The dimensions of rugby balls used in the sport of rugby union are approximate; 27 centimeters long by 60 centimeters in circumference, or, put another way, 11 inches long by 24 inches in circumference. The regulations football is in dimensions of; 28-30 cm in length x 58-62 cm in circumference.
A regulation rugby ball weight between 14-16 oz. This makes it roughly one pound in weight. The same ball is usually about a foot long and two feet in circumference. The ball consists of four panels and is designed in the shape of an oval. A rugby ball is quite similar to an American football.
Both sports use a similar standard length ball, which is 11 inches, however, there is one main difference between the ends of the balls. There are variations among official balls, however, World Rugby allows balls with a length of between 280 and 300 millimeters along the lines, a perimeter from end to end ranging from 740 to 770 millimeters, and widths between 580 and 620 millimeters.
The Variety of Rugby Balls
There are several other balls in various sizes that are used in rugby unions for different reasons. Rugby union balls are rounded and shorter than League balls to be tougher for rugby unions rucks and mauls while being larger makes them more suitable for spiral kicks.
Touch Rugby balls are also slightly larger than size 4, making them much easier for adults in particular to handle than standard rugby balls. Weighted rugby balls are more prized in World Rugby Shops’ assessment of the latter because using bad technique makes successful passing extremely difficult.
There are two major groups of football, rugby union, and rugby league, which use somewhat different balls, both in terms of dimensions and weight. Rugby balls are not randomly sized and shaped, there is a set of clearly defined sizes and ball weights for the various age groups.
A weighted rugby ball is similar in size to the regular rugby ball but is double weighted (about 1kg as opposed to 460g). The ball’s weight makes passing difficult, making it a good choice for players looking to increase wrist power and longer passing.
The final size is the Size 5 ball, which we already discussed; this is the largest rugby ball, commonly used at club level and professional levels. The rugby ball is often confused with certain balls with similar dimensions used in the US, Canadian, and Australian rules of football.
How Rugby Acquired Its Name
Named for Rugby School, the school where the sport was first played, the highly popular game is played throughout Britain and around the world using a prolate-spheroid-shaped ball. A prolate-spheroid-shaped football, the ball used in Australian Rules Football is quite similar to the normal football used in Rugby.
The weights for either the ball with a ball shaped like a ball used in soccer, for example, or the ball with a prolate spheroid, for example, used in rugby union and American football, have changed quite a bit over the years. When rugby balls were first designed, making them look significantly different from soccer balls was considered to be an important priority. The adoption of synthetic rugby balls in place of the traditional leather balls, in both codes, was initially dictated by the climate.
Richard Lindon and William Gilbert created the first rugby balls at Rugby School, said to be the game’s birthplace and inspiration for the sports name. Richard Lindon and Bernardo Solano began making balls for Rugby School, their neighbors, from hand, sewn, leather wrappings, and pork bladders.
By the 1850s, the two men had become two of Rugby Schools leading suppliers of both pigs bladders and leather-clad balls. The High Street 20 led straight into the school’s quad, and before Rugby School had any playing fields, the boys were all playing in a quadruple-ball game (football, as we know it today).
The Early Development of Rugby Balls
The first rugby balls ever made were constructed using pigskin bladders, with four panels of leather sewn together to make an outer shell. Most professional rugby union teams use balls manufactured by brands such as Mitre, Webb Ellis, William Gilbert, and Adidas. The leading producer of rugby balls, that is Gilbert, makes a range of training balls that, while costing far less than the official game balls, are still excellent for developing skills, without breaking the rugby club’s bank.
The weight and shape of our full-sized rugby balls, for example, are ideal for professional leagues as well as Sunday pub leagues. Rugby balls are around 27cm in length and about 1lb, while American footballs are only a couple of ounces lighter, but are a little longer, coming in at 28cm. Bowling balls are closer, but most players (even in PBA tours) use balls under the league’s maximum weight of 16lb. A full-sized rugby ball needs to be 383 to 440 grams. If the ball does not meet the standards set, play is stopped immediately.
Rugby union balls must weigh 383-440 g (13.50-1.52 oz), while a Rugby league football should weigh between 410-460 g (14.46-0.22 oz) to meet rules authorities. When the full-size rugby union ball is used, it will weigh between 410g to 460g. A rugby union ball is distinguished from the following football as it will have slightly higher points. In regulated matches, a rugby ball used for gridiron matches sometimes called the Lemonball due to its pointy ends, will have to be about 410-460g (14.46-0.22 oz) to comply with regulations.
Footballers used to specialize in specific types of kicks in soccer, or game maneuvers in other soccer-based sports will depend greatly on whether a football is a standard weight. Players typically kick with a below and grip, and the shape of the ball helps stability and accuracy over shorter distances. The rugby union-used ball is known as an international-sized or size 5, which is about 27 cm (11 in) in length, with a circumference of 60 cm (24 in) at the wider end.