Touch rugby

This article is about touch rugby games in general. For the formal competitive sport, see Touch football (rugby league).

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A formal, competitive variety, known as Touch, developed from rugby league and now exists as a sport in its own right. In addition, touch rugby games are played as training activities for rugby league and rugby union; as safer variants of rugby, particularly in schools and junior clubs, and as an informal social sport.

Features

Touch rugby has a number of differences from the traditional games, including its simplicity (requiring very little equipment or even goalposts), its ease of learning and the decreased likelihood of injury. As a result it is a popular social game; mixed-gender and women-only games are also very popular. Touch Rugby League is a growing competition in Brisbane, Australia.

Beach touch is also popular. Social touch games in South Africa (predominantly the single-touch version) are often played barefoot and as sponsored tournaments at popular seaside holiday sites.

Rule variations

The most popular, codified form of touch rugby is derived from rugby league and features two teams of six players. Played under the auspices of the Federation of International Touch (FIT), it is officially known as Touch, and is also called touch football, particularly in Australia, and sometimes 'six down' or 'sixes' in South Africa. FIT rules have become the most common rules used both in FIT-sanctioned competitions and informal games of touch rugby. A version of the FIT rules known as one touch in South Africa features a change of possession after a single touch rather than the six in the league-derived game.

League tag is a semi-contact version of rugby league. It was used initially as a coaching aid to get players new to rugby league in Ireland used to the play-the-ball, retreating to an onside line, and upperbody tackling that stops the ball being passed in the tackle. It was formally codified in 2008 at University College Cork, it allows ball carriers to hold off defenders, and defenders to grab the ball carrier in their bid to touch the ball. Touching the ball affects a tackle

Other versions of touch rugby are not fully codified. For example, as an activity for fitness and skills training, and to reduce the risk of injury, rugby players will sometimes play touch rugby based on modified rugby rules. One common variation is that a fair touch must be below the waist, or, to encourage rucking, a small non-contact ruck may be formed when a player is "touched". The "touched" player must fall to the ground as he would if he were tackled, and then two players from the attacking team must "ruck" over him within three seconds to keep possession of the ball. A scrum-half then recovers the ball, and play continues.

Touch rugby is often played informally, rather like a pick-up soccer or basketball game. In addition to tackles being replaced by touches, the rules of both rugby codes are simplified, removing elements such as scrums, rucks, mauls, line-outs and kicks.

In the United States, touch is usually played following pre-1967 rugby league rules, minus kicking. Players being touched with two hands must place the ball down or play the ball at the spot of the "tackle," and the defensive team must retreat 5 yards or meters. There is often no tackle count, meaning that almost the only way that the defence can obtain the ball is through offensive mistakes. Whenever an offensive infraction occurs (ball into touch, knock-on, or forward pass), the defence receives a tap-kick at the spot of the infraction. Teams switch sides after each try is scored, and the team scoring the try kicks off from the half point.

Until 2003/2004 the English RFU in its junior development program called The Three Stages of the Rugby Continuum encouraged the playing of Non-contact/touch rugby in its under-eights competition, although now promotes Mini Tag instead.

External links

• England Touch
• Swiss Touch Portal
• Touch Rugby League
• Touch Rugby in The City of Oxford
• German Touch Website
• Munich Touch Website
• Edinburgh Touch Website
• Touch Superleague

See also

• Tag Rugby
• League tag