Professional rugby

Rugby union has been professionalized since 1995. The following table shows fully professional rugby competitions. (Semi-professional competitions are excluded).

Professional rugby competitions

Competition	Teams	Countries	Average Attendance
Super Rugby	18	South Africa (6), New Zealand (5), Australia (5), Argentina (1), Japan (1)	20,384
Premiership	12	England	13,354
Top 14	14	France	13,207
Currie Cup	9	South Africa	11,125
Pro12	12	Ireland (4), Wales (4), Scotland (2), Italy (2)	8,586
Mitre 10 Cup	14	New Zealand	7,203
Top League	16	Japan	4,872
Rugby Pro D2	16	France	4,222
RFU Championship	12	England	2,738
NRC	8	Australia	1,450
Professional Rugby League	10	Russia
SuperLiga	7	Romania

Variants

Main article: Rugby sevens

Beach rugby match

The game of rugby union has spawned several variants of the full-contact, 15-a-side code. The two more common differences applied to the variants of the sport lie in either fewer players or reduced player contact. Of the variants, the oldest is Rugby sevens (7's, or VIIs), a fast-paced variant which originated in Melrose, Scotland in 1883. In rugby sevens, there are only seven players per side, and each half is normally seven minutes.
Major tournaments include the Hong Kong Sevens and Dubai Sevens, both held in areas not normally associated with the highest levels of the 15-a-side game. A more recent variant of the sport is Rugby tens (10's or Xs), a Malaysian variant with ten players per side.^[170]
Due to the physical nature of playing rugby, several variants have been created to introduce the sport to children with a reduced level of physical contact.^[171] Of these versions, Touch rugby, in which "tackles" are made by simply touching the ball carrier with two hands, is popular as a mixed sex version of the sport played by both children and adults.^[172][173] Tag Rugby, is a version in which the participants wear a belt with two hook-and-loop fastener tags, the removal of either counting as a 'tackle'. Tag Rugby also varies in the fact that kicking the ball is not allowed.^[174]
Mini rugby is another variant of rugby union aimed at fostering the sport in children.^[175][176] It is played with only eight players and on a smaller pitch.^[175] Similar to Tag Rugby, American Flag Rugby, (AFR), is a mixed gender, non-contact imitation of rugby union designed for American children entering grades K-9.^[177] Both American Flag Rugby and Mini Rugby differ to Tag Rugby in that they introduce more advanced elements of rugby union as the participants age.^[175]
Other less formal variants include beach rugby and snow rugby.^[171][178]

Influence on other sports

See also: History of American football, Comparison of American football and rugby union, Origins of Australian rules football, Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, and History of rugby league

Australian football pioneer Tom Wills drew inspiration from an early version of rugby football he learnt whilst a pupil at Rugby School.

Rugby league was formed as an administrative break from the English union before changing its laws, becoming a code in its own right. The two sports continue to influence each other to this day.
American football^[179][180] and Canadian football^[181] are derived from early forms of rugby.^[181]
Australian rules football was influenced by rugby football and other games originating in English public schools.^{[182][183][184]}
James Naismith took aspects of many sports including rugby to invent basketball.^[185] The most obvious contribution is the jump ball's similarity to the line-out as well as the underhand shooting style that dominated the early years of the sport. Naismith played rugby at McGill University.^[186]
Swedish football was a code whose rules were a mix of Association and Rugby football rules.^[187][188]
Rugby lends its name to wheelchair rugby, a full contact sport which contains elements of rugby such as crossing a try line with the ball to score.^[189]