points (converted try 7 points) and a try in RL is worth 4 points (converted try is worth 6 points)
Those are the two major rules that differ in the two different codes of Rugby, but there are also many other less significant difference. The two games however, are still similar enough for there to be games where RU play against RL teams, where on half is played with RU rules and the other half with RL rules. The Rugby League also hosts events such as the world famous State of Origin (Go New South Wales).
Whilst Rugby Lueage is a big part of life in the Australian East Coast, much of Polynesia, Papua New Guniea, and (possibly) the UK, elsewhere, International Rugby League is in its infancy. There are many nations which play Rugby League and have national teams, including, but not limited to, Australia, France, New Zealand, Canada, The United States of America (yes, that's right, the USA has a national team), Samoa, Tonga, Italy, France, Lebanon, Argentina, Greece (the country of my ansestry, yeay!) Papua New Guinea, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Fiji, the Cook Islands, and many, many more! North America is actually getting two of her own teams in the British Super League, (one of the most elite RL leagues on the planet) and those teams are Toronto and New York City! And for lovers of women's sports, female Rugby League is also rapidly growing in popularity. So if you're a fan of Rugby (Union) and/or sports in general, be sure to check out the Rugby League! (I can't give you a complete list of countries with national teams, so if your country is not on my list, there's still a good chance that it has one, be sure to look it up!). And go the St. George Illawarra Dragons! a team with a strong tradition! Check out their Wikipedia Page

Regards,
Australian rePublic