Final answer:
The total number of matches played in the rugby tournament is 55.
Step-by-step explanation:
There are a total of 11 rugby teams. In a tournament, each team plays each other exactly once. To calculate the total number of matches played, we can use the formula for combinations.
The formula for combinations is:
$$C(n, r) = \frac{{n!}}{{r!(n - r)!}}$$
In this case, we have 11 teams, and we need to choose 2 teams to play against each other. So the total number of matches played would be:
$$C(11, 2) = \frac{{11!}}{{2!(11 - 2)!}} = \frac{{11!}}{{2!9!}} = 55$$
Therefore, the total number of matches played would be 55.